Man's Favorite Sport? (1964)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Pat Frank (story)
John Fenton Murray ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 January 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

What is Man's Favorite Sport?...Just ask any Girl!

Plot:

Roger Willoughby is considered to be a leading expert on sports fishing. He's written books on the subject...

Plot Keywords:

Fishing | Contest | San Francisco California | Remake | Male Female Relationship

Cast

Rock Hudson	...	Roger Willoughby
Paula Prentiss	...	Abigail Page
Maria Perschy	...	Isolde 'Easy' Mueller
John McGiver	...	William Cadwalader
Charlene Holt	...	Tex Connors
Roscoe Karns	...	Major Phipps
James Westerfield	...	Policeman
Norman Alden	...	John Screaming Eagle
Forrest Lewis	...	Skaggs
Regis Toomey	...	Bagley
Tyler McVey	...	Customer Bush
Kathie Browne	...	Marcia
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom Allen	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Jim Bannon	...	Forest Ranger (uncredited)
Holger Bendixen	...	Fisherman (uncredited)
Joan Boston	...	Joan (uncredited)
Paul Bryar	...	Bartender at Rotating Bar (uncredited)
Bill Cassady	...	Bar customer (uncredited)
Lincoln Demyan	...	Scoutmaster (uncredited)
Med Flory	...	Tucker (uncredited)
Betty Hanna	...	Woman in Elevator (uncredited)
Elise Kraal	...	Girl on Motorbike (uncredited)
Paul Langton	...	Jim Stern (uncredited)
Ollie O'Toole	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Margaret Sheridan	...	Maggie, Cadwalader's Secretary (uncredited)
Dianne Simpson	...	Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Ed Stoddard	...	Escort (uncredited)
Joan Tewkesbury	...	Woman in Elevator (uncredited)
Christopher White	...	Boy Scout (uncredited)
Edmund Williams	...	Harry, the Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Edy Williams	...	Second Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Howard Hawks

Writing credits
Pat Frank		(story "The Girl Who Almost Got Away")
John Fenton Murray		and
Steve McNeil

Produced by
Howard Hawks	....	producer
Paul Helmick	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Henry Mancini

Cinematography by
Russell Harlan

Film Editing by
Stuart Gilmore

Art Direction by
Alexander Golitzen
Tambi Larsen

Set Decoration by
Robert Priestley		(as Robert Priestly)

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Edward Muhl	....	executive in charge of production
Terence Nelson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Connors Jr.	....	assistant director

Art Department
Julius Rosenkrantz	....	property master

Sound Department
Joe Lapis	....	sound
Waldon O. Watson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Ben McMahan	....	special mechanical effects

Stunts
Ted White	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Zendar	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Don Ornitz	....	special title photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Peter V. Saldutti	....	wardrobe: men (as Pete Saldutti)

Other crew
Howard Hawks	....	presenter
Bruce Kessler	....	script supervisor
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Gibraltar Productions
• Laurel Productions
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1964) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1967) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MCA Home Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal (1964) (France) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Pacific Title  titles

Also Known As:

"A férfiak kedvenc sportja" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Acemi balikçi" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Ein Goldfisch an der Leine" - West Germany
"El deporte predilecto del hombre" - Mexico
"En flicka på kroken" - Sweden
"Le sport favori de l'homme" - France
"Lo sport preferito dall'uomo" - Italy
"Miehen lempiurheilu?" - Finland
"O Desporto Favorito dos Homens" - Portugal
"Rantevou stin galazia limni" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Su juego favorito" - Spain
"Ude med snøren" - Denmark

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:G | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | West Germany:12 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Gibraltar Productions

Trivia:

Cary Grant turned down the lead role because he was 59 and leading lady Paula Prentiss was only 24.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The bartender tells Roger the cost of the martinis will be five dollars, but Roger only hands him two dollars.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Charlie Rose Show: Quentin Tarantino" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Man's Favorite Sport

Major Battle in the War between the Sexes--Won by Director Hawks

Howard Hawks may not have invented the war between the sexes; but where comedic film-making is concerned, he was the Napoleon of the sub-genre. In such features as "I Was a Male War Bride" and "Man's Favorite Sport", he gave each side in the conflict its turn, always from the male point of view however; and in the process, as Alfred Hitchcock did with staging scenes where something was occurring other than the dialogue's exact subject, he brought a new intensity to developing and ongoing relationships, so vital to the creation of character. In "Man's Favorite Sport", a story about a man who has never fished in his life having to try to win a fishing tournament in order to save his job, he saw a fine opportunity for physical "lazzi" and active scenes; in between the three active scenes of angling and several hilarious misadventures with physical equipment including chairs, inflatable waders and a car-park locale misunderstanding, he also found time to have his writers write some equally memorable dialogue confrontations of many sorts. The cast in this well-liked and well-remembered comedy include veterans John Mcgyver as the boss, Roscoe Karnes and others as grizzled veteran anglers, Pretty Maria Perschy, Charlene Holt and Paula Prentiss as the women in the hero's life, talented Norma Alden as a hip, wisecracking but lovable Indian, and Rock Hudson as Roger Willoughby, the beleaguered junior exec. In the film's storyline, however, Hawks faced one impossibility: Roger Willoughby by never fishing had separated his scheme for making clients happy--by using consultants at various sites and departmental experts to supply information and teaching expertise--from his job, being the man who made the entire scheme work. Strictly speaking, as Paula Prentiss says, Roger is a phony; but this does no alter the workability of the scheme; and the climax--the fishing tournament's outcome, Roger's confessing to his boss and what happens afterward form an exciting, dialogue-rich and memorable conclusion to the side-splitting goings on. The problem Hudson faces--the distinction between theory and practice of the theory--is a bedeviling one in a nation many of whose academic tsars are heavy with inadequate theories and whose practitioners are light on results themselves. I highly recommend this classic for a study of Hawks' techniques as well as for anyone wanting a loud laugh of fifty any time. Add flashy titles, low- key music and crisp, clean sets and a knockout comedy performance by all concerned, especially Paula Prentiss, and this film becomes an instant US classic satire.