Pat and Mike (1952)
That this George Cukor-directed and Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin scripted film is not truly a fantasy makes no difference, this is simply yet another one of those proto-feminist Katharine Hepburn films but, as such, it is decidedly an odd one. Not only is this film the template for certain aspects of superhero comics and films with enhanced individuals having to hide their enhanced abilities to fit in with normal society (Superman, X-Men, The Incredibles,) or the moment of self-doubt when they lose their powers just to inevitably get them back once the crisis of self-doubt is over (Spiderman), but it also features surreal hallucinations such as humorous moments of superimposing the face of a loved one on another and the nightmarish moment (a la Tracy's Father of the Bride) during a tennis match when the net is raised, and the subject's racquet shrinks while that of their opponent grows to gigantic size.
On the one hand, it is about a highly athletic faculty member (Hepburn) whose fiancé asks her to throw a golf game in order not to embarrass the fragile ego of their would-be (male) patron. Frustrated, she finally allows herself to reveal her abilities but, significantly, only to his wife.
She is approached immediately after by a crooked manager/promoter (Spencer Tracy) who asks her to throw her the oncoming championship for betting purposes. This is the second male character who requests she hide her true self; an odd and possibly perverse detail is that the fiancé is asking this sacrifice for the benefit of the school, (and by extension, their profession and their community,) while the shady manager is doing it solely for self-profit, regardless of which should result in her self-realization.
She refuses, but impresses the manager with her integrity.
Deciding to prove something to herself she quits her school job and accepts being represented by him as she will now dedicate herself to sports. Though she is an expert in many (shooting, boxing included,) the film focuses on golf and tennis only.
This is a sports film.
As the story unfolds, her fiancé is increasingly revealed as a jinx, and it's clear she and her manager are developing much more than merely a business partnership. In case we miss it this is made more than obvious by a jealous, punchy boxing client. Inevitably the dud fiancé must be dumped, and she and the manager must hook up but, there is still the matter of the female's prowess and dexterity superiority to all the males around her, which is where the other hand comes in.
After a segment in which she handily beats up two thugs (Charles Bronson, included, as Charles Buchinski), the manager must be convinced she is still a woman after all and, as such, still 'delicate' and 'weak' and in need of protection from a male of her choosing so that his fragile ego will be able to accept her ...which kinda leaves us exactly back where we began.
The advantage, I suppose, is that she has challenged and proven to herself she can do whatever she sets her mind to. So, while we have some character growth, her society still remains unwilling and unable to accept her for who she truly is.
In the case of her manager and would-be lover, (who knows better than this,) even just the illusion of superiority is sufficient.
Also with William Ching, Aldo Ray, Jim Backus, Chuck Connors, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.
Check it out.
That this George Cukor-directed and Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin scripted film is not truly a fantasy makes no difference, this is simply yet another one of those proto-feminist Katharine Hepburn films but, as such, it is decidedly an odd one. Not only is this film the template for certain aspects of superhero comics and films with enhanced individuals having to hide their enhanced abilities to fit in with normal society (Superman, X-Men, The Incredibles,) or the moment of self-doubt when they lose their powers just to inevitably get them back once the crisis of self-doubt is over (Spiderman), but it also features surreal hallucinations such as humorous moments of superimposing the face of a loved one on another and the nightmarish moment (a la Tracy's Father of the Bride) during a tennis match when the net is raised, and the subject's racquet shrinks while that of their opponent grows to gigantic size.
On the one hand, it is about a highly athletic faculty member (Hepburn) whose fiancé asks her to throw a golf game in order not to embarrass the fragile ego of their would-be (male) patron. Frustrated, she finally allows herself to reveal her abilities but, significantly, only to his wife.
She is approached immediately after by a crooked manager/promoter (Spencer Tracy) who asks her to throw her the oncoming championship for betting purposes. This is the second male character who requests she hide her true self; an odd and possibly perverse detail is that the fiancé is asking this sacrifice for the benefit of the school, (and by extension, their profession and their community,) while the shady manager is doing it solely for self-profit, regardless of which should result in her self-realization.
She refuses, but impresses the manager with her integrity.
Deciding to prove something to herself she quits her school job and accepts being represented by him as she will now dedicate herself to sports. Though she is an expert in many (shooting, boxing included,) the film focuses on golf and tennis only.
This is a sports film.
As the story unfolds, her fiancé is increasingly revealed as a jinx, and it's clear she and her manager are developing much more than merely a business partnership. In case we miss it this is made more than obvious by a jealous, punchy boxing client. Inevitably the dud fiancé must be dumped, and she and the manager must hook up but, there is still the matter of the female's prowess and dexterity superiority to all the males around her, which is where the other hand comes in.
After a segment in which she handily beats up two thugs (Charles Bronson, included, as Charles Buchinski), the manager must be convinced she is still a woman after all and, as such, still 'delicate' and 'weak' and in need of protection from a male of her choosing so that his fragile ego will be able to accept her ...which kinda leaves us exactly back where we began.
The advantage, I suppose, is that she has challenged and proven to herself she can do whatever she sets her mind to. So, while we have some character growth, her society still remains unwilling and unable to accept her for who she truly is.
In the case of her manager and would-be lover, (who knows better than this,) even just the illusion of superiority is sufficient.
Also with William Ching, Aldo Ray, Jim Backus, Chuck Connors, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.
Check it out.
statistics: Posted by hermanthegerm — 2:49 PM - 1 day ago — Replies 0 — Views 188