User Reviews

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.

Rock Hudson stars as a man posing as a fishing expert who basically passes on information from one customer to another. He has written a best selling book on fishing and no one knows he's a fraud, not even his fiancée. He is shocked to learn his boss has entered him into a fishing contest and doesn't know what to do until Paula Prentiss and Maria Perschy tell him they got him involved and are going to teach him to fish. This is a pretty good comedy but it does have a little too much slapstick in it. There are some scenes that are taken from Bringing Up Baby and Howard Hawks did ask Cary Grant to be in this movie but he said no because he didn't want to be seen on screen with women who a lot younger then he was. The movie is two hours long and goes by pretty quickly.

This movie combines elements of Hawks' screwball comedies of the 30ies and the Doris Day "sex comedies" of the 60ies... turned out to be very funny! The idea of an author of books about fishing with no idea of fishing is good for many funny situations - for he eventually has to learn it,observed by two energetic young ladies. Rock Hudson makes a good figure,but Paula Prentiss and Maria Perschy are even better - they both give incredibly funny,magnificent performances! I liked this movie...

This is a slight little comedy starring Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss. He is a fishing writer who is widely respected but has never actually fished! Paula arranges for him to be entered in a fishing tournament and he is beside himself trying to figure out how to fish. However, despite being totally in the dark, he keeps managing to accidentally catch big fish and thereby keep his secret. However, during this time, sparks fly between Prentiss and Hudson. According to the formula for these type films, you KNOW this means they will fall in love at the end, which they do. So, there are no big surprises but this movie shows that Hudson could do good comedy without Doris Day, as Paula Prentiss fills in nicely in this role.

Fishing expert Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson) is a salesman at Abercrombie & Fitch Co, an outdoors sports specialty retailer. Isolde 'Easy' Mueller (Maria Perschy) runs her family's fishing tournament and Abigail Page (Paula Prentiss) is her PR person. They convince Roger's boss to send him to compete in the tournament. He confesses to them that he has never fished in his life. He doesn't even like fish.

Legendary director Howard Hawks directed the great Bringing Up Baby and I can see the comparison. The leads have very similar characteristics. In the beginning, she's negging him and it's a very effective meet-cute for a rom-com. The back and forth is delightful. Of course, the comparison does not help. It could never be good enough to exceed the classic and any attempt would feel inadequate. One should accept this on its own although Prentiss is a very good copy. This is funny as its own movie.

A delightful and agreeable Screwball comedy that has lost none of its vintage and punch . The author of a best-selling fishing guide called Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson) is loved by his customers in the sporting goods department at Abercrombie and Fitch run by his boss , the store owner William Cadwalader (John McGiver) . Roger is actually extremely inexperienced in outdoor-sports , but then he finds himself entered in an anglers' contest which causes confusion . Then botcher Rock becomes the unwitting object of the fun affections from two beautiful women (Paula Prentiss , Maria Perschy) . As Prentiss attempts to get for herself to Rock who also happens to be engaged to another girlfriend (Charlene Holt) . And both of whom become involved into all sorts of trouble . What is Man's Favorite Sport?... Just ask any Girl! ...Girls are good at it too! .It takes a girl to supply the answer.

An enjoyable comedy of the best vintage with the two great comedian actors , Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss , on glittering and splendorous form . One ridiculous and absurd situation after another adds up to high speed fun . From a story titled "The Girl Who Almost Got Away" by Pat Frank and storyline by John Fenton Murray , Steve McNeil and Howard Hawks himself . Concerning a simple and light plot about a fishing contest which causes mayhem when our bungling starring is entered into a competition, including laughters , confusion , funny set pieces , amusement , entertainment and big fun . And following similar style to the deemed to be quintaessential classic comedy : ¨Breaking up baby¨ (1938) by Howard Hawks himself . Featuring a great main and support cast , all of them are in nice and enjoyable form . Dialogue and situations are breezy and clever , employing filmmaker Hawks's famous overlapping dialogue to maximum advantage .Rock Hudson givis a likable actng as an outdoors columnist considered to be a leading expert on sports fishing , but really ,he's never been fishing in his life and then mayhem ensues , this movie provided Rock with one of his best characters. While screwball Paula Prentiss add Maria Preschy spend most of their time gumming up the workd for poor Hudson. Keep an eye out for some familiar roles and some inventive biits , here standing out the support actors as Norman Alden , John McGiver , Forrest Lewis , Regis Toomey and Charlene Holt .

It displays an adequate cinematography in brilliant techinicolor by Russell Harlan . Likewise, marvelous score by Henry Mancini with catching and attractive leitmotif . The motion picture was competently directed by Howard Hawks who manages the perfect balance of mayhem and control , adding sparkling dialogue and amusing incidents . Hawks was one of the best Hollywood directors . He made various masterpieces and directed all kinds of genres , Comedy, Western, drama , Noir Film , wartime , thriller , such as : "Air Force, Sergeant York , Outlaw , Rio Bravo , Río Lobo, El Dorado, Hatari, His Friday Girl, Man's Favotite sport ? , Gentlemen prefer Blondes , Monkey Business , Fire Ball , Gone and Get it , Criminal Code, Big Sleep, To Have and Have not" and many others . This is definitively a must-see and it is guaranteed to have you falling out your seat in helpless laughter . This was Hawks' final comedy and runs a long two hours.

Howard Hawks did of course create the classic _Bringing Up Baby_ and some comparison between _Favorite_ as a 26-year update of the former is inevitable. Hawks did plenty of screwball comedies, but above all, Hawks was a director who made GUY films; _Red River_ may be the ultimate man's man film of all time. And to some extent, this film is about Willoughby's (Hudson's) fraudulent expertise in "manly" activities such as camping, outdoor activities and--most critical to the plot--fishing.

Life is good for Hudson as the expert fisherman who is big man at Abercrombie and Fitch, until brash Abby Page (Prentiss) destroys his serene existence with a publicity stunt of having Hudson enter an annual fishing contest.

After resisting the idea, Hudson is soon forced to confess he's never fished in his life--that his reputation is a hoax. Rather than sensibly abandon the scheme, Prentiss decides she can teach Hudson how to fish in 3 days. This inevitably leads to all sorts of misadventures as Hudson is so inept he can't even swim! Some of the more amusing sequences are Hudson's inflatable waders exploding underwater, having a bear steal his trail-bike, or literally running across the surface of the lake to escape another bear. Some of the gags work better than others; the gags range from leisurely to elaborate, but all in good fun.

The fast-talking overlapping dialog is pure Hawks and (the uncredited) Brackett, and is wonderful.

Hudson has been criticized for not being Cary Grant (how could anyone be?) but he actually develops his own persona, different from both Grant and his own Hudson-Day characterizations. In this film, he is partially browbeaten by Prentiss and her sidekick Perschy, but ultimately, he voluntarily suffers through his ordeals as a matter of penance.

Paula on the other hand is a complete success: perky, beautiful, brash, and unpredictable--she gives a spectacularly energetic performance. This is the sole film is where Prentiss has the script and the screen time to refine her comic persona. While Perschy and Holt exist to create a triangle and fuel the high-jinx, they also define the limits of the Prentiss character; she is neither exotic like Perschy nor sultry like Holt. In comparison, she is pleasantly and very prettily tomboyish, often wearing outdoor sporting wear, and thoroughly competent at all things in which Hudson had professed expertise.

When compared with _Baby_, _Favorite_ perhaps begins with a potentially even richer premise, and is less fanciful, disposing of rich Connecticut dowagers and University endowments. But it never quite builds to the same frenetic pace and lacks the absurdity of the situations Grant finds himself in: remember "Mr. Bone?" Hawks does lift sequences right out of _Baby_ when Hudson shadows Perschy because the back of her dress is open, the "Love impulse in men manifests itself in conflict" from Dr. Lehman is used by Easy, the fish in the pants comes out of _Monkey Business_.

Yet the films are quite different. Grant's character is entirely asocial while Hudson's is the leader of the Hawksian male group. Furthermore, Hepburn is quickly determined to snare Grant, while Prentiss is to the end ambivalent or in self-denial.

I've seen it commented (including by the Voice film critic Molly Haskell) that the film is more satisfying when seen for the second time, and I wholeheartedly agree with this. This review replaces one which was not quite so laudatory. Three times is even better. Familiarity, in the case of this film, breeds endearment.

The sad part is that Paula Prentiss is so lovely and talented to watch in this film, and clearly the critics had huge expectations of her career, yet the next year she would do only three small parts in ensemble casts before withdrawing from films entirely for the next five years. These years, from when she was 26 through 31, were those where she certainly would have become a huge star.

This is both a return to an older form of comedy for Howard Hawks as well as something new. This is almost as much a remake of Bringing Up Baby as A Song is Born was of Ball of Fire, and it would have been made even the more so if Hawks had been able to follow through on an early idea of having both Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn return to play the lead roles. It doesn't seem like Hepburn was seriously considered, but Grant was offered the lead role. He refused when they cast Paula Prentiss, 34 years his junior, as the female lead. He was tired of the criticisms around his playing romantic lead to women half his age (though he was married Betsy Drake at the time, who was 19 years younger than him).

So, they cast Rock Hudson. Hudson seems to play the part as Hawks would have wanted Grant to play David Huxley in Bringing Up Baby if he could have gone back in time and changed it. Hudson is the straight leading man here, unblemished by personality tics like a weird accent or cadence or even glasses. He is Roger Willoughby, the author of a popular fishing magazine who works in a department store selling fishing equipment to the rich of San Francisco. He has a secret, though. He cannot fish. He's never gone fishing once in his life, but his advice is great nonetheless. He just takes what he hears from one fisherman and he tells others. In comes Paula Prentiss' Abigail Page. She's the daughter of the man organizing a fishing tournament in the country, and she has a great idea. She'll invite the famous author to participate, so she goes first to Roger's boss, Mr. Cadwalader, and gets his permission, essentially forcing Roger into it without his involvement. Desperate, Roger takes her aside and admits his deep secret to her. Well, she's going to teach him to fish in the week leading up to the tournament so he can at least perform decently enough.

So is the setup for the comedic pratfalls that will follow. Being the representative of a department store, Mr. Cadwalader sends Roger with a station wagon full of equipment to try out, most of which is silly in nature. Abigail becomes immediately infatuated with him, and does everything she can to insert herself in his life, even when his fiancée, Tex, comes for a surprise visit. The thing about the humor that runs through the film is that it's fairly broad stuff. The broadest moment is probably when Roger is riding a little moped in the countryside towards the lake. He falls off, and a bear gets on it and drives away. Most isn't quite like that, but that moment stands out.

Roger is simply hopeless at fishing, and when the tournament actually starts he ends up pratfalling his way to total victory. He accidentally throws his line over his shoulder behind a rock, and a fish immediately hooks it. He accidentally throws his line over a tree branch, and a fish immediately hooks it. He gets chased into the middle of a river by the bear, and a fish ends up by the shore that he can net up real quick. It's amusing stuff, light and frivolous.

The core of it all, though, is Roger's relationship with Abigail. This is the mirror of David and Susan in Bringing Up Baby. Abigail doesn't announce early to someone that she's going to marry Roger, but it's obvious that she finds him attractive and endearing, growing closer to him as the movie goes on. This all hinges on the actors, of course, and both hold themselves quite well. Rock Hudson is put together and in over his head at the same time. He just wants to live his quiet life of passing off good fishing advice as his own, but now, in this situation, he has to find a way to get over his disgust at handling live fish, his distaste for the outdoors in general, and his fear of water. Abigail is there along the way, comfortable with it all, and enjoying the process of torturing him in her quest for his heart.

Paula Prentiss is a delight as Abigail. She's bright, energetic, and bubbly. Her lighthearted mistreatment of Roger never descends into mean-spiritedness. She's edging him towards what he wants, to not be completely embarrassed at this tournament that she's forced him into. It ends up making sense why Roger would ultimately be okay with breaking up with Tex and going with Abigail, though the relationship with Tex is rather thinly presented. Tex barely has a presence, and she's kind of irritating in her few scenes. The deck is kind of stacked in Abigail's favor there.

The resolution of the film's plot revolves around Tex, Mr. Cadwalader, and Roger's primary customer, the Major, discovering the truth around Roger's inability to fish. After winning the top prize, he comes clean and walks away. Abigail has run away, thinking that she can never have Roger because she got him into the mess to begin with, and love ends up triumphing. There's a certain predictability and safeness to the story here, but it's so good natured and funny throughout that it's so easy to recommend at the same time.

It's not Hawks' best comedy by a longshot, but it is an entertaining little gem of a find from the later stages of his career. As much a throwback as a work of its time, Man's Favorite Sport? Is a fine little comedy.

Oh, and as the title song answers, Man's Favorite Sport is girls.

I have to admit I had a serious crush on Paula Prentiss during her days as a big star. Gloriously beautiful, sexy, with that great Texas accent Ms. Prentiss was a great sexy comedienne and this is likely her greatest role in Howard Hawks Man's Favorite Sport. Initially to be filmed at Paramount with Prentiss and Cary Grant, Paramount per legend refused to cast Paula Prentiss, so Howard Hawks took the project to Universal and cast Rock Hudson and Ms. Prentiss. Man's Favorite Sport? has top notch Universal production values and both stars play off well against each other. Paula Prentiss in an interview years later said she was speechless when introduced to Mr. Hudson as she claimed he was even better looking in person than he was on screen, and that Hudson's personal appearance was so great it was almost beyond comprehension.

Mr Hudson does well in this film. This is a fine wacky comedy directed by a Master Director Howard Hawks and features Ms. Prentiss' finest performance. Paula Prentiss got and deserved equal star billing over the title with box office champ Rock Hudson. I for one am glad that Howard Hawks stood his ground and insisted on Mr. Prentiss who was loaned to Hawks and Universal Prentiss' from home studio MGM

Viva Paula Prentiss

Rock Hudson was a wonderfully versatile actor who played a wide range of roles from light comedy to drama. He is one of may favourite actors and I think he is somewhat underrated. I sat down with eager anticipation when this film was shown recently on BBC television. I also sat down to watch it with conflicting recommendations. My ‘Radio Times Guide to Films' gave it 4 out of a possible 5 stars but ‘Halliwell's Film Guide' gave it one out of a possible 5 stars. So what would I make of it?

I did enjoy this film but it was not as good as it should have been. There were a wealth of humorous situations but they did not fit into the plot skilfully enough. The scene in the piano museum, the erecting of the tent, the bear on the motorbike, the inflatable waders, and the torn zip scene were all very funny in themselves BUT all seems like ‘add-ons' to the story rather than part of the smooth flow of the action.

In this film Rock Hudson demonstrated what a consummate light comedy actor he was, always thoroughly convincing but for me there was not quite the sexual chemistry with Paula Prentiss that he had with Doris Day.

I strongly urge film fans to go back to the original Howard Hawks films to see some of the scenes as they were first filmed. As good as Rock Hudson was in the scene when he was fishing whilst reading a book with his rod over his shoulder, in ‘Libeled Lady' William Powell did the exact same scene and was a hundred times funnier. Similarly, the torn dress scene was first used in ‘Bringing up Baby' with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn which was again, much more amusing.

If ‘Man's Favourite Sport' had been edited to about 100 minutes instead of 120 and had had a good musical score, instead of those irritating jingles, it would have been a winner. My film guides were, I believe both wrong. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Some reviewers have criticized the studio-bound look (Bringing Up Baby wasn't???), flat, high- key photography, the fact Rock Hudson isn't Cary Grant, that much of the comedy is slapstick (which, I guess, means physical and visual), that gags are recycled from older films......I mean, who cares? This is a total delight, probably the best comic roles Prentiss and Hudson ever had, and one of the funniest post World War 2 movies of all. Today, the 6th or 7th time I've seen it, I found when it was over I wanted to go out and buy a DVD of it.

Hawks' films may not have the pictorial qualities that Ford's, Welles', and Hitchcock's had, but when it came to involving you in a group of characters and their silly, yet somehow believable, antics, he had no superiors. It's not surprising it took the French New Wave, with their impatience for tired and predictable dramatic conventions, to finally recognize and rank Hawks at the very highest level of film artists.

Man's Favorite Sport? was intended as Hawks' homage to his own 1938 screwball comedy "Bringing Up Baby" with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, which I unfortunately absolutely didn't enjoy. And Man's Favorite Sport? starts unpromisingly, with Abigail Page (Paula Prentiss) and an unexplained German girl with the somewhat deceptive nickname "Easy" (Maria Perschy) girl-ganging up on Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson). Fortunately the movie then pulls out all stops and becomes an unabashed showboat for Hollywood's dreamcouple Hudson and Prentiss. I've always liked Prentiss and she really shines here (although she's a bit too brassy for her persona); I hadn't seen much from Rock Hudson so far but I can't really blame women (and quite a few men, apparently) for swooning over him -- oh, he's so boyish, so demure, and yet so manly when the situation calls for it! And he always falls into the water and then needs to get out of his clothes with a frequency that was hitherto more characteristic of tacky Bollywood productions.

I have profited from Hudson's performance in learning a lot about what women want. It's certainly more entertaining, and more insightful, than reading books on how to attract women from self-styled wannabe Casanovas.

Well, the Hudson-Prentiss romance is the movie's forte, and it builds a tolerably entertaining story around it. It also curiously starts off with some sexy sport images that seem to be a generation ahead, and ends with a black-and-white scene which is designed to look like it was shot a generation or two ago.

Harmless fun.

From where I was sitting this "one-note-joke" definitely had a lot more going against it than it did have going for it.

Yes. I do fully realize that this "boy-meets-girl" comedy was an undeniable product of the early 1960s - But, all the same, as far as an "adult" oriented farce goes, its outright sexual naivety (on top of its lame attempts at cuteness) reduced it to the calibre of being a mediocre Disney production.

Containing way too many "you-got-the-wrong-idea" situations, this contrived comedy was more irritating than it was funny.

Not only that, but I found that the characters were played by actors (such as Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss) who were about 10 years too old for their parts. And this made the whole story even less believable, in the long run.

Besides all of the above complaints, this picture (which contained some really irksome, half-wit banter) ran on for far too long at 122 minutes.

Man's Favorite Sport's story centres around Abercrombie & Fitch employee, Roger Willoughby, who (though he's apparently an "expert" on the sport of fishing) has never fished in his entire life (but nobody knows this).

Through a chance meeting with Abigail Page, co-owner of the Wakapoogee Lake lodge, Roger reluctantly finds himself entered into the lodge's fishing tournament.

And from this point onwards this film's story gets more and more bogged down by inane stupidity with each passing minute.

Thrown into this mundane mix is the story's token-Indian, Johnny Screaming Eagle, whose sole mission is to nickel & dime anyone (and everyone) out of their money.

Ha! Ha! So funny, I forgot to laugh!

Howard Hawks legendary Director fell like most Men for gorgeous Paula Prentiss. Prentiss was an MGM star having made 4 comedies with her co star Jim Hutton. Hawks had a deal with Paramount for this film but that studio did not want Prentiss in the picture so Howard Hawks took the project to Universal and assigned its greatest star Rock Hudson as co star. MGM loaned Prentiss to Universal for this movie. Paula Prentiss was given above the title billing next to Hudson on this film and raised Prentiss to worldwide star.

Rock Hudson who was #1 at Universal and a top male star in Hollywood gives a great performance as a expert on fishing who in actuality knows nothing about fishing. Hudson in his great career was co star to Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Jane Wyman, Jennifer Jones, and most famously Doris Day.

Paula Prentiss when discussing this movie said when she met Hudson she was stunned as she said Hudson was the most handsome man she ever saw. His looks were a distraction per Paula. Paula Prentiss gives a great performance in this film and someone wrote a book "Alternative Oscars" and listed Prentiss as the star who gave the best female performance. Prentiss was not nominated but I feel in reality this gorgeous talented Texas should have been nominated for Supporting Actress for Where The Boys Are and Best Actress for Man's Favorite Sport?

This is the standard comedy plot of the 60's, but one of the better ones. Probably doesn't hold up well to movies people expect nowadays, but at the time it was very popular fare.

Rock Hudson was an excellent comedy actor, and always gave his all. Without Hudson this movie wouldn't hold up, but he deftly plays his way through the pratfalls and love scenes. Considering his sexual orientation, it is all the more remarkable that he was so popular and successful in these type of comedy romances.

Paula Prentice, the long-legged, tall pretty actress with the unique voice is fun to watch and well-cast in this type of comedy.

The movie can be a little silly at times, but always seems to find a way to move along. It is a very enjoyable light-hearted comedy, and one of the best of its kind among its counterparts of the 60's.

Howard Hawks did a very great funny movie in the 1930's : Bringing up Baby. So, many years later, he said : let's do it again, but in another way. Paula Prentiss had the very same character than Katharine Hepburn in Bringing up. And Rock Hudson had a very similar character than Cary Grant in the thirties classic. There's also one similar scene : the broken dress of Maria Perchy. You can see it in Bringing up baby. Another viewer said there's also similarities with a William Powell movie. I don't mean that Man's Favorite Sport is a bad movie. But I do think that's it's not very original, there's no new ideas in it. For me, that's the great problem, even if I had pleasant moments watching it. Paula Prentiss is very funny, even with the shadow of Katharine Hepburn behind her in every minute of this movie...

In one of the funniest screwball comedies of the pre-World War II studio era, William Powell has a celebrated experience with a fish while he pretended to be a fishing expert. It was the highlight of Libeled Lady and I'm sure Howard Hawks thought that we could get a whole comedy out of that situation.

In Man's Favorite Sport he succeeds admirably. If the film had been done 20 years earlier, Cary Grant would definitely have been in the lead. The part of Roger Willoughby, who wrote a book on fishing based on hearsay from the various customers he's dealt with at Abercrombie&Fitch, would have been ideal for Cary Grant as it has just the kind of physical comedy that Grant was so adept at.

However Rock Hudson steps into the role admirably and for once he's the pursued and not the pursuer. Pursuing Hudson every step of the way is the kookie Paula Prentiss who seemed to study at the Carol Burnett school of zaniness for this part.

On a bit of advice from public relations expert Prentiss, Hudson's boss at Abercrombie&Fitch, John McGiver, has him enter a fishing tournament. When Hudson confesses he's never fished and hates the slimy things, Prentiss decides to help fake it through.

There are a lot of really great laughs in this film, but the best scene is Hudson trying out this inflatable suit for those who are fishing and fall in the water. He does and the results are hilarious.

Don't miss this film if it is ever broadcast.

Man's Favorite Sport? is a very funny (and ironic) spoof on male role-playing. With this film, Paula Prentiss helped to establish a new role model for women in the 60's, dominated by Doris Day. As Abigail Page, Paula plays a strong-willed young woman who is ready to test herself professionally and sexually with any man. Rock Hudson was very good too, while Howard Hawks displayed his cinematic know-how in a affectionate and less aggressive version of his screwball comedies of the past. Good Henry Mancini score for lots of slapstick scenes and romantic interludes.

It is certainly funny in parts. But it's a product of its time. Im a bit over couple who spend all their time squabbling supposedly being in love. And the female lead was quite manipulative. Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

I'm not a film critic, just a 56 year old viewer; call me the common man that's not too common. I'll just use words that everyone understands, since I don't know all the others. What this film did for me is it brought back the feel of the late 50s / early 60s, you know, when there used to be a few morals left. Some of you may remember those days. You could see this throughout the whole movie, the way they talked, dressed and acted toward each other. Even the city and the cars and the mailboxes on the corner (remember those?) in the opening scene, everything was bright, clean and wholesome. The atmosphere at Lake Wakapougie(?) was clear and made you wish you were there too. Even in the lodge: No one had tattoos, no men were wearing earrings. Can you imagine that?! No men with long hair? No Mohawks? Is this legal?! No one weighed 350 pounds and looked like a World War 3 surviving shopper in Walmart. Just a nice, easy to follow, fun and relaxing movie complete with great background music that fit it perfectly, sweet and calm. What a contrast to what we have now. If the film were to be made now, Rock would probably have been a drug smuggler and would have had a long bedroom scene with everyone of the stars in the opening scene, complete with as much swearing as they could possibly have stuck in there just to make sure the movie would go over. I mean, they do have to sell movies, right?! Do I exaggerate? What do you think? This is the main reason I like this film so much. It's just a nice, sweet and wholesome film about a guy and girl who accidentally fall in love through a great setup. Yet the people aren't perfect, neither is the film. I haven't found a perfect one yet. The only semi-negatives I could find, were the obvious tie-attached-to-Easy scene, yet it was funny.(I missed how that happened until I backed up and watched it again...if you recall, people in the movies back then couldn't do that) also, there is a time sequence I didn't get. Abigail calls Roger at, I think, 2 in the morning, yet everyone is still up like it's 10PM at night! ... The guys at the bar who also have to be up in 3 hours for the competition, John Screaming Eagle... everybody except Roger. That's another thing I thought was a little strange although it added comedy to the film. John Screaming Eagle is always keeping an eye on Roger's 'happenings'. Even at 2AM? and no one is even yawning, they're raring to go like they all just got up! ha ha. I sure can't do that. Not at 2 in the morning. All in all though, what a great film. and yeah, I saw the other films the were mentioned, like "Bringing Up Baby". I'll take this one over that one, although I liked "Bringing Up Baby" as well. What made a lot of the older films great was great dialog, great direction, great story lines. grate acting and fresh ideas. This has almost entirely been replaced in today's movies with massive swearing, constant drugs, rotten personalities, sex, sex, sex. Yes, today's films are truly designed for today's people. I guess the studios still know what they're doing after all!