Man's Favorite Sport?

Roger Willoughby works in the fishing department of a large sporting goods store and has written a book on the subject. The whole country takes him for an expert. The truth is that he has never fished in his life and is afraid of the water. When a publicist enters him in a fishing contest the lie becomes impossible to keep. Howard Hawks directed. Rock Hudson plays Roger and Paula Prentiss plays Abigail, the publicist. The film is usually described as Hawks rebuilding his own Bringing Up Baby: the inept respectable man, the determined woman who wrecks him, the reputation coming apart. The part was in fact offered to Cary Grant. He refused; he was fifty-eight and Paula Prentiss opposite him was twenty-four. Approaching sixty, he did not like the idea of sharing the lead with three young actresses, Prentiss, Maria Perschy and Charlene Holt. Who it is for: viewers curious about classic screwball and late Hawks. Who it is not for: anyone who knows the model. It is markedly weaker beside Bringing Up Baby, and Hudson does not carry the panic the part needs.