Pat and Mike

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Kate plays Pat Pemberton, a college physical education teacher who excels at just about every sport there is. She's also a great athletic competitor, except when her overbearing, worrywart fiancé, Collier Weld, is around. (As Weld, William Ching does an admirable job in a thankless role.) All Pat has to do is see Collier's face on the sidelines and her golf swing loses its power; her tennis game goes haywire. It takes crooked sports manager Mike Conovan (Spencer Tracy, of course) to recognize Pat's outstanding talent. He takes her on as his most important client and handles her with the same loving care that he gives to his favorite racehorse. Naturally, Pat and Mike's relationship is destined to overstep its professional boundaries. The mutual attraction grows from the moment they meet. Watching Pat walk away, Mike comments to his partner, "Not much meat on her, but what's there is 'cherce'."

The film carries a powerful feminist message, especially considering that it was made in the early 1950s: Pat is undone by Collier, who would rather have her stick to being "the little woman" and forget about succeeding. But with Mike in her corner, Pat can have a great career. Her union with him is a true partnership; everything is, as he says, "Five-oh, five-oh." In the end, he's secure enough to be comfortable as "the man behind the woman." The film features terrific comic performances by Aldo Ray as a bone-headed boxer, a young Charles Bronson (before he changed his name from Buchinski) as a small-time gangster, and Our Gang's Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as a high-strung bus boy. --Laura Mirsky

Customer Reviews:

Tracy and Hepburn strike again..............2007-08-22

PAT & MIKE is an inspiring look at the relationship between a gifted athlete (Katherine Hepburn) and her coach (Spencer Tracy), determined to get her back on her game. Pat's fiancee, Collier Weld (William Ching) is the one setback that keeps her from really excelling at the sports she pursues. Everytime she sees him in the crowd, she fails miserably at anything she is attempting to do (be it serve a tennis ball, or shoot a golfball). I am sure you can imagine the twist of fate that occurs while under the tuttelage of Mike, who believes that they have a truly equal partnership, in his words, "5-0, 5-0."

Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn's chemistry is going strong, as they trade clever banter and we watch the evolution of a beautiful relationship. This film is especially progressive for the time that it was released (the 1950s).

for Stevie.......2007-05-12

Bought this for my daughter for a course she was taking at UF called Women in Films. It arrived very promptly at her address.

An inspirational film at a time when one was needed!.......2006-12-22

This is a fun film for sports fans. It is only unfortunate that it is so sickenly anti-feminist until the very end. People act as if a woman had no business being an athlete, as if she had no business being a person of any influence at all. I didn't live through the fifties, and if this is accurate, I am appalled. It does get to be a good movie at the end though when Katharine starts kicking some butt!

Very Enjoyable.......2006-08-25

This was just recently on the Golf Channel which prompted me to buy it. It's an enjoyable piece of fluff, and I wouldn't call Hepburn's athlectic skills great, but maybe in those days it was considered good form. The movie is fun to watch though. I have one warning. When William Ching's character tosses his coat to a black porter and say's Here you go, boy', it's cringworthy. But the movie was made in the 50's and that has to be taken into accont.

"There ain't much meat on her, but it's all cherce.".......2005-10-11

This isn't much of a movie, but Tracey and Hepburn are just about at the peak of their form together - and are a joy to watch. Hepburn is an all-star athlete and Tracey her manager; she is in love with William Ching, but whenever he's around her she flops: she feels under his thumb.

Hepburn gets to show off her tennis and golf prowess (she was an excellent athlete), but if it weren't for the Tracey-Hepburn magic, the picture wouldn't amount to much. They perform together like a well-oiled and perfectly operating machine, yet are as natural as could be (maybe true love will do that to you). Worth a watch.

Average customer rating:

"He who lives by the bookmaker..."
The Black Marble

The Black Marble
Starring: Robert Foxworth , Paula Prentiss , Harry Dean Stanton , Barbara Babcock , and John Hancock
Director: Harold Becker
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000844J7
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Description

Pragmatic Sgt. Natalie Zimmerman is paired with Valnikov, a romantic detective of Russian origin who is going through a midlife crisis. They fall in love while solving the case of the kidnapping of a socialite's pet dog.

Customer Reviews:

"He who lives by the bookmaker...".......2005-04-13

The Black Marble (1979)...as best as I can figure, the title refers to something that isn't desirable...like when a group of people are trying decide which member has to perform an unpleasant task, they may draw straws, the person picking the short straw being the one chosen...and if done a number of times in a row, there will probably be one individual more likely to get the short straw more often than the others...in the film we see three individuals, not one, who are more than likely to choose the black marble...based on a novel by Joseph Wambaugh (The New Centurions) and directed by Harold Becker (The Onion Field, Taps, Vision Quest), the film stars Robert Foxworth (Damien: Omen II), Paula Prentiss (Last of the Red Hot Lovers,), and Harry Dean Stanton (Cool Hand Luke, Rancho Deluxe). Also appearing is Barbara Babcock ("Hill Street Blues", Space Cowboys), John Hancock (Airplane II: The Sequel), and the buxom Judy Landers, whom I'll always remember as the character of `Stacks' (because of her ample breastage, get it? Aw, fergit it...), from the 70's television show "B.J. and the Bear".

Foxworth, who looks like he could be Mike Brady's older brother, plays Sgt. A.M. Valnikov, a Los Angeles police detective currently working in Hollywood's robbery division, transferred from homicide after some unpleasantness which is later gone into with great detail (not later in this review, but later in the film). Oh yeah, he's also got a problem with the booze...he can't get enough! Har har...but seriously, this is a man who lives alone (with the exception of a parakeet and a gerbil), as wife left him a number of years ago, taking their son with her, and this, coupled with what happened to his last partner, seems to have deterioration, going through life as a shadow of a man, living in the continual state of either being drunk or hungover. Prentiss plays Sgt. Natalie Zimmerman, a no nonsense, career driven detective assigned to be Valnikov's new partner, much to her dismay as she has little time for a burnt out, hungover, stumblebum, cop whose only interest seems to be finding the bottom of the next bottle of Russian potato juice, constantly making her objections know to their superiors. The third player in this story, sort of outside the circle of Foxworth and Prentiss but tied in nonetheless, is Stanton, as Philo Skinner, The Terrier King, a dog groomer with a gambling problem...he can't get enough! Okay, that's getting tired...but seriously, he owes a great deal of money to people you don't want to owe a great deal of money to, so he concocts a plan to kidnap a valuable show dog from a rich widow and hold it for a hefty ransom (the back of the DVD case states $84,000 but in the film it's $85,000...strange...minor typo, I guess).

This was a really odd sort of film...it reminded me a lot of an early 80's television show called Hill Street Blues in that it would try to do many things like trying to present humanistic characters in situations that might make you laugh or cry, and sometimes even shock you...the opening sequences would indicate this would perhaps be a comedy (Foxworth, in a drunken stupor, ends up accidentally handcuffing his own `privates'), but ends up evolving into a sort of love story, drama, and comedy. Prentiss and Foxworth were an interesting pairing as Foxworth's character seemed a charming and affable type (when he wasn't blitzed) while Prentiss' character was, well, for lack of a better term, bitchy. Okay, I know...if a woman asserts herself, she's often termed this way, but I'm not being chauvinistic here...she really presented this `put offish' attitude through a better portion of the film, but her position does soften, as you can actually see her falling for her partner, despite her fighting it...the two develop a sort of weird chemistry, but I think it worked. My favorite performance was that by Stanton, with his chain smoking (he better get that cough checked out) and leisure suit attire. He's so greasy, seedy and lecherous, sort of a psuedo-comic character, one on the verge of breakdown from excessive stresses...and has some of the more memorable scenes in the film in my opinion, one involving him using a public phone just outside a motel, and a heated exchange between him and the motel owner, played by Anne Ramsey (she played Momma from the Crystal/DeVito film Throw Momma from the Train), as she gets annoyed with Stanton's character hocking lung butter on her sidewalk. Another scene near the end involves Philo and Valnikov in a really funny case of mistaken identity, resulting in one of the more bizarre chase sequences I've ever seen, with Stanton's character getting the worst of it, in my opinion (and the punishment shall fit the crime). A third scene, one that doesn't feature Stanton but Prentiss and Foxworth interviewing a criminal named Itchy Mitch (he gets the hives whenever he gets arrested) was truly funny in a very subdued way. Some will find the pacing to be on the slow and stilted side (the film runs almost an hour and 50 minutes), especially some of the `interactive' scenes between Prentiss and Foxworth, but if you're a patient sort and enjoy character driven stories, this may appeal to you. The film does have some a little bit of harsh language and a couple of rather shockingly violent scenes (both involving Stanton's character), so I wouldn't recommend this for everyone. Also, keep an eye out for some cameos by Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja), in his first on screen role, Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), and James Woods (Videodrome), as The Fiddler.

The Anchor Bay DVD features an anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) picture, enhanced for 16 X 9 TVs, looking very good, and the 2.0 Dolby Digital audio comes through cleanly. Special features include a reproduction of the original theatrical poster on the inside, a trailer, and a commentary track by director Harold Becker.

Cookieman108

The Black Marble.......2002-08-11

This movie portrays two police detectives -- each with their own problems, through a series of adventures. What a cast-- Robert Foxworth plays a Russian Immigrant that has "seen too much" and has a drinking problem because of it. Paula Prentiss gives the performance of her life as his newly assigned partner -- entirely against her wishes. Great plot! Great supporting cast too.

Average customer rating:

Worth the long wait for the DVD

The Mallory Effect
Starring: Clare Kramer , Steven Roy , Victoria Pratt , Josie Maran , and Sean Marble
Director: Dustin Guy
Manufacturer: Indican
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000JMK6HG
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Product Description

Charlie(Steven Roy) loves Mallory (Josie Maran). In fact maybe too much. So when Mallory dumps Charlie on Valentine's Day he thinks life can t get worse. But then his womanizing best friend Nick(Sean Marble) takes him out to seduce women and Charlie sees Mallory with her new boyfriend Curtis. Getting dumped sucks, but getting replaced is worse. Charlie decides to get even by secretly befriending her new boyfriend and reeking havoc. Guilt? No way, her new boyfriend has a mustache. A mustache!

Customer Reviews:

Worth the long wait for the DVD.......2007-04-20

I have been waiting for this DVD to be released for quite a long time, I am a huge fan of Josie Maran and seeing as this was her film debut, I simply had to see it as soon as it was available.

The only clue as to the contents of the movie was the trailer, available online from several sources more or less as soon as the film made it's film festival debut. Since that's all I had to go on, the movie I saw tonight was different in tone compared to what I expected based on the trailer.

The Mallory Effect is more than slightly darker in tone than I expected. There are some very funny bits, don't get me wrong but there were also moments where I couldn't find sympathy for any of the characters at all.

Charlie, the one that gets dumped by Mallory at the beginning of the film, crosses the line between lovelorn obsession and felonious behavior more than a few times. And his treatment of another young woman towards the end of the film was reprehensible.

The writing was good, even though it sorta seemed weak at some points, it was an interesting storyline, who can't relate to being dumped, after all? The acting for the most part was good. The important thing to remember is that this is a low budget movie, there will be some weak acting and dodgy camera work and poor lighting at times.

Josie Maran did well for her first film, she had to go through a range of emotions and was fairly convincing throughout.

Three stars for the film and an extra star for Josie. She rocks!

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