Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Absolutely brilliant

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Certainly an intriguing concept-a Runyonesque story about a shady sports promoter who finds a female athlete and decides he can make her a big sports star and a moneymaker for himself, except that she only plays well when her domineering fiancée is not around. She turns out to be rebellious if either her fiancée or her promoter push her around too much. And there is good chemistry and interaction between the leads.Yet the movie has its faults too, namely being too long for what it is, with sports sequences that go one for longer than they need to, and the rather pointless inclusion of the boxer the promoter also has under his wing. Also, though the movie is presumably a comedy, it has few laughs in it. The movie tries, but it never quite satisfies in the end.

"Pat and Mike" is one of nine movies that Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy made together. Most were comedies. This film showcases some of Hepburn's athletic abilities. Apparently, she was moderately good in a few sports. She learned to play tennis for this film and became quite good at it. There aren't a lot of laughs in this film. The screenplay is okay, but it has few witty lines. The humor mostly is in the relationships between characters and the characters themselves. Tracy is good as Mike Conovan, and Hepburn is good as Pat Pemberton. William Ching actually gives one of the best performances, as Pat's fiancé, Collier Weld. Aldo Ray is good for some laughs as Davie Hucko. This film doesn't rank up there with the better comedies of Hepburn and Tracy, but it's decent light entertainment. One of the things I like best about "Pat and Mike" is the scenes it has with Babe Didrikson Zaharias. The script has Pat in a major women's golf tournament, playing against Babe. Babe was a real living multi-talented female athlete. She was named athlete of the year six times from 1932 to 1954. She was a 1949 founding member of the Ladies PGA. She won numerous golfing tournaments, including 10 major LPGA championships. She won two gold medals in track and field in the 1932 Summer Olympics and she also played basketball. Babe died in 1956 from colon cancer She was just 46 years old. This isn't a film to run out and buy, but it's a good movie to watch on a rainy afternoon.

Pat Pemberton (Katharine Hepburn) is a great athlete and a coach. She tries to do whatever her fiancé Collier Weld (William Ching) needs even if it's deliberately losing. It's a great stress on their relationship. Charles Barry (Jim Backus) convinces her to enter into a golf tournament. Mike Conovan (Spencer Tracy) is a shady sports promoter who tries to get her to finish second but she refuses. At critical moments, Collier's presence flusters her and she ends up second. Collier wants her to marry him and quit everything else. In desperation, she jumps off the train and seeks the help of Mike. It turns out that she's great at everything.The Hollywood couple has good chemistry. This is a fun rom-com. I don't like so much the sports action. They have a tendency to slow the movie down. Although it's interesting to see Hepburn actually playing those sports. It's still not shot very interestingly. Sports action at that time has yet to be shot excitingly.

Widow golfer, college coach and all-around smarty pants Katharine Hepburn (as Patricia "Pat" Pemberton) is engaged to administrator William Ching (as Collier Weld) until sports agent Spencer Tracy (as Mike Conovan) admires her swing. She's "frazzled" by her fiancé, but Ms. Hepburn is confident and successful under Mr. Tracy's tutelage. This results in Hepburn messing up golf and tennis shots when Mr. Ching is watching. You might want to bet on romance blooming between Tracy and Hepburn...The film is full of familiar faces. You may recognize a caddy, bartender, busboy and policeman - half of them fighting in an amusing scene with Tracy, Hepburn and Charles Bronson...Featured supporting actor Aldo Ray (as David "Davie" Hucko) makes a memorable impression as Tracy's slow-witted boxer. Sammy White and George Matthews are good in smaller roles. The comedy situation is slight, and some of it is as exciting as watching golf - but at least Hepburn is playing. Director George Cukor with writers Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, the winning team from "Adam's Rib" (1949), knew how to score with Tracy and Hepburn. There may be fewer points here, but it's still a win.****** Pat and Mike (6/13/52) George Cukor ~ Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Aldo Ray, William Ching