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Screwball comedy was at its height in the 1930s and 1940s, and Cary Grant was one of the most popular male leads. The genre wasn't as common in 1963, when this film was made, but Rock Hudson clearly plays the Cary Grant role of the somewhat stodgy male romantically pursued by an unconventional female. Roger (Hudson) works at Abercrombie & Fitch in San Francisco. For you youngsters, in 1963 A & F was a sporting goods store, not a trendy clothing label. Roger writes a book about fishing, even though he's never been fishing and loathes the outdoors. The book becomes a bestseller, but now he has to enter a fishing tournament --- and do well in it --- or be exposed as a fraud and lose his job. Enter Abby, an expert at fishing & camping, who tries to teach Roger to fish while throwing herself at him. Will Roger catch a fish? Will Abby catch Roger? This film is so entertaining, in the way of a 1960s TV sitcom, that you may not notice the elephant in the room, namely: why would Roger even WANT to work at Abercrombie & Fitch in the first place? He can't swim, drive a boat, or pitch a tent. He falls out of trees, is afraid of bears, and is too squeamish to remove a fish from a hook. You'd also think, if he wrote a book on how to fish, he would at least KNOW the basics of the sport even if he couldn't PERFORM them...but Roger acts like he's never seen a reel in his life. There's also a "baby elephant": Abby's female friend, Easy. Yes, that's her name, and most of the time Easy's right there with Abby and Roger during their sitcom shenanigans. Both women are equally responsible for getting Roger into a jam, but Roger only gets angry at Abby. In one of the few PG-rated scenes, Abby is NOT present when Easy's dress rips up the back and Roger gets his tie caught in Easy's zipper. Logically, Abby should be the one with the broken zipper, or Abby should catch Roger and Easy in the compromising position, or Easy and Roger should wind up together after the incident. No, no, and no. This film may not make sense, but it's still a lot of fun! Read full review
Verified purchase: No
I saw this movie first at age 11 and was really smitten by Paula Prentiss and her husky voice. That and the fact it was a comedy was enough for me. So I had ample reason to get the DVD and dust off my 40-plus year-old memories. The premise is nothing new -- a man with his life on track gets derailed by the antics of a strange woman, pushed outside his comfort zone and deserted by his fiance (or is it fiancee? I never learned the difference.) If you liked "Bringing Up Baby" or "What's Up, Doc?" this is the same story. In fact, several sight gags and entire dialogues from BUB show up in this movie -- I think they call that "An Homage." But the fishing scenes are completely unique, and the ending is positively surreal for the time period. Watch this with your significant other, and be reminded together of how much you disrupted his/her life.Read full review
I remembered this movie when I was young as one of my favorites! It was in great condition as listed.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
A glitch in the video near the end spoiled a 5 star rating. But this movie is charming with excellent color, sound, production. Typical Howard Hawks.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Every fisherman needs to watch and enjoy this one. All of us have had the same experience during our fishing adventures.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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