A Tall Fish Tale

A sort of throwback to the screwball comedies of the 1930's. It reminds one of the pairings of Cary Grant and Kate Hepburn such as Bringing Up Baby or The Philadelphia Story. By that as it may, I have watched this fishing film several times over the years and I am repeatedly impressed with the level of comic intensity throughout the narrative. The plot line is simple enough: a fairly solid looking man has great success built on a secret. Rock Hudson has written a well-regarded book on the best fishing lure. The secret is Hudson has never been fishing in his life. Along comes Paula Prentiss who corners Hudson into participating in a fishing tournament at her outdoors resort. Of course, in the end Hudson wins the tournament and is exposed for the fraud he is. In spite of being proved to be a fake, Hudson comes out on top and falls for Prentiss as well.

As a story none of this is believable but that is never the point. What we have is a story in which silliness is the point. How we get from beginning to end is where the art is. There is no serious message here which is why this film is as light and appealing now as it was forty years ago. It is also startlingly clean as sex comedies go. It is a good for relaxing on a boat or checking out your favorite fishing hole. Check it out on the side of this blog or go to amazon.com