Started by oldecapecod 11, Sep 20 2014 11:07 AM
16 replies to this topic
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#1 oldecapecod 11
PFRA Member
Posted 20 September 2014 - 11:07 AM
With all the trouble and strife taking place with the no fun people, I felt I needed some positive reinforcement.
(Good Ol' Pavlov!)
So, when I saw "Knute Rockne, All American" at the Library, I borrowed it.
It was refreshing in so many ways - a coach who turned down endorsements and emphasized academics, to name just two.
What was also impressive was the quality of some of the people who portrayed themselves in the making of this fine film: Howard Jones, Glenn "Pop" Warner, Amos Alonzo Stagg, and William "Bill" Spaulding as well as others.
Interestingly, there were subjects that have recently been discussed in threads here.
1. Snapping... punt and short punt formations as well as tossing the ball back out of the Box formation. There are some excellent shots of that in the rare film footage shown. In fact, it is only this film and "The Long Gray Line" that has such good game inserts. (Well, maybe "Trouble Along the Way" and "The West Point Story" but I have not seen those two for a long, long time.
2. Colorization... (and I hope John Turney sees this.) At the close of the film, when they offer additional "Features" there is a GREAT color photo of Ronald Reagan doing the "Ol' Huck 'n' Buck" and doing it quite well I might add. The jersey is colored green? I thought the ND teams of the Rockne era wore navy?
Anyway, it is 98 minutes of fun and you can even bounce your great-grandson on your knee and not be worried that he will hear the garbage that is so prevalent today.
Enjoy.
#2 luckyshow
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Posted 20 September 2014 - 11:54 AM
Trouble Along the Way is interesting in delving into some subjects as illegal recruiting, academic standards being evaded, etc. I don't think it is based on Santa Clara University, but perhaps is based on history I don't know about. It is far lighter than perhaps the subject involves (and for early movies, I can only think of Horse Feathers as skirting similar subjects in a comic direction. John Wayne is the coach in Trouble...
Pigskin Parade is a 1930s musical with old footage
Horsefeathers does have footage, and may even show Chico snapping the ball in an "old fashioned" manner that may be accurate as to the earlier practice.
Thin Blue Line also has much good old footage of actual play. Also a movie that your grandson may find hilarious.
Even older (and possibly harder for the young to get into) in this same vain is the silent movie, The Freshman, with Harold Lloyd. If you've never seen it, you'll be very entertained. Footage from a Cal-Stanford game at the Rose Bowl.
In this vein, here is the ridiculous:
#3 BD Sullivan
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Posted 20 September 2014 - 12:05 PM
Trouble Along the Way is interesting in delving into some subjects as illegal recruiting, academic standards being evaded, etc. I don't think it is based on Santa Clara University, but perhaps is based on history I don't know about. It is far lighter than perhaps the subject involves (and for early movies, I can only think of Horse Feathers as skirting similar subjects in a comic direction. John Wayne is the coach in Trouble...
********
In "Trouble Along the Way," it's young Sherry Jackson, playing Wayne's daughter, who utters the legendary comment, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." She grew up to be MUCH better looking than Vince Lombardi.
The Three Stooges did a 1934 short entitled, "Three Little Pigskins," which co-starred a young Lucille Ball. Here are the "football" scenes that were filmed at L.A.'s Gilmore Field:
#4 luckyshow
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Posted 20 September 2014 - 12:19 PM
Speaking of Lucille Ball, she is in this 1949 movie with Victor Mature called Easy Living. I don't think I have ever seen it (maybe as a kid, on TV). Shows LA Rams footage I see Jack Paar plays a reporter
http://en.wikipedia....ki/Easy_Living_(1949_film)
#5 coach tj troup
PFRA Member
Posted 20 September 2014 - 12:31 PM
....character actor john litel plays coach snyder in the '48 flick "triple threat".....saw the film in the mid 60's as a teenager, and remember that it had great nfl clips in it....and had a number of nfl players(all as rams with the horned helmets)in it. damn, wish there was a copy of it to purchase.
#6 luckyshow
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Posted 20 September 2014 - 12:35 PM
WI remember Frank Gifford in movies I saw on television as a kid.
In looking for what they might have been, I found the following with football themes:
Bonzo Goes to College (1952)...no Reagan, but Maureen O'Sullivan
That's My Boy (1951) with Lewis & Martin. Not sure it's available, but Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin were incredibly funny together.
The All-American (1953) with Tony Curtis.
With all the movies with the Rams and UCLA or USC footage in them, were there any with the Los Angees Dons of the AAFC shown?
#7 JohnMaxymuk
PFRA Member
Posted 20 September 2014 - 12:41 PM
luckyshow, on 20 Sept 2014 - 12:19 PM, said:
Speaking of Lucille Ball, she is in this 1949 movie with Victor Mature called Easy Living. I don't think I have ever seen it (maybe as a kid, on TV). Shows LA Rams footage I see Jack Paar plays a reporter
http://en.wikipedia....ki/Easy_Living_(1949_film)
Easy Living is worth watching. Lloyd Nolan plays the coach. Kenny Washington has a a featured part and, just as in real life, tears up his knee, illustrating one of the themes -- the brevity of football fame.
#8 oldecapecod 11
PFRA Member
Posted 20 September 2014 - 01:23 PM
I checked a number of sources, tj, all down - one to go. It will be a tough film to find (especially without the studio name.)
"Triple Threat" is a Drama/Sport film directed by Jean Yarbrough, and written by Joseph Carole and Don Martin, released on September 30 of 1948 in the USA.
Richard Crane is starring, alongside Gloria Henry, Mary Stuart, John Litel, Pat Phelan and Joseph Crehan.
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
Written by Joseph Carole and Don Martin
Producer Sam Katzman
Co-executive producer Charles H. Schneer
#9 Jeffrey Miller
PFRA Member
Posted 20 September 2014 - 01:38 PM
Among my films is a short called "Football Forty Years Ago" (1931 by Universal Pictures) which features Pop Warner describing how football was played back in the day when he first started playing the game. He talks about different offensive formations and how the game had evolved into the "modern" game (as it was in '31...). He does demonstrate how the ball was snapped and how the backs signaled for the snapperback to pass it back.
#10 Mark L. Ford
Administrators
Posted 20 September 2014 - 05:32 PM
coach tj troup, on 20 Sept 2014 - 12:31 PM, said:
....character actor john litel plays coach snyder in the '48 flick "triple threat".....saw the film in the mid 60's as a teenager, and remember that it had great nfl clips in it....and had a number of nfl players(all as rams with the horned helmets)in it. damn, wish there was a copy of it to purchase.
Ever since I had first heard of the 1948 film Triple Threat, I wondered whether that was the reason that Fred Gehrke first painted the rams' horns logo on the Rams' helmets. Filming was done earlier in 1948, and the Rams' season opener (September 22) and the film's release (September 30) were within days of each other. As the Rams began a relationship with nearby Hollywood, a trademark look would have been a natural idea. I don't have anything to prove that theory, though.
#11 BD Sullivan
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Posted 20 September 2014 - 11:49 PM
The 1966 movie, "The Fortune Cookie," used footage of the 10/31/1965 Minnesota at Cleveland game--with Keith Jackson playing a CBS PBP man. The fictional Browns RB Boom-Boom Jackson wore #44, but when it came time to film some close up cuts on the field, the director Billy Wilder used Ernie Green (who wore #48) instead of Leroy Kelly. The reason was that Green's body more closely resembled the actor playing Jackson.
#12 Jeffrey Miller
PFRA Member
Posted 21 September 2014 - 10:38 AM
Recently saw an episode of Dragnet in which Friday and Gannon watched a pro game at Gannon's house.
Edit: The game they watched featured the 49ers visiting the Rams.
#13 Mark L. Ford
Administrators
Posted 21 September 2014 - 11:17 AM
It's somewhat interesting that Dragnet 1967 aired on NBC at the time, and Friday and Gannon would have been watching the Rams and 49ers on CBS. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine hard-boiled LAPD Sergeant Friday getting excited about the Chargers and Broncos.
#14 Jeffrey Miller
PFRA Member
Posted 21 September 2014 - 11:22 AM
He claimed in the episode to prefer the packers ...
#15 rhickok1109
PFRA Member
Posted 21 September 2014 - 11:24 AM
Mark L. Ford, on 21 Sept 2014 - 11:17 AM, said:
It's somewhat interesting that Dragnet 1967 aired on NBC at the time, and Friday and Gannon would have been watching the Rams and 49ers on CBS. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine hard-boiled LAPD Sergeant Friday getting excited about the Chargers and Broncos.
It's hard to imagine Sergeant Friday getting excited about ANYTHING
#16 oldecapecod 11
PFRA Member
Posted 21 September 2014 - 11:57 AM
rhickok1109
Posted Today, 11:24 AM
"It's hard to imagine Sergeant Friday getting excited about ANYTHING
"Except: just the facts, ma'am. (Whoops! mister)
#17 BD Sullivan
Forum Visitors
Posted 21 September 2014 - 12:15 PM
oldecapecod 11, on 21 Sept 2014 - 11:57 AM, said:
rhickok1109
Posted Today, 11:24 AM
"It's hard to imagine Sergeant Friday getting excited about ANYTHING
"Except: just the facts, ma'am. (Whoops! mister)
He did have a classic putdown of a humiliated bank robber who had been beaten up by a slight woman:
ROBBER: What is that broad, a lady wrestler?
FRIDAY: Linebacker for the Cleveland Browns.