Although the film is not one of the best sports films ever made, and the storyline is droll and trite, to my surprise, some of the action sequences using the actual actors were more realistic than most football films; especially of this era, and especially with this sort of story. No poorly acting pitching as Ronald Reagan showed in "The Grover Cleveland Alexander Story" or odd batting stance of Anthony Perkins as Jimmy Persall in "Fear Strikes Out" or faked boxing as in "Rocky". This is a dated film per the acting, direction, plot, and so forth, but this actually adds to its charm. Was America actually this way: polite, articulate, innocent? My guess is that it actually was in this era. James Gleason as usual is excellent, the settings nostalgic even to someone far too young to have memories of the time, and a young Andy Devine is fun to watch and listen to with his trademark squeaky and broken voice. Of much interest to me is the first-time screenwriter is Irwin Shaw who later would become one of America's most renown novelists with "The Young Lions", "Rich Man, Poor Man", Beggarman, Thief", and "Evening in Byzantium". Additionally, this film cast actual college football stars, including the first Heisman Trophy winner, Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago and the immortal King Kong Klein. For these reasons, this film is a must for the sports film buff. As a work of art, this film fails; but as a guilty pleasure it scores high.
Review of The Big Game
