What do you want out of this film? This is the question you have to ask before you can discuss how good a film it is.
If you want biographical accuracy, you might better read Wikipedia. For example, in the film Thorpe had 1 wife and 1 son; in reality he had 3 wives and 8 children. In the film he pulled himself up by the bootstraps after his fall from stardom; in reality, after his fall from grave he took jobs such as construction worker, doorman, bouncer, and ditch digger; he also joined the U.S. Merchant Marines and was a chronic alcoholic late in life...none of which is mentioned in the film. When being treated for skin caner in the 1950s he was admitted to a hospital as a charity case.
On the other hand, if you want to watch a well-made relatively fictitious biopic that is quite entertaining, step right up. In that respect, it's a very good film.
And, if you want to see Burt Lancaster is a great performance, also, step right up. He's terrific and does much of his own sports work here. And I give that praise for an actor I was never really very enamored with.
Other primary actors here include Billy Gray ("Father Knows Best", Bud) as the young boy Jim Thorpe, Charles Bickford as "Pop" Warner (a fine performance as Thorpe's mentor), and Phyllis Thaxter as his only wife in the film.
It would be interesting to see this film remade in today's political climate. How would a filmmaker today treat the Carlisle Indian School, for example? While this is an absorbing film, I walked away from it not impressed with the totality Jim Thorpe the man...even without all the failure that accompanied his later years.
If you want biographical accuracy, you might better read Wikipedia. For example, in the film Thorpe had 1 wife and 1 son; in reality he had 3 wives and 8 children. In the film he pulled himself up by the bootstraps after his fall from stardom; in reality, after his fall from grave he took jobs such as construction worker, doorman, bouncer, and ditch digger; he also joined the U.S. Merchant Marines and was a chronic alcoholic late in life...none of which is mentioned in the film. When being treated for skin caner in the 1950s he was admitted to a hospital as a charity case.
On the other hand, if you want to watch a well-made relatively fictitious biopic that is quite entertaining, step right up. In that respect, it's a very good film.
And, if you want to see Burt Lancaster is a great performance, also, step right up. He's terrific and does much of his own sports work here. And I give that praise for an actor I was never really very enamored with.
Other primary actors here include Billy Gray ("Father Knows Best", Bud) as the young boy Jim Thorpe, Charles Bickford as "Pop" Warner (a fine performance as Thorpe's mentor), and Phyllis Thaxter as his only wife in the film.
It would be interesting to see this film remade in today's political climate. How would a filmmaker today treat the Carlisle Indian School, for example? While this is an absorbing film, I walked away from it not impressed with the totality Jim Thorpe the man...even without all the failure that accompanied his later years.