With his well-built frame, it's a cinch that Burt Lancaster would be cast in lots of movies that showed it off. In Jim Thorpe - All American, he plays the real athlete who competed in the Olympic games. For the athletic fans in the audience (or the girls), there are lots of scenes that show off his physical talents.
The story itself is quite sad. He plays a young man with a temper, who doesn't always get a fair shake. He's Native-American, and leaves his reservation to better his mind and train his body at college. He meets the sweet, loving Phyllis Thaxter, and falls in love. Where's the sadness? With a doting girlfriend, a promising start, and an Olympic future on the horizon, what can go wrong? A lot, so don't rent this movie if you're just expecting a full success story. It would be sad enough on its own, but it tugs on your heart even more because it's true.
While modern audiences might criticize the casting as "whitewashing", Burt's physicality and athletic talents make you forgive the redhead for changing his race onscreen. However, if you think it's just too strange that Burt was cast to play a Native American, you won't want to rent the movie he made three years later: Apache.
The story itself is quite sad. He plays a young man with a temper, who doesn't always get a fair shake. He's Native-American, and leaves his reservation to better his mind and train his body at college. He meets the sweet, loving Phyllis Thaxter, and falls in love. Where's the sadness? With a doting girlfriend, a promising start, and an Olympic future on the horizon, what can go wrong? A lot, so don't rent this movie if you're just expecting a full success story. It would be sad enough on its own, but it tugs on your heart even more because it's true.
While modern audiences might criticize the casting as "whitewashing", Burt's physicality and athletic talents make you forgive the redhead for changing his race onscreen. However, if you think it's just too strange that Burt was cast to play a Native American, you won't want to rent the movie he made three years later: Apache.