Reviews

Sort of a biopic cum documentary. Plimpton was a writer who spent a training camp with the Detroit Lions.

I'm surprised that so many reviewers don't know that this film is "an amiable fiction". Alex Karras sat out Plimpton's season suspended for gambling violations. George Parker was the Lions coach. And more.

Plimpton appeared in an intrasquad game and was announced to the crowd. He did take an ignominious fall after a snap.

Scenes like the rookie hazing and the growling wakeups are authentic. I'm told that there is a marked similarity with the practices of college fraternities.

All that said, the film is a fine comedy wonderfully made.

Superb drama series showcasing the young George c. Scott and a Hall of Fame list of guest stars. One characteristic of the series is that the episodes don't conclude with the conflicts neatly resolved. When the episodes conclude we are not told if the little girl went back to school or if the neighborhood was successfully integrated. The feature of unresolved conflict was unique in dramatic tv at the time, and may have contributed to the series low ratings and regrettable cancelation.

Two random examples: Burke. firing a snub nose, trades shots with the bad guy firing an Army carbine. The bad guy runs out of ammo. Carbine has a 30 round magazine. Snub nose shoots six. Max. Second example: Burke provokes Diana Lynn into a rage to determine if she's capable of murder. She's holding an elephant gun. How Burke would have handled a shot from a .375, which Diana had misidentified as a .357, in unexplained.

Marley's accent is all wrong for the charter. I shall go no farther

During the time that John Hart replaced Clayton Moore as the Ranger, there was a vague rumor that Moore had got liquored up and wrecked his car. The story was that the drunk driving incident was the cause of Moore's replacement by John Hart. I have never heard this rumor repeated, and it's obviously untrue. I have wondered if the rumor was planted by the producers. Clayton Moore, like William Boyd, took his status as hero to the youth seriously.

I saw this film in the theater when I was nine. All I and my contemporaries cared about was shooting and dying. Years later I wondered why Colonel Bouquet spoke accented English. Some mild research turned up the fact that Colonel wa an historic figure. Bouquet was a Swiss mercenary who commanded troops for the Brits. Who ever expected that level of hitoricity from De Mille. I leave to others to research whether the flag over the british fort was correct.

A number of reviewers fault the casting of George Brent in this film. In defense of Warner Brothers, at the time that this film was cast Flynn wasn't quite Flynn yet, and George Brent was a reliable first lead in costume dramas. It's true that I see more sparks between Mickey and Minnie Mouse than between George and Olivia in this film, but the casting must have seemed a good idea at the time. Recall that Warners seriously considered George for the lead in Captain Blood.

The film is entertaining to old timers for the casting of so many old reliable and familiar faces. I wish Willie Best had had a chance to play a serious role just once.

George Hayes was obviously transitioning to his Gabby persona, previously he had specialized in villainy.