The Big Game

The Big Game (1936)

** (out of 4)

Forgotten football film from RKO about a popular quarterback (Phillip Huston) who gets involved with gamblers. This film is pretty uneven from start to finish because it doesn't know if it wants to be a cute comedy, a bland melodrama or some sort of crime picture. Sadly, it doesn't do any of the three very good and in the end we're left with a pretty boring film that drags even at just 73-minutes. WIth that said, there are a few reasons that make this a must see. For starters, a lot of actual football players are used in the film including members of Stanford, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Another thing worth noting is that Jay Berwanger, the first Heisman Trophy winner, is also in the picture. Yet another thing that will be interesting to football buffs is the fact that footage from the 1935 Rose Bowl is used as stock footage. And finally, Irwin Shaw wrote the screenplay. If you don't know who that is just Google the name and you'll see the impressive work that he'd go onto do. Back to the negative stuff, the story itself just tries to do way too much and the "B" material just isn't there. The entire stuff dealing with the gambling in sports is rather interesting and certainly when you considering what is currently going on with college sports. It's fun getting to see some of this old time football being played and you have to laugh when characters brag about the sport making the schools around one million dollars each year. The performances really aren't all that memorable with everyone pretty much playing roles that they've done throughout their careers. June Travis plays the love interest. James Gleason, Bruce Cabot and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams are also in the cast as is Andy Devine whose comedy just doesn't work. THE BIG GAME isn't really going to appeal to movie buffs but those interesting in old time football should find enough interesting bits to make it worth watching once.

I don't care for (American) football, but it generally seems to entertain in movie format. From The Longest Yard to Rudy, there's something about the sport that translates well to celluloid. The Big Game, sadly, is not up to the standards of those other films, as it can't seem to decide whether it's a comedy, a crime drama, or an indictment of college football (which apparently was already controversial in the mid-30s!). James Gleason is wasted and only Bruce Cabot really draws any attention as the heel with a heart of gold. Andy Devine is particularly annoying in this one--be sure to turn the sound off whenever he's in an onscreen telephone conversation!

Some familiar character players plus a number of All Americans from that era of the 30s are in the cast of The Big Game. Phillip Huston because he's not one of THE Hustons is our lead and I'm sure most have never heard of him.

Huston is kidnapped before The Big Game and I'm I need go no further. You've seen that a dozen times over.

The film bears a slight resemblance to the John Wayne film Trouble Along The Way in that it raises issues about how college athletes are recruited. The issue was better raised in the Duke's film.

Some real football footage nicely integrated into the film. Huston is a most colorless hero though.

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.

While "The Big Game" has a few clichés and is predictable, it is enjoyable. It also lets the viewer know that cheating at college sports certainly is NOT a recent phenomenon!

Phillip Huston stars as Clark Jenkins--a star football player for Atlantic University. Atlantic is one of the best teams in the country and has gotten that way by blatantly cheating. Some of the players are former professionals who are WAY too old to be playing, some consort with gamblers and some get under the table payments to play. In other words, things back in the 1930s were a lot like today! However, inexplicably, although Atlantic clearly cheats, the viewer is expected to cheer for the school and its big star. This is a serious weakness of an otherwise enjoyable picture. Overall, clichés and all, it still manages to oddly entertain.