Camino de adversidad

This is a light hearted uplifting tale directed by the talented Michael Curtiz. John Wayne plays a divorced man trying to keep custody of his young daughter(Sherry Jackson)and at the same time regain his self- respect by coaching football at a small, money strapped Catholic college.

This sentimental yarn has an all star supporting cast that includes: Charles Coburn, Donna Reed, Leif Erickson, Dabbs Greer and Chuck Conners.

Perhaps because "Trouble Along the Way" is so unusual a film for John Wayne, I rank it among my favorites.

He is a little more down to earth in this one; there is no violence; there is humor.

There is also a superb cast, some of the finest players with whom the Duke ever performed.

I highly recommend "Trouble Along the Way," to everyone, but especially to anyone who isn't familiar with the wide range and great ability of John Wayne.

One of the unknown minor masterpieces of Curtiz, and a very fine, well modulated performance by John Wayne.Its probably the best-and the frankest-film about college football ever put on the screen.Its rich in human interest and well acted by all the principals.

I checked this out during a recent John Wayne retrospective on American Movie Classics because it sounded so different from the Duke's usual "w/w" fare (war & westerns). Here he plays Steve Williams, a disgraced professional football coach enlisted to build a revenue-producing team that will save a down-at-the-heels Catholic college from being forced to close. In the process he has to fight for custody of his daughter from a spiteful and vengeful ex-wife.

Wayne plays this role beautifully; his performance makes us aware of the fine actor he made of himself as he worked his way up over the years from those low-budget westerns, learning all along the way. Donna Reed puts in a turn as a social worker, and Charles Coburn is in his usual fine fettle as Father Burke, rector of the failing college. Wayne/William's daughter is played very well by a young lady named Sherry Jackson, and there are many familiar faces among the character actors in the cast. Chuck Connors makes one of his earliest screen appearances here.

The pacing is good, and the story keeps us involved. These are all interesting people, and we want to find out what happens to them. The script is intelligent, gritty, and extremely witty in many places. Also notable is a very on-the-money portrayal of the corrupting influence of big-time athletics at the college level, as Wayne/Williams pulls many shady tricks to field a team that can stand up to the ridiculously ambitious schedule that Father Burke manages to finagle. The commentary is even more relevant today, fifty years later, as college athletics have spun almost completely out of control.

One of the nicest things about the movie is the way in which, surprisingly, it does not opt for the easy-way-out happy ending that we all think we see coming as soon as Donna Reed as the social worker comes on the scene. The film is brave enough to leave things a bit unresolved.

Altogether an off-beat, intriguing, well-made, well-written, well-acted and thoroughly enjoyable little "sleeper" that is well worth your while.

An enjoyable little film. What was surprising was how funny John Wayne is here. I am not a big fan of his films but I wish he had more films like these out of his cop/cowboy/soldier stereotypes. Perhaps because he was a football player he was comfortable in the role of football