Follow the Sun

Director Lanfield handles this biopic well. He treats with due respect the figure of Ben Hogan as he comes up through the ranks, from amateur to pro. He is capably assisted by high quality B&W photography and superb performances by Ford and, especially, Baxter - the very epitome of a pro's wife, supporting her man while never relinquishing her female rights and wants.

Sadly, Dennis O'Keefe plays the part of many times champion Chuck Williams, but he comes across as a larger than life drunkard who recklessly marries Havoc, who is in her third marriage and reportedly only wants champions for husbands. Both roles strike me as thankless, but not as much as Keating, as the journalist who does not believe Hogan has what it takes to be a pro, keeps mispronouncing Hogan as Hagan, and targeting Hogan for unfair criticism.

Keating becomes even more unlikable when he fails to appear in the film after Hogan's accident. Was the journalist really that heartless? Why such heartlessness? Why does the film announce it so vehemently to the world? Why does it come so close to smearing the name of the journalist? I got the feeling that that part of the flick left something out, as the journalist did not appear to dislike other pros as much as he did Hogan.

Ford plays a convincing and self-effacing Ben Hogan, determined to overcome his handicap at the risk of losing a leg through amputation.

Well worth watching if you like golf. If you don't, like me, the quality of Baxter's and Ford's acting warrants watching.

Ben Hogan taught literally thousand of golfers to golf better with his classic book and this biopic is a typical sports biopic - we see the beginning, the winning, the terrible car accident, and the inspiring ending and I for one still enjoy this as one good sports movie.

Yes it is cheesy in places and no the acting isn't brilliant - but it does capture something of that essence of what it takes to be a champion and on that basis alone it's worth catching when it's on.

All in all, it's nowhere as slick as The Greatest Game, but it has heart, plenty of golf, some nice cameos from the real players of the time, and as I say, it's simply a good enjoyable sport biopic.

I gave this movie a 10 rating, not because it was that good of a film (it wasn't), but because to me it brings back memories of my teenage years. I saw this movie when it was released in 1951. I was 15 at the time and interested in nothing but golf. I watched the movie three times. I would have watched it over and over had it not been removed from the local theater. Even at that young age, I was a student of the game. I was intimately familiar with Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, and all the other great names in golf at that time. I had even seen most of them play in person in tournaments. I even fantasized about becoming a golf pro. I played golf whenever I could. Unfortunately, in the 40's and 50's, money was tight. And parents didn't pay a lot of attention to their children's career goals, especially if they involved becoming a sport's figure. My dreams were dashed early. Thank goodness, I can still watch FOLLOW THE SUN and relive my teenage fantasies.

When the film began, I noticed that although it was supposed to be in the late 1920s, hairstyles were right from 1951. This isn't uncommon...and it's a minor complaint about an otherwise very good biopic. I say very good because although it took some liberties with the truth (such as creating the Chuck Williams character who did NOT exist), it stuck closer to his life story than most biopics seem to do!

The film follows Ben Hogan's life from his teens through his recovery from a near death auto accident. It's all very nice and inspiring and although the film never excited me, it did keep my interest. Worth seeing...especially if you love golf.

Many sports movies get sports so wrong that they are not enjoyable for people who actually consider themselves fans. In this movie it did not happen.

The positives to this movie are the actors, Ford and Banecroft, are great. It has a quick paced story.

The down side is at times it was a little corny and the relationships too simplistic, but that is a true of alot of the docu dramas of this era.

It is certainly a good watch and would recommend it not only to golf fans, who would really enjoy it, but to classic movie fans.