The Draw-Back

Johnny Arthur, as Harold Hayseed, is the new fellow on campus, the butt of every joke. He annoys the Rector and the captain of the opposing football team -- played by Stanley Lupino. Of course he joins the football team and through the usual combination of cluelessness and luck, scores the winning goal.

You may take it I don't care much for this comedy, and you'd be right. Johnny Arthur was a Nance comedian who was a good and reliable performer, but whose screen character was not particularly appealing. Here, despite a good collection of gags and some fine direction by Norman Taurog, he perseveres mostly because he is too stupid not to know he is beaten and is rewarded with the affections of Kathryn McGuire.

You may enjoy it for the competently enacted series of gags or, like me, be annoyed by the performances. If you wish to see for yourself, the Belgian Royal Archives has a good print and have posted it to Youtube.

I have seen most of John Wayne's movies. However a few have eluded me...particularly his early work. I was fortunately able to find "The Draw-Back" on YouTube...but it was the Belgian silent version which offered subtitles in French and Flemish (Dutch). Well, my French isn't great but with help of the Flemish subtitles and a film with LOTS of action, I managed to do okay following the story. There's a good chance you can too...even if you don't know either language.

Johnny Arthur plays an efete sort of fellow who has just come to college. Once there, the upperclassmen haze him....and in nearly every case, Arthur ends up landing atop the Dean! Later, this wimpy hayseed manages to get on the football team...which is really hard to imagine! Well, he does end up being an excellent tackling dummy for the team! What's next? See the film.

You only briefly see Marion Morrison (John Wayne's name until he hit stardom a few years later). He's one of the football players...which makes sense as he did play football at USC and it would be a good start to his career. Look for him near the end of the film...the lone opposing player who could stop Johnny from scoring.

So is this any good? Well, yes and no. There are quite a few funny scenes but also quite a few that are utterly stupid and the big game seem to have no rules at all. All in all, a mixed bag...worth seeing but not a great film by any standard.