Review by planktonrules

I like seeing Paul Douglas movies...he was a fine actor and was a great 'everyman' sort of actor because he looked and seemed like a working stiff...not an actor. He was VERY popular with Twentieth Century-Fox, though he is mostly forgotten today. All this being said, "The Guy Who Came Back" is a film that really should NOT have starred Douglas, as he was all wrong for the part. As for the role, he played a pro football player who was at the twilight of his career....but Douglas looked about as much like a football player as Sidney Greenstreet or Billy Barty! Douglas was a squat, unathletic looking guy who would have looked fine playing an accountant or machinist...but NOT an athlete! Still, despite horrible casting, the film is modestly enjoyable AND had a decent point to make about athletes who simply have nothing to fall back on as they are forced to retire.

Harry Joplin (Douglas) is at the end of yet another pro football season. Like some of the old-time players, such as Sammy Baugh, he was a guy who played defense AND offense....and even was the kicker!! He had clearly been a big star. But now, running the ball (Douglas...running?!?!) is tougher as is coming back from injuries. Not surprisingly, the team refuses to offer him a new contract. But, they did offer him a coaching job...but Joplin's ego wouldn't consider such a demotion. So, he ends up having a mid-life crisis...one where he can't find decent work and alienates his loved ones. Can Harry find his way or is he destined to be a loser in his retirement?

As I said above, it's a decent enough film and the subject matter is excellent. While not quite as good as the studio's other football film about an aging player forced to retire, Victor Mature's "Easy Living", it is pretty good.