Knute Rockne All-American (1940)

Knute Rockne All-American
Directed by Lloyd Bacon
Written by Robert Bruckner based on private papers of Mrs. Knute Rockne and reports of Rockne’s intimate associates and friends
1940/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Knute Rockne: Now I’m going to tell you something I’ve kept to myself for years. None of you ever knew George Gipp. He was long before your time, but you all know what a tradition he is at Notre Dame. And the last thing he said to me, “Rock,” he said, “sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they’ve got and win just one for the Gipper. I don’t know where I’ll be then, Rock,” he said, “but I’ll know about it and I’ll be happy.”[/box]

This biopic was too heavy-handed for me.  Interesting to see Reagan in one of his most famous roles, though.

The story follows the life of Knute Rockne (Pat O’Brien) , Notre Dame’s legendary football coach in the 1920’s, from his origins in Norway, through his education as a chemist at Notre Dame, his innovations in football tactics as coach, to his untimely death.  With Gale Page as Rockne’s wife, Ronald Reagan as football player George Gipp, and Donald Crisp as Father John Callahan Dean of the University.

Notre Dame had complete control over all aspects of this movie and it shows.  With that and the cooperation of Rockne’s widow, the rather obvious exposition and one-sided characters were perhaps to be expected.  I imagine O’Brien, usually so natural, was copying the speech pattern of Rockne himself but he came off sounding like a bad impression of FDR.  I thought Reagan was nice and understated in his part.  His deathbed line “win one for the Gipper” became a political slogan for him in later life.

Clip – Ronald Reagan and Pat O’Brien – “Win just one for the Gipper”