Anyone could enjoy this film as a pleasant diversion; but that's about all. The acting is a disappointment. Henry Fonda had already done some striking portrayals in Grapes of Wrath and Young Mr. Lincoln, in which he came on strong an idealist, Even though this role should have fit that mold perfectly, his performance as a "liberal" professor persecuted for his use of a letter by Vanzetti in an English class does not carry much conviction; perhaps because of the attention given to the second plot involving his wife's attraction to a former football star and a football game. As in most of her Warner films, deHaviland gives no indication of her future two academy awards as a dramatic actress. If two plots were not enough, there is a third pointless plot, clearly intended to mirror the athletics/academic rivalry of the professor and the returning football hero, with an "intellectual" (you can tell by his glasses and suit) male student supporting the "radical" ideas of the professor and a rivalry with a football jock. (This may not have been part of the original stage play, since it adds nothing.) In one of his first major roles,as the returning hero,Jack Carson comes across as the strongest member of the cast, and, since the character is basically a nice guy, may well evoke more sympathy than Fonda. (I am a college professor, and this character comes across to me as somewhat whiny. The Broadway production probably ran over two hours, and may have been able to handle both plots without so much confusion.
Review of The Male Animal
