The script hedges its bets by joining a child custody battle with football with religion. A cynical boy meets not-so-tough girl romance is just a bit more than an audience can stand. Fortunately the plot is leavened with a constant supply of witty wisecracks which, though spotty, never let up. These cynical comebacks give the proceedings a bite that is strengthened by a moderately forceful expose of the ins and outs of college football.
Director Curtiz handles the first half-hour at a masterfully rapid pace with cleverly staged scenes like that in which Wayne gives a capsule history of football as he plays pool.
Alas, once the film settles down, Curtiz's hand becomes less evident. True, the picture is always beautifully lit and often just as attractively and tightly composed, but the Reed and Windsor characters are just not believable. This is the fault of the scripting, not the directing or the acting. In fact the two actresses strive mightily to overcome script deficiencies. There are just too many holes to fill in. Tom Helmore has the same problem.
Fortunately, Coburn is such an accomplished and charismatic player he manages to outstrip both the faltering plot and his unlikely setting. Not only does he chew over every witty line with evident relish, but he contrives to chew out the other players with equal force and humor. His is a delightful performance.
Wayne is much his usual screen character (despite much written to the contrary), but his fans are going to be disappointed by the lack of the usual Wayne action. Yes, he does knock Tom Helmore through a plate glass window, but that's about it. Another macho man, Chuck Connors has only a small part and a couple of minor scenes. However, Frank Ferguson has a nice bit as a venal sports store manager, and Sherry Jackson is reasonably tolerable as the tot in dispute... Of course dramatic tension in this kind of picture is undermined by the sure knowledge that despite the various pressures on the sympathetic characters, everything - I mean just everything - is going to turn out ultra sanguinely in the last five minutes.
Director Curtiz handles the first half-hour at a masterfully rapid pace with cleverly staged scenes like that in which Wayne gives a capsule history of football as he plays pool.
Alas, once the film settles down, Curtiz's hand becomes less evident. True, the picture is always beautifully lit and often just as attractively and tightly composed, but the Reed and Windsor characters are just not believable. This is the fault of the scripting, not the directing or the acting. In fact the two actresses strive mightily to overcome script deficiencies. There are just too many holes to fill in. Tom Helmore has the same problem.
Fortunately, Coburn is such an accomplished and charismatic player he manages to outstrip both the faltering plot and his unlikely setting. Not only does he chew over every witty line with evident relish, but he contrives to chew out the other players with equal force and humor. His is a delightful performance.
Wayne is much his usual screen character (despite much written to the contrary), but his fans are going to be disappointed by the lack of the usual Wayne action. Yes, he does knock Tom Helmore through a plate glass window, but that's about it. Another macho man, Chuck Connors has only a small part and a couple of minor scenes. However, Frank Ferguson has a nice bit as a venal sports store manager, and Sherry Jackson is reasonably tolerable as the tot in dispute... Of course dramatic tension in this kind of picture is undermined by the sure knowledge that despite the various pressures on the sympathetic characters, everything - I mean just everything - is going to turn out ultra sanguinely in the last five minutes.