User Reviews

. . . stark raving egomaniacs. For instance, who in their right mind would put a movie on their filmography if they were in the background for exactly NINE-TENTHS OF ONE SECOND?!! This flick is much longer than Edison's "SNEEZE"--in fact, it lasts about 6,504 seconds! Wouldn't you think someone would want to earn at least TWO seconds of face time (which would still be just one-three thousandth, two hundredth-fifty-second of the entire movie)? But the 9/10 of a single second is exactly what John "Blowhard" Wayne checks in with here, sitting in the distant bleachers at the top of the frame from the 59-minute, 37-second, and 8-10ths mark until 59:38.3, and then MORE briefly, from 59:42.2 until 59:42.6. (To say that this is a "John Wayne" movie would be like novelist Leo Tolstoy sitting his son Toto on his lap and letting him peck out the word "and" on the title page of WAR AND PEACE, and than having Toto list the 3,000-page WAR AND PEACE in his OWN bibliography!) Perhaps the Red Stater Fox News addicts should face the fact that Mr. "Wayne" (who was only known as "Marion Mitchell Morrison" in 1927) was just a glorified extra for the first 100 or so films he listed on his bloated resume (presumably, sometimes with MORE screen time than he enjoyed in THE DROP KICK, but maybe with LESS sometimes, as well). Since Wayne's fellow Warner Bros. star Mel Blanc had SPEAKING PARTS in more than 1,100 films and dozens of Hollywood "character" (a term with which "The Duke" was unfamiliar) actors had significant roles in several hundred movies each, it's way past time to stop beating the dead horse of the legend that Mr. Wayne was unusually prolific in his widely recognized screen mediocrity. The actual characters who people THE DROP KICK seem to be living (anachronistically) by the dictum, WWJD (that is, "What Would John Do?"). In this tawdry tale, a head college football coach blows his brains out, and all his star player is concerned with is figuring out the quickest way to ditch his inexperienced fiancée, get engaged to Coach's hot-to-trot widow, and play his next football game--all within 12 hours of Coach biting the dust. Yup, sounds exactly like something the self-promoting future "John Wayne" would do!

THE DROP KICK is advertised as a college football movie. While college football was a craze during the 20s, this film is much more. And although the final 15 minutes or so are devoted to "the big game," this Richard Barthelmess starrer is also a romantic mystery story.

Barthelmess plays wealthy Jack Hamill, captain of Shoreham College's football team and an ace at the drop kick. He's also vaguely interested in girls. After he breaks up with Alberta Vaughn, he starts to date (at his mother's insistence) shy Barbara Kent. But another former girlfriend is making trouble.

Eunice (a venomous Dorothy Revier) marries the football coach thinking he has money, but his meager salary is putting a crimp in her spending. Desperate to keep his young wife, the coach (Eugene Strong) steals college money. As he is about to be exposed, he writes a confessional letter and shoots himself. Unfortunately, Barthelmess is visiting Revier (at her request) at the time and people wonder why he was there.

Revier finds the letter and tears away the part about his theft, leaving only words that vaguely implicate Barthelmess in a love affair with his wife. Revier says only their marriage will make her forget her husband's suicide. Barthelmess agrees, sending Barbara Kent into a funk.

Enter the mother. Hedda Hopper is excellent as the loving yet crafty mother who figures there is something very wrong, especially after she examines the torn letter. She visits Revier, sizes her up, and offers her a check for the other half of the letter and to get out of town. Revier practically drools at the thought of cash. In an excellent scene, Hopper is sitting at a desk writing the check. Revier cannot contain herself and tries to peer over her shoulder to see how much she's getting. At that moment Hopper glances up in a mirror and sees her. But Revier doesn't know she's been found out and goes back into her grieving widow act.

With Revier "somewhere in Europe," Barthelmess can concentrate on the big game. After muffing a few plays, he's yanked from the game. But as his team trails going into the final minutes, he gets a chance at redemption.

Barthelmess is solid as the college hero. Revier and Hopper turn in terrific performances. The rest of the cast is adequate. John Wayne is one of the football players and an extra in the stands.

What a hero! as critic Mordaunt Hall sarcastically headlined in his 100% negative New York Times review. Actually the 5-reel Kodascope condensation, available on a well-worn 7/10 Grapevine DVD in its original tints, is not without interest, if only for the absurdities of its dime-novel plot. And better still, Alpha now offer a very nice black-and-white copy which runs just under 70 minutes. And although you wouldn't think that an extra 5 or 6 minutes would make all that much difference, it does! In fact, the Alpha version is played and directed rather well. Even frozen-faced Barthelmess who seems to sleepwalk through his role in the Grapevine cut, now appears more animated. True, Barbara Kent still manages the rather difficult feat of making her immature but prudish heroine somewhat unsympathetic, but she does seem just a bit more colorful and a lot more desirable!

Nevertheless, Dorothy Revier still makes a stand-out femme fatale who could give lessons to any number of noir nightingales, while a sleek Hedda Hopper (the movie's real heroine) is as composed and deadly as a snake. Strong delivers convincingly as the inadequate Hathaway, and there's a great cameo by Bill Elliott at the dance. I didn't spot John Wayne, but I've no doubt he's in there somewhere.

One of Hollywood's top studios in the '20's, First National was always short of money. Fortunately, they sold many films to Kodak. Otherwise we'd not be enjoying this typical but fascinating release which Kodak originally issued as a six-reeler (they did do that once or twice in a blue moon) before cutting it right down to their standard five reel length.

Barbara Kent started her career with a bang with an ingénue role in "Flesh and the Devil" (1926). Okay, so nothing could be more superfluous than being an ingénue in a Greta Garbo movie but it was a prestigious start that was followed the next year by being named a WAMPAS baby star and being given the leading actress role in "The Drop Kick" starring Richard Barthelmess, one of the top actors of the 1920s. He was just coming off his huge success "The Patent Leather Kid" but, strangely, he didn't have much to do in this one even though he was the star. It was a plot driven story of scandal and betrayal played out against a background of college football - in fact Jack's mother, described in the titles as more of a pal and played by Hedda Hopper, does more than anyone to forward the narrative.

Jack Hamill (Barthelmess) returns to college, glorying in being their best drop kicker ever - he is eager to see his great friend and coach Brad Hathaway but not so keen to see his former sweetheart Eunice (gorgeous Dorothy Revier) who is now married to Brad. As well as sending Brad to the cleaners with her extravagance she doesn't let marriage stop her from being the "sweetheart of the campus" but Jack is not having a bar of it.

A highlight of the movie is the spectacular prom set with lighted revolving windmills - they sure knew how to put on a show in the twenties!! While all the revelry and fun of the prom is going on, Brad is tucked away with the auditors who have found a $10,000 discrepancy in the books - that was going to be money for the new club house and with a wife who has a weakness for diamonds and a nervous look, it is clear Brad is guilty!!

If you have ever seen Marion Davies' yearning looks in "The Patsy" you will get a clear idea of the extent of Barbara Kent's acting ability in this movie!! She plays Cecily, the girl Jack's mother is eager to see him paired with but at the prom her coyness and shyness make her appear as interesting as watching paint dry to Jack!! He is far keener on snappy Molly (Alberta Vaughn).

Meanwhile things are getting dramatic at Brad and Eunice's. He confesses to Eunice that he stole the money for her and she tells him to go which he does with a bang but not before he has left a note to Jack explaining his actions!! Desperate Eunice sends for Jack but after failing to arouse him with her amorous advances she informs him that Brad has killed himself because he thought Jack was having an affair with her!! What a pal she is - not!!! The second page of the note seems to bear this out - however the first page , which tells of the fraud, is missing!! Jack's mother realises the first page must be found and while the big game is in progress (with Jack's agitation a big minus for the team) sets about to put things right.

Cute Alberta Vaughn who had appeared in several series of shorts ("The Go-Getter", "The Telephone Girl", "The Pacemakers" etc) moved briefly to the big time with her small role as Molly and Variety noted that Alberta was used for a "few necking scenes"!!