Released a few months after the death of legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, this well-intentioned film was dedicated to his memory. While J. Farrell MacDonald is right on target as the sympathetic but tough coach, the other actors and the thin story line seem corny and cliché to today's audience. Andy Devine has some good comedy relief scenes with a touch of genuine pathos as a bench warmer who is the butt of the team's practical jokes. But things go over the top when he is critically ill and delirious in the hospital, listening to the big game on the radio. When Notre Dame scores a winning touchdown and Andy reacts, the doctor hovering near by shouts, `By God, he's going to pull through!' Also starring Lew Ayres and William Bakewell, both much too thin to be football players! Screened at Cinefest in Syracuse New York March, 2004.
6 Reviews
OK Universal drama
Shotsy5 June 1999
This one was popular in 1931. The tribute to Knute Rockne was a nice touch. But today, it is just a standard football drama. J. Farrell MacDonald is excellent as the coach. For old-time movie buffs, it is an OK film to watch.
Win One For Andy Devine
boblipton3 May 2023
Lew Ayres comes to Notre Dame as a freshman, proud of his hometown high school football team, and soon is trained by J. Farrell MacDonald into a very useful football player. Four years later, there's a new crop up, and Ayres feels resentment as William Bakewell gains a national reputation.
There's actual signs of academics in this college football movie. Early on, there's a guy reading from Julius Caesar. Credentials established, it turns into one of those movies in which it's football, football, football, and Sally Blane. Anyway, after Ayres and Bakewell fight, MacDonald can't play them both, so puts perennial sub Andy Devine in. Devine is badly injured, and the baby game with Army is coming up.
Ayres shows some nice acting, a hick in the first half, a debonair collegiate in the second. Knute Rockne was supposed to be the technical advisor on this movie. He was killed in an airplane crash on the way to the West Coast. The movie is dedicated to him.
There's actual signs of academics in this college football movie. Early on, there's a guy reading from Julius Caesar. Credentials established, it turns into one of those movies in which it's football, football, football, and Sally Blane. Anyway, after Ayres and Bakewell fight, MacDonald can't play them both, so puts perennial sub Andy Devine in. Devine is badly injured, and the baby game with Army is coming up.
Ayres shows some nice acting, a hick in the first half, a debonair collegiate in the second. Knute Rockne was supposed to be the technical advisor on this movie. He was killed in an airplane crash on the way to the West Coast. The movie is dedicated to him.
A Fascinating Production of its Period
OneView19 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this Universal film (from the same year as Frankenstein) on a very degraded print on You Tube.
The film works well though at capturing a moment in history, showing the American Football talents of Notre Dame at a point in time immediately after the death of their well-regarded coach, Knute Rockne. Indeed Rockne was on his way to Hollywood to be an advisor on this film when the plane he was in crashed, ending a legendary career. He is portrayed in this film simply as the un-named character of 'Coach' played by an actor who has a close resemblance to the Rockne of later years.
Unusually the film adopts a very distinct two-act structure - the first covering the arrival of neophyte player Lew Ayres at university and his gradual acceptance by his peers due to his grit and determination on the field. His fellow players include the likes of Andy Devine in one of his earlier roles, fairly convincing as both a player and hillbilly style comic relief. The second act shows the players at the end of their college careers, slowly being overwhelmed by the upstart newcomers they themselves once were.
There are the usual stories of sporting films; competitive romantic relationships, the sick player everyone gives their all for on the field in the hope of recovery, the close finish between two well-matched teams. These cliches were perhaps not as old when this film was made but we still feel the ennui of sitting through them.
Production values are very high with lots of football sequences clearly shot at Notre Dame and some very ambitious shots. In one scene the camera, positioned behind goal, does a dramatic leap upwards in a rapid crane shot and then zooms forward in and over the goal to capture a key moment of action. It is a hugely effective sequence, especially for the early days of sound when cameras were housed in substantial blimps to keep unwanted camera mechanical noises at bay.
Lew Ayres, coming off All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) effectively shows a range of emotions from the over-confident country boy trained by his own brother to the seasoned professional who sees himself losing his chances to a younger player. Ayres would eventually have an acting career spanning more than 65 years and was always an effective player.
This could have been very weak indeed given the age of the production but proves very effective at nearly every level.
The film works well though at capturing a moment in history, showing the American Football talents of Notre Dame at a point in time immediately after the death of their well-regarded coach, Knute Rockne. Indeed Rockne was on his way to Hollywood to be an advisor on this film when the plane he was in crashed, ending a legendary career. He is portrayed in this film simply as the un-named character of 'Coach' played by an actor who has a close resemblance to the Rockne of later years.
Unusually the film adopts a very distinct two-act structure - the first covering the arrival of neophyte player Lew Ayres at university and his gradual acceptance by his peers due to his grit and determination on the field. His fellow players include the likes of Andy Devine in one of his earlier roles, fairly convincing as both a player and hillbilly style comic relief. The second act shows the players at the end of their college careers, slowly being overwhelmed by the upstart newcomers they themselves once were.
There are the usual stories of sporting films; competitive romantic relationships, the sick player everyone gives their all for on the field in the hope of recovery, the close finish between two well-matched teams. These cliches were perhaps not as old when this film was made but we still feel the ennui of sitting through them.
Production values are very high with lots of football sequences clearly shot at Notre Dame and some very ambitious shots. In one scene the camera, positioned behind goal, does a dramatic leap upwards in a rapid crane shot and then zooms forward in and over the goal to capture a key moment of action. It is a hugely effective sequence, especially for the early days of sound when cameras were housed in substantial blimps to keep unwanted camera mechanical noises at bay.
Lew Ayres, coming off All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) effectively shows a range of emotions from the over-confident country boy trained by his own brother to the seasoned professional who sees himself losing his chances to a younger player. Ayres would eventually have an acting career spanning more than 65 years and was always an effective player.
This could have been very weak indeed given the age of the production but proves very effective at nearly every level.
The Spirit of Notre Dame review
JoeytheBrit19 May 2020
Lively tale of US college football featuring many of the actual players from the time. They aren't too bad as actors, either, although it's down to professionals Lew Ayres, WIlliam Bakewell and Andy Devine to do the heavy lifting. Quite funny at times, and it plays like a '30s version of a college comedy with the players chasing and being chased by little cuties before getting down to the serious stuff. The ending is hokey to say the least, but it's still hugely enjoyable.
Sorry Schultz; but there's no Lon Chaney or Charles Laughton in this one!
redryan6425 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
SOME YEARS BACK there was a nationally conducted poll done among fans of College Football. Two questions were asked of its participants. They were as follows:
A. "What is your most beloved College Football Team?"
B. "What is your most hated College Football Team?"
PERHAPS IT SHOULD come as no surprise that the number one answer to both questions was the same, "Notre Dame!" It is certainly no secret that there are few who have neutral feelings about "The Fighting Irish"; either you love 'em, or you loathe the Gold & Blue!
THE UNIVERSITY certainly has been a very popular subject for the sportswriters of the 20th and the early 21st Century. The accomplishments and exploits of legendary Head Coach, Norweigen Immigrant boy, Knute Rockne, have provided the fodder for many a $en$ational, paper selling headline. From that great upset of Army in 1906 (when Knute was a student-athlete*), to his engineering of newer, lively offensive tactics (including the Notre Dame Tee to Box Formation Shift), to a shocking, seemingly premature departure from this world, the man was a true hero to the American Public.
NOT SURPRISINGLY, there have been several films made with Notre Dame, Mr. Rockne and College Football at their heart. Most everyone is familiar with KNUTE ROCKNE, ALL-American (Warner Brothers, 1940); which starred Mr. Pat O'Brien as the famous Coach and featured the future 40th President of the U.S., one Ronald Wilson Reagan, as the ill-fated George Gipp. (The "Gipper".)
MORE RECENTLY audiences were treated to the story of a young boy's dream-come-true to play Football on the Fighting Irish squad in the factually based Sports Biopic, RUDY (Tri-Star, 1994). There had been some talk of yet another movie to be done in a less than flattering attitude to Notre Dame tentatively to be titled GOLDEN GLORY. Nothing concrete has yet to surface on this; perhaps some influential Alums has managed to successfully have this project postponed-permanently! (Remember, Schultz-you either love 'em or hate 'em! There's no middle ground, no 'Fence Sitters' here!)
THIS Saturday WE HAD the good fortune to screen the far lesser known title and perhaps the first feature film to focus so closely on the South Bend Unoiversity and a movie that seems to be an almost forgotten motion picture. We're speaking about today's special honoree, THE SPIRIT OF NOTRE DAME (Universal, 1031).
FEATURING A STARRING cast with Lew Ayers, Sally Blaine, Wlliam Bakewell, J. Farrell McDonald** and Andy Divine for comic relief, the story is pretty much like so many other College Pictures of the era. You know, after some serious conflicts, the hero finally comes through and helps to win the big game. All's well and the principal characters live happily ever after.
AS FAR AS the construction of the film, it is very episodic and is made in a manner as if it were a loosely related group of two reel comedies. Im that manner, there is a great similarity to the TV series format.
A VERY INTERESTING and highly publicized feature is the use of real life "Domers"; playing themselves. We have members of Rockme's 1928 National Championship team; including the 'Four Horsemen & the Seven Mules." College Football was in this period tops; with the Professional Football Game being treated as a sort of afterthought.
WE DO HIGHLY recommend it for everyone, if only for its historical value. Those interested can find it on DVD. Just Google the title.
NOTE * Contrary to popular belief, Rockne didn't invent the forward pass, but did change it from a sort of underhand forward pitch-out(now often called a "Shovel Pass") to the overhand spiral "bombs" that we know & love today.
NOTE** Knute Rockne was slated to appear in the movie as himself; but died in the plane crash om way to West Coast. J. Ferrell McDonald as coach is never given a name and made for a fine on screen likeness. The film, was appropriately dedicated to Coach Rockne.
A. "What is your most beloved College Football Team?"
B. "What is your most hated College Football Team?"
PERHAPS IT SHOULD come as no surprise that the number one answer to both questions was the same, "Notre Dame!" It is certainly no secret that there are few who have neutral feelings about "The Fighting Irish"; either you love 'em, or you loathe the Gold & Blue!
THE UNIVERSITY certainly has been a very popular subject for the sportswriters of the 20th and the early 21st Century. The accomplishments and exploits of legendary Head Coach, Norweigen Immigrant boy, Knute Rockne, have provided the fodder for many a $en$ational, paper selling headline. From that great upset of Army in 1906 (when Knute was a student-athlete*), to his engineering of newer, lively offensive tactics (including the Notre Dame Tee to Box Formation Shift), to a shocking, seemingly premature departure from this world, the man was a true hero to the American Public.
NOT SURPRISINGLY, there have been several films made with Notre Dame, Mr. Rockne and College Football at their heart. Most everyone is familiar with KNUTE ROCKNE, ALL-American (Warner Brothers, 1940); which starred Mr. Pat O'Brien as the famous Coach and featured the future 40th President of the U.S., one Ronald Wilson Reagan, as the ill-fated George Gipp. (The "Gipper".)
MORE RECENTLY audiences were treated to the story of a young boy's dream-come-true to play Football on the Fighting Irish squad in the factually based Sports Biopic, RUDY (Tri-Star, 1994). There had been some talk of yet another movie to be done in a less than flattering attitude to Notre Dame tentatively to be titled GOLDEN GLORY. Nothing concrete has yet to surface on this; perhaps some influential Alums has managed to successfully have this project postponed-permanently! (Remember, Schultz-you either love 'em or hate 'em! There's no middle ground, no 'Fence Sitters' here!)
THIS Saturday WE HAD the good fortune to screen the far lesser known title and perhaps the first feature film to focus so closely on the South Bend Unoiversity and a movie that seems to be an almost forgotten motion picture. We're speaking about today's special honoree, THE SPIRIT OF NOTRE DAME (Universal, 1031).
FEATURING A STARRING cast with Lew Ayers, Sally Blaine, Wlliam Bakewell, J. Farrell McDonald** and Andy Divine for comic relief, the story is pretty much like so many other College Pictures of the era. You know, after some serious conflicts, the hero finally comes through and helps to win the big game. All's well and the principal characters live happily ever after.
AS FAR AS the construction of the film, it is very episodic and is made in a manner as if it were a loosely related group of two reel comedies. Im that manner, there is a great similarity to the TV series format.
A VERY INTERESTING and highly publicized feature is the use of real life "Domers"; playing themselves. We have members of Rockme's 1928 National Championship team; including the 'Four Horsemen & the Seven Mules." College Football was in this period tops; with the Professional Football Game being treated as a sort of afterthought.
WE DO HIGHLY recommend it for everyone, if only for its historical value. Those interested can find it on DVD. Just Google the title.
NOTE * Contrary to popular belief, Rockne didn't invent the forward pass, but did change it from a sort of underhand forward pitch-out(now often called a "Shovel Pass") to the overhand spiral "bombs" that we know & love today.
NOTE** Knute Rockne was slated to appear in the movie as himself; but died in the plane crash om way to West Coast. J. Ferrell McDonald as coach is never given a name and made for a fine on screen likeness. The film, was appropriately dedicated to Coach Rockne.
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