Huddle (1932)

Writers:

Francis Wallace (story)
Robert Lee Johnson (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

14 May 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Tony, the son of Italian immigrants, works in a smoky steel mill in Gary, Indiana. He wins a company...

Plot Keywords:

College | Scholarship | Gary Indiana | Steel Mill | Italian Immigrant

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Ramon Novarro	...	Antonio 'Tony' Amatto
Madge Evans	...	Rosalie Stone
Una Merkel	...	Thelma
Ralph Graves	...	Coach Malcolm Gale
John Arledge	...	Jim 'Pidge' Pidgeon
Frank Albertson	...	Larry Wilson
Kane Richmond	...	Tom Stone
Martha Sleeper	...	Barbara Winston
Henry Armetta	...	Mr. Amatto
Ferike Boros	...	Mrs. Amatto
Rockliffe Fellowes	...	Mr. Stone (as Rockcliffe Fellowes)
Joe Sawyer	...	Orville Slater (as Joe Sauers)

Also Known As:

The Impossible Lover (UK)

Runtime:

103 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Some archive footage of football games were incorporated into the football sequences. Variety's review reported seeing 2 well-known football players at the time: Albie Booth and Barry Wood.

Soundtrack:

Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 in D Major, Op.39

Very good but also very formulaic

When you watch HUDDLE, don't be surprised if it feels like you've seen this film before. That's because in the 1920s and into the 30s, there were many films with similar themes. The formula is like this: A young man who is either selfish or cocky goes to college and makes the football team. However, he does something or the team THINKS he does something and he is an outcast. Later, however, he makes good and does not let everyone know. When they discover this, he is once again loved and praised and the film concludes. Just one of many examples is the William Haines film, BROWN OF HARVARD, but there were many more.

So already, it's obvious that this film isn't all that new or ground-breaking. Now this isn't to say that it's not worth a peek. The film does have a few minor story innovations and the film is still very watchable. However, with Ramon Novarro's rather lackluster performance and strong accent (making it difficult for a hard of hearing person like myself to understand him--thanks to no closed captioning), it's a film that I would not rush out to see unless you love this style of film.

FYI--While this film was set at Yale University, only one very brief scene is of the classroom. And in this one case, the professor decides to cancel class and sends everyone back to the dorms! According to this film, Yale was an incredibly easy school to attend back in 1932!!! No classes--just football and girls!