Smith of Minnesota (1942) User Reviews

Smith's neighbor in Faribault

[jpalmerd · 10 April 2007]

I was a neighbor of Bruce Smith and his family in Faribault during the late 50's and into the 60's. I saw this movie in the 50's when I was 10-12 years old, but I don't know where you could get a copy of it. It would certainly be fun to see again, especially the football footage. I remember the movie as being kind of "hokey" and of course the non-football parts of the movie had been "hollywoodized". The best and most exciting parts were the actual football footage. He was a very versatile player and made some truly amazing plays. Bruce was a friendly and humble man. He kept his Heisman on a ledge by the front door so he could hang the car keys on its outstretched hand. If my memory is correct, a couple of fingers had been broken off.

Smith of Minnesota

[gregorylynda-wright · 21 March 2006]

Since this movie is no longer available for sale, I am curious if anyone out there has seen it and would like to share it with our family. My reason being that my father (now 85) played college football with the star of this movie, Bruce Smith, who was also from Minnesota, but died of Lou Gerrig's Disease in the 60's. Bruce was a handsome, dapper fellow in his day and made just this one Hollywood movie where he appeared as the only non-movie star in the entire film. He met his wife, a Californian, after making the movie and remained in California for awhile. He and his wife eventually moved back to Minnesota and settled down in the Midwest to raise four children in Alexandria. The Heisman Trophy awarded to him during his college career with Minnesota was recently sold on eBay by his family. We would love to have a copy of this movie for family reunions since the football footage was taken from the University of Minnesota Gopher 1941 National Champs' movie reels. Thank you for your indulgence. God bless. Lynda

Books on Bruce Smith's life

[jptrem · 17 January 2011]

Is there a written biography of Bruce Smith's career that might still be in publication or available over the internet? If it exist, who is listed as the author? Thank you for any help you may be able to render. I am a Mn football fan. I also am interested in the career of Paul Giel, another Mn football star. I am also interested in the career of Bruce's HS football coach. Another parallel is the career of Elroy Hirsch, same HS coach, football star, movie star pro career. I would like to draw some connections between the three stars. There are a number of similar connections, movie star, football star, HS coach, MN football connections. Any help will be appreciated.