Fighting Spirit (1942)
"The Spirit of Stanford" (original title)

The Spirit of Stanford finds high school quarterback Frankie Albert, cocky because of his football abilities, heading for Stanford while his teammate, Cliff Bernard, opts for the University... See full summary »

Director:

Charles Barton

Writers:

William Brent (story), Nick Lukats (story),

Stars:

Frankie Albert, Marguerite Chapman, Matt Willis

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Frankie Albert	...	Frankie Albert
Marguerite Chapman	...	Fay Edwards
Matt Willis	...	Link Wyman
Shirley Patterson	...	June Rogers
Kay Harris	...	Edna
Robert Kellard	...	Cliff Bonnard (as Robert Stevens)
The Vagabonds	...	Night Club Act (as The Four Vagabonds)
Ernie Nevers	...	Ernie Nevers

Storyline

The Spirit of Stanford finds high school quarterback Frankie Albert, cocky because of his football abilities, heading for Stanford while his teammate, Cliff Bernard, opts for the University of California, which in those days required no city attribute. Frankie hitches a ride with Fay Edwards, also Stanford bound. Frankie rooms with Link Wyman who disagrees with (according to the writers) Frankie's idea that college is just a place in which to gain a reputation for gridiron heroics. After "proving his stuff" on the freshman team, which goes unbeaten for the first time in 37 years Frankie meets June Rogers, who works on the campus paper. Frankie gets even better on the varsity in the next two years, while Fay (his transportation to Stanford) has chosen him as the topic of her psychology thesis. June, in her campus gossip column, reveals Frankie was Fay's guinea pig and he quits the team in disgust.

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Plot Keywords:

campus | spirit | thesis | guinea pig | high school | 

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Taglines:

T THGUNDER-BOLT FROM THE GRIDIRON STRIKES THE SCREEN IN A BLAZE OF ACTION! (original poster-all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fighting Spirit

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

After a touchdown during the Rose Bowl, there is a brief reaction shot of the two girls in the stand, but it is printed backwards so that the "S" on their corsages is backwards; they have exchanged their seating locations; and they are looking towards the wrong end zone. It was obviously an error during editing where the negative got flipped.

User Reviews

Wonderful historical footage buried inside a pretty bad movie

The movie is lame, and the acting is strictly amateur. However, the stock footage of Stanford is wonderful, and the actual game footage is excellent, and for fans of old football, priceless.

There are some interesting musical numbers which are actually not that bad, in their own way.

It is also amusing to briefly see Lloyd Bridges in one of his first screen appearances. He has bit parts in at least two scenes. He had a long career, and fathered two well-known actors, Jeff & Beau.

If I were reviewing the movie as an entertainment vehicle, I'd give it a three-star rating, but because of the Stanford shots and actual football scenes, I rate it higher.

BTW, the "Stanford Stadium" shots are actually the Rose Bowl, I think.