Trouble Along the Way (1953)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Robert Hardy Andrews (story)
Douglas Morrow (story)
(more)

Release Date:

4 April 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

That all-man "Quiet Man" has a new kind of dame to tame!

Plot:

Struggling to retain custody of his daughter following his divorce, football coach Steve Williams finds...

Plot Keywords:

Coach | College | Divorce | American Football | Financial Crisis

Cast

John Wayne	...	Stephen 'Steve' Aloysius Williams
Donna Reed	...	Alice Singleton
Charles Coburn	...	Father Matthew William Burke
Tom Tully	...	Father Malone
Sherry Jackson	...	Carol Williams
Marie Windsor	...	Anne Williams McCormick
Tom Helmore	...	Harold McCormick
Dabbs Greer	...	Father Mahoney
Leif Erickson	...	Father Provincial aka Ed
Douglas Spencer	...	Father Procurator aka George
Lester Matthews	...	Cardinal William Patrick O'Shea
Chuck Connors	...	Stan Schwegler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Murray Alper	...	Bus driver (uncredited)
Phil Chambers	...	Bishop (uncredited)
James Dean	...	Football Spectator (uncredited)
Frank Ferguson	...	Mike Edwards (store proprietor) (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Buck Holman (coach) (uncredited)
Jack Gargan	...	Court Bailiff (uncredited)
Richard Garrick	...	Judge (uncredited)
Ned Glass	...	Pool player (uncredited)
Fred Graham	...	Bill Sackheim - Santa Clara team manager (uncredited)
Merv Griffin	...	Football Broadcaster (voice) (uncredited)
Harry Hines	...	Character (uncredited)
Robert Keys	...	Joe - assistant Santa Clara team manager (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Drunk in Bar with Dog (uncredited)
Larry Merrill	...	Jeffrey Marlowe (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Domestic Relations Court Staffer (uncredited)
William J. O'Brien	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Jack Pepper	...	Irish Tenor / Pianist in Saloon (uncredited)
Howard Petrie	...	Marvin Adams, Polo Grounds manager (uncredited)
Angi O. Poulos	...	Saloon Waiter (uncredited)
Vicki Raaf	...	Beanie, Saloon Girl (uncredited)
Bill Radovich	...	Moose McCall (uncredited)
Olan Soule	...	The Cardinal's Secretary (uncredited)
Anitra Stevens	...	Bobo, Saloon Girl (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey	...	Football Spectator (uncredited)
Renata Vanni	...	Maria's Italian Mother (uncredited)
Ralph Volkie	...	Referee (uncredited)
Charles Watts	...	Mr. Wallace, Alumnus (uncredited)
Jeri Weil	...	Carol, Age 5 (uncredited)
Gayne Whitman	...	Lawyer Grummet (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Curtiz

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert Hardy Andrews		story
James Edward Grant		uncredited
Douglas Morrow		story
Jack Rose		screenplay
Melville Shavelson		screenplay

Produced by
Melville Shavelson	....	producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Archie Stout		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Owen Marks

Art Direction by
Leo K. Kuter

Set Decoration by
William Wallace

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David C. Gardner	....	second unit director
Russell Saunders	....	assistant director (as Russ Saunders)

Sound Department
C.A. Riggs	....	sound

Stunts
Tom Hennesy	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Moss Mabry	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Murray Cutter	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Jeff Cravath	....	technical advisor
Father Louis V. Pick	....	technical advisor
Norman Stuart	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Alma Mater

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #16170, General Audience) | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Several Loyola-Marymount football players played in the football scenes.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Although the movie is set at a college in New York, there is a California flag flying near the stadium when Steve first meets the football team.

Quotes:

Father Burke: You'll find the answer in Deuteronomy, Chapter 32, Verse 15.
[the other priests look at one another]
Father Burke: Well, well? Is there a Bible in the house, or do you have to go to a hotel?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Yankee Doodle

surprisingly good little gem

I checked this out during a recent John Wayne retrospective on American Movie Classics because it sounded so different from the Duke's usual "w/w" fare (war & westerns). Here he plays Steve Williams, a disgraced professional football coach enlisted to build a revenue-producing team that will save a down-at-the-heels Catholic college from being forced to close. In the process he has to fight for custody of his daughter from a spiteful and vengeful ex-wife.

Wayne plays this role beautifully; his performance makes us aware of the fine actor he made of himself as he worked his way up over the years from those low-budget westerns, learning all along the way. Donna Reed puts in a turn as a social worker, and Charles Coburn is in his usual fine fettle as Father Burke, rector of the failing college. Wayne/William's daughter is played very well by a young lady named Sherry Jackson, and there are many familiar faces among the character actors in the cast. Chuck Connors makes one of his earliest screen appearances here.

The pacing is good, and the story keeps us involved. These are all interesting people, and we want to find out what happens to them. The script is intelligent, gritty, and extremely witty in many places. Also notable is a very on-the-money portrayal of the corrupting influence of big-time athletics at the college level, as Wayne/Williams pulls many shady tricks to field a team that can stand up to the ridiculously ambitious schedule that Father Burke manages to finagle. The commentary is even more relevant today, fifty years later, as college athletics have spun almost completely out of control.

One of the nicest things about the movie is the way in which, surprisingly, it does not opt for the easy-way-out happy ending that we all think we see coming as soon as Donna Reed as the social worker comes on the scene. The film is brave enough to leave things a bit unresolved.

Altogether an off-beat, intriguing, well-made, well-written, well-acted and thoroughly enjoyable little "sleeper" that is well worth your while.