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$1000 a Touchdown

  • 1939
  • Passed
  • 1h 11m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
119
YOUR RATING
Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
ComedyRomanceSport

A show-biz couple inherit a college on the brink of bankruptcy. In a bid to increase funding they attempt to build up the college football team by offering $1,000 for every touchdown scored.A show-biz couple inherit a college on the brink of bankruptcy. In a bid to increase funding they attempt to build up the college football team by offering $1,000 for every touchdown scored.A show-biz couple inherit a college on the brink of bankruptcy. In a bid to increase funding they attempt to build up the college football team by offering $1,000 for every touchdown scored.

  • Director
    • James P. Hogan
  • Writer
    • Delmer Daves
  • Stars
    • Joe E. Brown
    • Martha Raye
    • Eric Blore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    5.6/10
    119
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • James P. Hogan
    • Writer
      • Delmer Daves
    • Stars
      • Joe E. Brown
      • Martha Raye
      • Eric Blore
    • 2User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos11

    Tom Dugan and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Susan Hayward and John Hartley in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Susan Hayward, Eric Blore, Joe E. Brown, John Hartley, and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Joe E. Brown
    Joe E. Brown
    • Marlowe Mansfield Booth
    Martha Raye
    Martha Raye
    • Martha Madison
    Eric Blore
    Eric Blore
    • Henry
    Susan Hayward
    Susan Hayward
    • Betty McGlen
    John Hartley
    John Hartley
    • Bill Anders
    Joyce Mathews
    Joyce Mathews
    • Lorelei
    George McKay
    • Mr. Fishbeck
    Syd Saylor
    Syd Saylor
    • Bangs
    Tom Dugan
    Tom Dugan
    • Popcorn Vendor
    Matt McHugh
    Matt McHugh
    • Brick Benson
    Don Wilson
    Don Wilson
    • Football Game Announcer
    Gertrude Astor
    Gertrude Astor
    • McGlen Wife
    • (uncredited)
    George Barton
    • Truck Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Bernard
    • Dick
    • (uncredited)
    Linda Brent
    Linda Brent
    • Bertie
    • (uncredited)
    Don Evan Brown
    • Jack
    • (uncredited)
    Fritzi Brunette
    Fritzi Brunette
    • McGlen Wife
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Chapin
    • Red
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • James P. Hogan
    • Writer
      • Delmer Daves
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Film debut of Wanda McKay.
    • Goofs
      During the climactic game, Don Wilson's overcoat, which is merely draped over his shoulders, keeps disappearing and reappearing.
    • Soundtracks
      Love with a Capital U
      Music by Ralph Rainger

      Lyrics by Leo Robin

    User reviews2

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    2/10
    Well, shut their big mouths...
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye were (separately) both known for their wide mouths, so I guess it was inevitable that someone would decide to team them on screen. Unfortunately, this movie isn't very funny. The cleverest thing about this movie is Joe E.'s character's name: he plays a ham actor christened Marlowe Mansfield Booth, which is the name of a 16th-century playwright and two 19th-century actor/managers.

    Joe E. inherits a college (don'tcha hate it when that happens?). This is an American movie, so of course the 'college' is merely a front for a football team. (Classes? What classes?) Inevitably, everything Joe E. and Martha need to accomplish depends on their team winning the Big Game. Inevitably, Joe E. goes into the game at the last moment. So far, so good: Joe E. Brown was an extremely athletic man who often played inept weaklings on screen, and several of his films relied upon his character suddenly developing athletic prowess at the climax. Unfortunately, in this movie Joe's success is more down to dumb luck than anything else. The number on Joe's football jersey is 13 ... which tells you how obvious everything in this movie is.

    I have mixed feelings about Martha Raye. I consistently find her unfunny, and I dislike the characters she played. In 'Monsieur Verdoux', I kept hoping that Chaplin's attempts to murder her would succeed, and I was annoyed that she survived at the end. However, in the real world, Martha Raye risked her life to perform for American servicemen in combat zones during several wars, and she was a tireless advocate on behalf of Vietnam veterans. In the last years of her life, Martha Raye hoped to get a film made based on her experiences performing in the USO during World War Two. Unfortunately, a certain well-known 'actress' ripped off the facts of Martha's life and made a flop movie that put paid to any chances of a straightforward Martha Raye biopic. So, I have a lot of sympathy for Martha Raye as a person even while I intensely dislike her as a performer.

    And she's extremely unfunny in this movie. Several reliable character actors are in '$1,000 a Touchdown' - Eric Blore, Tom Dugan, Matt McHugh, Jimmy Conlin - but none of them have any decent material. All of them have been funny elsewhere, but none are funny in this movie. I was grateful for the presence of tall shapely brunette Joyce Mathews as a campus vamp. I'll rate '$1,000 a Touchdown' 2 points out of 10.
    helpful•5
    4
    • F Gwynplaine MacIntyre
    • Mar 13, 2004

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 4, 1939 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Boca não é Garganta
    • Filming locations
      • Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 11 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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