All-American college player Billy Richards (Billy Brown) gives up on a potential academic career to play with the famous 'barnstorming' basketball team but egos and injuries complicate things. The film was made as the Globetrotters were shifting to being more of an entertainment franchise than a sports team, with much of the comedy provide by Reece 'Goose' Tatum (a talented hoopster and a great physical comedian). The story is slight, with conflicted Richards sneaking off to get married, which costs the Trotters a key game against the New York Celtics and maybe Richards his future career in sports. As natural entertainers, the Globetrotters playing themselves are fine (both on- and off-court). Brown, who was not an actor, is surprisingly good in the central role, as are Dorothy Dandridge, who plays his wife and character actor Thomas Gomez as the team's long-time manager Abe Saperstein. Race issues play a relatively minor role in the story beyond references to what would be now called 'Black colleges' (such as the fictional Baltimore State that is trying to lure Richards into its chemistry program) and the concept that the Globetrotters, a highly successful professional team, is a symbol and source of pride for other African-Americans (something that the self-centered Richards doesn't seem to 'get'). The game has changed a lot since the film was made, so there are no flamboyant dunks (a staple of the entertainment side of the modern game) but the Trotter's warm up, the famous 'magic circle', is fun to watch and the game scenes, though dated, are entertaining in a 'news-reel' sort of way.
