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IMDbPro

Trouble Along the Way

  • 19531953
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 51m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2K
YOUR RATING
John Wayne and Donna Reed in Trouble Along the Way (1953)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer3:06
1 Video
21 Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
An ex-football coach is hired by a small Catholic college to train its football team in the hopes of winning games and making money to save the school from bankruptcy.An ex-football coach is hired by a small Catholic college to train its football team in the hopes of winning games and making money to save the school from bankruptcy.An ex-football coach is hired by a small Catholic college to train its football team in the hopes of winning games and making money to save the school from bankruptcy.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2K
YOUR RATING
    • Michael Curtiz
  • Writers
    • Melville Shavelson(screenplay)
    • Jack Rose(screenplay)
    • Douglas Morrow(story)
  • Stars
    • John Wayne
    • Donna Reed
    • Charles Coburn
    • Michael Curtiz
  • Writers
    • Melville Shavelson(screenplay)
    • Jack Rose(screenplay)
    • Douglas Morrow(story)
  • Stars
    • John Wayne
    • Donna Reed
    • Charles Coburn
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 35User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trouble Along The Way
    Trailer 3:06
    Watch Trouble Along The Way

    Photos21

    Donna Reed for "Trouble Along The Way," 1953.
    Donna Reed poses for "Trouble Along The Way," 1953.
    Donna Reed for "Trouble Along The Way," 1953.
    John Wayne and Donna Reed in Trouble Along the Way (1953)
    John Wayne and Donna Reed in Trouble Along the Way (1953)
    John Wayne and Donna Reed in Trouble Along the Way (1953)
    Trouble Along the Way (1953)
    John Wayne in Trouble Along the Way (1953)
    John Wayne, Donna Reed, and Sherry Jackson in Trouble Along the Way (1953)
    John Wayne and Sherry Jackson in Trouble Along the Way (1953)
    Marie Windsor in Trouble Along the Way (1953)
    Donna Reed in Trouble Along the Way (1953)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Wayne
    John Wayne
    • Steve Williams
    Donna Reed
    Donna Reed
    • Alice Singleton
    Charles Coburn
    Charles Coburn
    • Father Burke
    Tom Tully
    Tom Tully
    • Father Malone
    Sherry Jackson
    Sherry Jackson
    • Carol Williams
    Marie Windsor
    Marie Windsor
    • Anne McCormick
    Tom Helmore
    Tom Helmore
    • Harold McCormick
    Dabbs Greer
    Dabbs Greer
    • Father Peterson
    Leif Erickson
    Leif Erickson
    • Father Provincial
    Douglas Spencer
    Douglas Spencer
    • Father Procurator
    Lester Matthews
    Lester Matthews
    • Cardinal O'Shea
    Chuck Connors
    Chuck Connors
    • Stan Schwegler
    John Alban
    • Football Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Murray Alper
    Murray Alper
    • Bus Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Brandon Beach
    • Football Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Berkeley
    • Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    Beatrice Bernadine
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Oscar Blank
    • Pool Hall Patron
    • (uncredited)
      • Michael Curtiz
    • Writers
      • Melville Shavelson(screenplay)
      • Jack Rose(screenplay)
      • Douglas Morrow(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      James Dean has an uncredited part as a football spectator in the film.
    • Goofs
      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?

    • Connections
      Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      St. Anthony's Alma Mater Hymn
      (uncredited)

      Music by Max Steiner

      Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

      Sung by a chorus during the opening credits and at the end

      Played often in the score

    User reviews35

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Duke's labor of love
    For a guy who was very much a part of the University of Southern California football team, John Wayne did not do too many films involving sports. In one film College Coach if you look fast you can see the Duke in a film called College Coach that starred Pat O'Brien and Dick Powell.

    The usual problems of college athletics are here, problems we make for ourselves with this foolish definition of amateur and professional athlete. Trouble Along the Way also adds to the mix some of Wayne's domestic problems. He's a single parent raising a young girl in not the greatest atmosphere in the world. He's got an ex-wife, Marie Windsor who wants custody now, and a social worker, Donna Reed who has trouble keeping her personal and professional lives separate.

    As in They Were Expendable, Wayne and Reed, have good chemistry. But Wayne's scenes with little Sherry Jackson are something special. They avoid the usual sentimentality, but you will react to them.

    Charles Coburn plays the father/rector of small Catholic college St. Anthony's which is on it's financial uppers. He gets the idea that a standout football team as a gate attraction will bring his college out of debt. He hires Wayne, a down on his luck football coach to achieve that end. Wayne does it in the tried and true way that schools always do. It gives Coburn an ethical problem.

    Films from as far back as College Coach to the fine James Caan film, The Program have dealt with these issues. Twenty years from now, other films will do the same.

    But this is a nice family picture for John Wayne. He gets to go back to one of his first loves and probably the Duke was happy to be in modern dress for a change.

    James Dean is supposed to be one of the students. See if you can spot him.
    helpful•26
    1
    • bkoganbing
    • May 31, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 4, 1953 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
      • Latin
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 51 minutes
      • Black and White

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