Knute Rockne - All American (1940)
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80% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
59% of users liked it
(1,157 ratings)
Knute Rockne-All American was Pat O'Brien's finest hour: thanks to intensive rehearsals and numerous makeup applications, he so closely resembled the title character that, in the words of Rockne's widow, "I almost expected him to make love with me". The life of the legendary… More Knute Rockne-All American was Pat O'Brien's finest hour: thanks to intensive rehearsals and numerous makeup applications, he so closely resembled the title character that, in the words of Rockne's widow, "I almost expected him to make love with me". The life of the legendary Notre Dame football coach is recounted from his childhood, when young Rockne (played by Johnny Sheffield) startles his Norwegian-immigrant parents by announcing at the dinner table that he's just been introduced to "the most wonderful game of the world." As an adult, Rockne works his way through Indiana's Notre Dame university, under the watchful and benevolent eye of Father Callahan (Donald Crisp) A brilliant student, Rockne is urged by Father Nieuwland (Albert Basserman) to become a chemist, or at the very least remain a chemistry teacher. Newly married to Bonnie Skilles (Gale Page), Rockne at first sticks to academics, but the call of the gridiron is too loud for him to ignore, and before long he has built his reputation as the winningest college football coach in America. One of his most significant contributions to the game is the invention of the tactical shift, inspired by the precision choreography of a team of nightclub dancers! Among the players nurtured by Rockne are the immortal Four Horsemen-Miller (William Marshall), Stuhlreder (Harry Lukats), Laydon (Kane Richmond) and Crowley (William Byrne), and of course the tragic George Gipp, superbly enacted by Ronald Reagan. His career continues unabated until his death in a plane crash in 1931. The screenplay of Knute Rockne-All American tends to be all highlights and little story, with several of the more dramatic passages telegraphed well in advance (just before her husband's death, Bonnie Rockne comments forebodingly "It's gotten cold all of a sudden"). Still, the film remains one of the best and most inspirational sports biographies ever made, with a heart-wrenching conclusion guaranteed to moisten the eyes of even the most jaundiced viewer. Ironically, the film's most famous scene, George Gipp's deathbed admonition to "Win one for the Gipper", was for many years excised from all TV prints due to a legal entanglement stemming from an earlier radio dramatization of Rockne's life; fortunately, this and several related scenes were restored to the film in the early 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Lloyd Bacon, Llyod Bacon
- Written By
- Robert Buckner
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1940 Wide
- On DVD
- Aug 15, 2006
- Studio
- Warner Home Video
Critic Reviews
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, Entertainment Weekly
Perhaps Ronald Reagan's greatest talent was his ability to float to the top.
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Variety Staff, Variety
Carries both inspirational and dramatic appeal on a wide scale.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Corn doesn't grow any higher than this male bonding tribute to testosterone.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
The movie...is corny and sentimental, but it set the bar for all future sports pictures.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It set the way for how the Hollywood sports biography was to be subsequently made.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
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Cast
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Pat O'Brien
as Knute Rockne
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Gale Page
as Bonnie Skiles Rockne
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Ronald Reagan
as George Gipp
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Donald Crisp
as Father John Callahan
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Albert Basserman
as Father Julius Nieuwland
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John Litel
as Committee Chairman
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John Qualen
as Lars Knutson Rockne
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Henry O'Neill
as Doctor
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Owen Davis Jr.
as Gus Dorais
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Dorothy Tree
as Martha Rockne
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Johnny Sheffield
as Knute: age 7
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Nick Lukats
as Harry Stuhidreher
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Kane Richmond
as Elmer Laydon
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William Marshall
as Don Miller
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Howard Jones
as Himself
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Glen S. "Pop" Warner
as Himself
- Alonzo Stagg
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Egon Brecher
as Elder
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David Bruce
as Player
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William Byrne
as Horseman, James Crowley
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Eddy Chandler
as Worker
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Cliff Clark
as Danny Post Office Paymaster
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Frank Coghlan Jr.
as Messenger
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Robert O. Davis
as Elder
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Billy Dawson
as Knute Jr. at Age 12
- Edgar Dearing
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Pat Flaherty
as Worker
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James Flavin
as Coach
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Bill Gratton
as Jackie Rockne at Age 4
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William Haade
as Worker
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Creighton Hale
as Secretary
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Michael Martin Harvey
as Player
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Harry Hayden
as Professor
- George Haywood
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William Hopper
as NY Alumnus
- George Irving
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Frank Mayo
as Reporter
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Carlyle Moore Jr.
as Player
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Gaylord "Steve" Pendleton
as Player
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Lee Phelps
as Army Coach
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John Ridgely
as Reporter
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Bill Sheffield
as Knute Rockne at Age 4
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Bill Spaulding
as Himself
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Charles Trowbridge
as Notre Dame Professor
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Fredrik Vogeding
as Elder
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Pierre Watkin
as Commissioner
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Minor Watson
as Committee Member
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Charles C. Wilson
as Gambler
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Dick Jones
as Boy Captain
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George Reeves
as Player
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David Dickson
as Bill Rockne at Age 10
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Richard Clayton
as O'Flaherty
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Dutch Hendrian
as Hunk Anderson
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Peter Ashley
as Player
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Georgie Billings
as Boy Quarterback
- Albert Bassermann
