Jim Thorpe -- All-American
Encyclopedia
Jim Thorpe – All-American is a 1951
biographical film produced by Warner Bros.
and directed by Michael Curtiz
, honoring Jim Thorpe
, the great Native American athlete who won medals at the 1912 Olympics and distinguished himself in various sports, both in college and on professional teams.
The film starred Burt Lancaster
as Thorpe and featured some archival footage of both the 1912 and 1932 Summer Olympics
, as well as other footage of the real Thorpe (seen in long shots). Charles Bickford
played the famed coach Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner
, who was Thorpe's longtime mentor. Bickford also narrated the film, which told of Thorpe's athletic rise and fall, ending on an upbeat note when he was asked by a group of boys to coach them. Phyllis Thaxter
portrayed Thorpe's first wife. Warner Bros. used a number of contract players in the film, as well as a few Native American actors.
Youngster Jim Thorpe runs all the way home before his first day at an Indian reservation school, but his father talks him into going back, telling him that he wants his son to make something of himself. Years later, a now-adult Jim arrives on the campus of Carlisle School
to continue his education. He likes his roommates at the boarding school
well enough, fast-talking Ed Guyac and the huge Little Boy Who Walk Like Bear, but nearly gets into a fight with upperclassman and football star Peter Allendine.
When the academic pressure becomes too much for him, Jim goes for a long run, during which he outraces some practicing track athletes. Witnessing this, coach Pop Warner talks Jim into joining the track team. Jim is so talented, versatile, and quick to learn that, at the next meet, Pop's team consists of just him (competing in all but the distance running events) and one other man. Jim by himself beats the other team. After a while, the newspapers are reporting his impressive feats.
Jim is attracted to another student, Margaret Miller, but has to compete for her affections with Peter. Seeing that football is more prestigious than track, he applies to join the football team. Pop, worried about losing most of his track team with a single injury, turns him down, then reluctantly gives in. However, he keeps Jim on the sideline. Finally, he lets Jim play in a game against Harvard
, but only to kick the ball away. The first time, Jim is tackled for a loss before he can kick. The second time, he again has trouble catching the ball; about to be tackled, he starts running and scores a touchdown. Soon, he is a celebrated football star.
Jim tells Pop that he has finally figured out what he wants to do with his life: coach. Later, Pop tells him that scouts from a school looking for a coach will be in the crowd watching a showdown between Carlisle and an undefeated University of Pennsylvania
juggernaut headed by another All-American, Tom Ashenbrunner. The teams end up in a 13-13 tie after Jim kicks a seemingly impossible field goal in the dying seconds. However, the job goes to the white Ashenbrunner. Jim suspects it is because he is an Indian.
By this time, he and Margaret are dating. Eventually, he tells he wants to marry her, in part because they belong together, as they are both Indians. When Margaret does not return for the new semester, Jim becomes despondent, particularly after he learns that Margaret is white. Pop arranges for Margaret to get a job as a nurse at the school, and steers Jim to her. They reconcile and get married.
Jim decides to become so famous someone will have to hire him as a coach. He enters the 1912 Olympics and wins both the pentathlon
and the decathlon
. However, when it is discovered that he was paid a pittance to play baseball one summer, he is disqualified and stripped of his medals and trophies because he is not an amateur.
Embittered, Jim turns to professional baseball and football to make a living. He and Margaret have a son, on whom he dotes. He envisions Jim Thorpe Jr. following in his footsteps and recapturing the glory stolen from him. However, the boy dies while Jim is away in Chicago
with the Canton Bulldogs
, sending him into a downward spiral. Eventually, Margaret leaves him.
Finally, Pop tracks him down, working as a lowly announcer at a dance marathon
. Pop offers him a ticket to the opening of the 1932 Olympics, but Jim tears it up. Later, however, he tapes it back together and attends the ceremony. He reconciles with Pop and his resentment dissolves.
One day, he drives over a football that has gotten away from a group of kids. He buys a new one and presents it to the despondent bunch. Watching them play, he starts giving them pointers; they ask him to become their coach, lifting his spirits.
The film then returns to the banquet. Jim, who is in attendance, is inducted into Oklahoma's Hall of Fame.
1951 in film
The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
biographical film produced by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and directed by Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
, honoring Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
, the great Native American athlete who won medals at the 1912 Olympics and distinguished himself in various sports, both in college and on professional teams.
The film starred Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
as Thorpe and featured some archival footage of both the 1912 and 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
, as well as other footage of the real Thorpe (seen in long shots). Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
played the famed coach Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner , most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American football player and coach...
, who was Thorpe's longtime mentor. Bickford also narrated the film, which told of Thorpe's athletic rise and fall, ending on an upbeat note when he was asked by a group of boys to coach them. Phyllis Thaxter
Phyllis Thaxter
-Early life and career:Born Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter, she was the daughter of Maine Supreme Court Justice Sidney Thaxter and his wife, a former actress. Thaxter worked on Broadway in the 1930s and signed an MGM contract in 1944...
portrayed Thorpe's first wife. Warner Bros. used a number of contract players in the film, as well as a few Native American actors.
Plot
During a banquet, legendary football coach "Pop" Warner rises and gives a speech praising Jim Thorpe. This leads to a flashback.Youngster Jim Thorpe runs all the way home before his first day at an Indian reservation school, but his father talks him into going back, telling him that he wants his son to make something of himself. Years later, a now-adult Jim arrives on the campus of Carlisle School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
to continue his education. He likes his roommates at the boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
well enough, fast-talking Ed Guyac and the huge Little Boy Who Walk Like Bear, but nearly gets into a fight with upperclassman and football star Peter Allendine.
When the academic pressure becomes too much for him, Jim goes for a long run, during which he outraces some practicing track athletes. Witnessing this, coach Pop Warner talks Jim into joining the track team. Jim is so talented, versatile, and quick to learn that, at the next meet, Pop's team consists of just him (competing in all but the distance running events) and one other man. Jim by himself beats the other team. After a while, the newspapers are reporting his impressive feats.
Jim is attracted to another student, Margaret Miller, but has to compete for her affections with Peter. Seeing that football is more prestigious than track, he applies to join the football team. Pop, worried about losing most of his track team with a single injury, turns him down, then reluctantly gives in. However, he keeps Jim on the sideline. Finally, he lets Jim play in a game against Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, but only to kick the ball away. The first time, Jim is tackled for a loss before he can kick. The second time, he again has trouble catching the ball; about to be tackled, he starts running and scores a touchdown. Soon, he is a celebrated football star.
Jim tells Pop that he has finally figured out what he wants to do with his life: coach. Later, Pop tells him that scouts from a school looking for a coach will be in the crowd watching a showdown between Carlisle and an undefeated University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
juggernaut headed by another All-American, Tom Ashenbrunner. The teams end up in a 13-13 tie after Jim kicks a seemingly impossible field goal in the dying seconds. However, the job goes to the white Ashenbrunner. Jim suspects it is because he is an Indian.
By this time, he and Margaret are dating. Eventually, he tells he wants to marry her, in part because they belong together, as they are both Indians. When Margaret does not return for the new semester, Jim becomes despondent, particularly after he learns that Margaret is white. Pop arranges for Margaret to get a job as a nurse at the school, and steers Jim to her. They reconcile and get married.
Jim decides to become so famous someone will have to hire him as a coach. He enters the 1912 Olympics and wins both the pentathlon
Pentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games...
and the decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
. However, when it is discovered that he was paid a pittance to play baseball one summer, he is disqualified and stripped of his medals and trophies because he is not an amateur.
Embittered, Jim turns to professional baseball and football to make a living. He and Margaret have a son, on whom he dotes. He envisions Jim Thorpe Jr. following in his footsteps and recapturing the glory stolen from him. However, the boy dies while Jim is away in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with the Canton Bulldogs
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...
, sending him into a downward spiral. Eventually, Margaret leaves him.
Finally, Pop tracks him down, working as a lowly announcer at a dance marathon
Dance marathon
A dance marathon is an event in which people stay on their feet for a given length of time. It started as a popular fad in the 1920s and 1930s, when organized dance endurance contests attracted people to compete to achieve fame or win monetary prizes...
. Pop offers him a ticket to the opening of the 1932 Olympics, but Jim tears it up. Later, however, he tapes it back together and attends the ceremony. He reconciles with Pop and his resentment dissolves.
One day, he drives over a football that has gotten away from a group of kids. He buys a new one and presents it to the despondent bunch. Watching them play, he starts giving them pointers; they ask him to become their coach, lifting his spirits.
The film then returns to the banquet. Jim, who is in attendance, is inducted into Oklahoma's Hall of Fame.
Cast
- Burt LancasterBurt LancasterBurton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
as Jim ThorpeJim ThorpeJacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry... - Billy GrayBilly Gray (actor)William Thomas "Billy" Gray , is a former American actor known primarily for his role as James "Bud" Anderson, Jr., in 193 episodes of the NBC and CBS situation comedy, Father Knows Best, which aired between 1954 and 1960. Gray's fellow cast members were Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue,...
as Jim Thorpe as a child - Charles BickfordCharles BickfordCharles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
as Glenn S. "Pop" Warner - Steve CochranSteve CochranSteve Cochran was an American film, television, and stage actor, the son of a California lumberman. He graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1939...
as Peter Allendine - Phyllis ThaxterPhyllis Thaxter-Early life and career:Born Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter, she was the daughter of Maine Supreme Court Justice Sidney Thaxter and his wife, a former actress. Thaxter worked on Broadway in the 1930s and signed an MGM contract in 1944...
as Margaret Miller - Dick WessonDick WessonDick Wesson was an American movie and television announcer. He is best known as the announcer for The Wonderful World of Disney from 1954-1979.-Career:...
as Ed Guyac - Jack Big Head as Little Boy Who Walk Like Bear (as Jack Bighead)
- Sonny Chorre as Wally Denny (as Suni Warcloud)
- Al Mejia as Louis Tewanema
- Hubie Kerns as Tom Ashenbrunner
- Jim ThorpeJim ThorpeJacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
, cameo as coaching assistant