Jim Thorpe: All American
by Michael Curtiz
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Actor: Burt Lancaster, Charles Bickford, Dick Wesson, Phyllis Thaxter, Steve CochranDirector: Michael Curtiz
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Everett Freeman
Writer: Everett Freeman
Writer: Douglas Morrow
Writer: Frank Davis
Writer: Jim Thorpe
Writer: Russell Birdwell
Writer: Vincent X. Flaherty
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-10-23
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 117750
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- The stirring life story of the American Indian who overcame personal and professional struggles to become one of the nation's greatest athletes. Burt Lancaster stars. Year: 1951 Director: Michael Curtiz Starring: Burt Lancaster, Charles Bickford, Steve CochranRunning Time: 106 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR Age: 085391177500 UPC: 085391177500 Manufa
DVD Reviews of Jim Thorpe: All American
DVD Review: A True American
Summary: 4 Stars
The title "All-American" was rarely applied to one who truly was an American and was one of the greatest athletes of all time. Jim Thorpe was a Native American, often called an Indian because of Columbus' original mistake that the natives he encountered in the New World were residents of India, not an entirely new and unknown land. This remarkable 1951 film was one of the rare looks at a Native American who not only earned the title "All-American" but built a reputation as an outstanding athlete. The film makes it clear, too, that he was successful in every sport he tried, often amazing those who thought they knew him.
Early in the film we see a young Jim running away from school because he doesn't want to go the white man's school. The fact that he runs many miles to go back home, after his father had taken him to school in a horse-drawn wagon. His father then explains why school is important, particularly if Jim is ever to rise above a very lowly and disadvantaged life on the reservation in Oklahoma. Jim's father hopes that Jim will do more than he accomplished. Not only does Jim return to school, he eventually goes on to the famed Carlisle Indian School, a virtual college which achieved a very fine reputation both in academics and athletics. The famed "Pop" Warner, portrayed in the film by Charles Bickford, is shown producing some very fine teams and challenging the more reputable, established colleges and universities of his time.
"Pop" Warner becomes Jim's lifelong mentor. The film actually begins with the coach's tribute to Jim at a latter day banquet in honor of the amazing athlete. Director Michael Curtiz intercuts actual footage of the banquet, much as he later uses footage of the real Jim Thorpe (seen from a distance) at the 1912 Olympics and in various games. Eventually we see footage of the opening of the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, including the speech by the Vice President of the United States, whom Coach Warner acknowledges is, like Jim, a Native American, except he uses the word "Indian." Curtiz combines the hisoric footage with shots of Burt Lancaster and Charles Bickford sitting in the Coliseum, which was later used in the 1984 Olympics.
The film is a virtual "rise and fall." Jim achieved so much in sports, eventually winning both the Pentathlon and the Decathlon at the 1912 Olympics. Then it was discovered he had played on a professional team one summer to earn a little money. For many years professional athletes were banned from competing in the Olympics; the International Olympic Committee was as vigilant in barring professional athletes as it has become in detecting performance-enhancing drugs, such as steroids. Jim had natural ability, of course, and he had great endurance. Yet he was stripped of his medals and it was many, many years before his medals were finally returned to his family, long after Jim's death, prompting Burt Lancaster's bitter complaints (cited above). Jim struggled for years, as we see in the film, and, although he apparently never was financially successful, he at least lived long enough to receive some recognition for his athletic achievemtns.
The film was shot in black and white at a time when more and more films were being filmed in color; presumably, the use of monochrome film was because of the inclusion of the vintage, historic footage. Yet it remains an engrossing story and is enhanced by Michael Curtiz's expertise (as he neared the end of his long tenure at Warner Brothers) and a very fine musical score by another veteran, Austrian-born composer Max Steiner (best known for the music for "King Kong," "Gone With The Wind," and "Casablanca").
Hopefully, Warner Brothers will soon release the film to DVD. It has already been shown on Turner Classic Movies and is clearly yet another top-notch production from the Burbank studio.
Description of Jim Thorpe: All American
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/23/2007 Run time: 105 minutes Rating: NrBestsellers in DVD
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