A Disappointing Continuation

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This was a John Wayne Film I hadn't seen before, and I was surprised that it was so good. Wayne played it nice and low key, with a bit of humor thrown in. There's a real chemistry between John Wayne and Donna Reed, who plays a social worker that is being used by Steve Williams' (Wayne) ex-wife to take his daughter away from him. But little Shirley Jackson really steals the show as Waynes wise-cracking tomboy daughter, Carol. (Who would have thought that little tomboy would grow up into one of the most beautiful women ever to be on film.) She reminded me of Lucy (Quinn Cummmings) in The Goodbye Girl. Charles Coburn is tops as usual, playing the old priest who is desperate to save his college, St. Anthonys, and he turns to Wayne for help. And a crew cut Chuck Conners has a small bit as one of coach Williams assistants. All around, a very entertaining film; which is no surprise with Michael Curtiz as the director.

This movie mixes two genres. First, there's the sports story genre with a has been coach making a come-back with a loser team. Second, there's the single, loving father trying to prove he's a good parent and hold onto his child. In a way, we're getting two movies in one. Both of them are fine and are mildly entertaining.The sports story and the coach character isn't far from the usual John Wayne Cowboy/Military officer role. He is quite effective in this. However as the father, in the family story, he is cool when he should be warm and he hardly registers much emotion when he realizes he might lose her. This is a part that Cary Grant would have been perfect for.Adorable Sherry Jackson as the daughter is a lot of fun and it is easy to see why she got her long running television series with Danny Thomas. Donna Reed gives an extraordinary intelligent performance as the social worker trying to protect Jackson. It is also easy to see why she also starred in a long running television series five years later.The setting of the movie at a small Catholic College is probably a mistake. There is just not that much humor there. Probably because the censorship office was controlled by Catholics, there was a limit on how much you could let the audience laugh at the priests. Director Curtiz does come as close to that limit as any movie of the time.The best scene is when Wayne finds out that the football schedule for the team he has just taken over includes the toughest teams in college football. Here, Wayne lets himself go and actually registers a new emotion for him - fear.The sexual politics in the movie is so frightening and bizarre, I don't even want to analyze it. I'll just say that at one point Wayne suddenly grabs Reed against her will and forcibly kisses her, although she has not shown the slightest interest in him before this point. He tells her that this is what she really wants and finally she admits it. One has to cringe for her and all women who had to live in the 1950's.I think if this film had been more successful, Wayne would have broken away from the cowboy/military stereotypes and done some interesting movies in the last two decades of his life. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't that successful and he went back to the safe stereotypical tough as nails roles.

This is a big departure for John Wayne, as this is a sort of family film. No dead Commies, Indians or Western bandits in the film at all. Instead, Wayne plays a college football coach who has a history of doing ANYTHING he needs to do to win. However, this time a small Catholic college has hired him. The school has almost no money and in fact is on the verge of being closed. So, how does Wayne take their horrible program to champions in practically no time? To make all this more complicated, Wayne is involved in a custody dispute with a a vindictive ex-wife who seems to have no maternal instincts whatsoever. Social Worker, Donna Reed, has been sent to investigate Wayne's parenting of his 11 year-old and the Duke handles this intrusion into his life pretty much like you'd expect--he has complete contempt for the process. So, the film is basically Wayne trying to create a winning team AND keep full custody of his daughter.In an interesting idea, the glue that holds this film together is Charles Coburn's character, a kindly Catholic priest who is in charge of the college. He's perfectly suited to the role and he offers a contrast to Wayne and his "win at all costs" notions.Overall, the film is well worth seeing because it is so different and tough to predict. Also, Wayne, Coburn and Reed all work well together--much of this is due to their talents, but the writers also did a nice job as well. However, one problem some might have with the film is that by the end of the film, everything is NOT all wrapped up neatly. Instead, the ball is rolling towards completion, but there are still many unanswered questions, such as will he keep custody and will Wayne and Reed become romantic. I didn't mind this lack of clarity and thought the film was a nice change of pace. Deep? No, but interesting and a good time-passer.

We associate John Wayne with westerns, yet he did play other parts and genres quite well. The overlooked Trouble Along the Way is worthy of a second look. The plot of a single father, who has basically fallen from grace, raising his daughter in an unconventional way, is not new. The twist is when Alice (Donna Reed) the court appointed social worker comes on the scene. She complicates and pretty much messes up Steve's (John Wayne)relationship with his daughter Carol (Terry Jackson). There is some football in its earliest years, a struggling Catholic college, a bitter ex-wife looking for revenge,and most of all there is amazing amount of witty dialog throughout. A fine family film, one of Wayne's best, actually. Terry Jackson shines as his daughter, and it isn't surprising that she went on to play Danny Thomas's daughter in the popular series Make Room for Daddy later on. One would expect a typical, happily-ever-after ending--yet readers get a surprisingly refreshing ending, in that we don't know how it will actually all turn out--kind of like real life. Check this movie out if you are a Duke fan and want to see him without a horse in the scene.