''Touchdown'' is a 1931 American
pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
film directed by
Norman Z. McLeod and starring
Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television.
Biography
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...
,
Peggy Shannon
Peggy Shannon (born Winona Sammon; January 10, 1907
– May 11, 1941) was an American actress. She appeared on the stage and screen of the 1920s and 1930s.
Shannon began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in 1923 before moving on to Broadway product ...
,
Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on Theatre, stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin's ''T ...
and
Regis Toomey
John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor.
Early life
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High Sc ...
.
Jim Thorpe
James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...
and
Herman Brix
Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who prior to his screen career was a highly successful college athlete in football and in both intercol ...
appear uncredited as unbilled football players.
Plot
Football coach Dan Curtis (
Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television.
Biography
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...
) has to decide how much he wants to win, when one of his players is injured, when he puts in him the game to play, while still recovering from a previous injury.
Veteran coach "Pop" Stewart (
J. Farrell MacDonald
John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...
) warns him that winning at all costs isn't worth it; and, he could lose a lot more than a game, including the respect of his old friend Babe (
Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on Theatre, stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin's ''T ...
); his girl, Mary (
Peggy Shannon
Peggy Shannon (born Winona Sammon; January 10, 1907
– May 11, 1941) was an American actress. She appeared on the stage and screen of the 1920s and 1930s.
Shannon began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in 1923 before moving on to Broadway product ...
); and, his player, Paul (
Charles Starrett
Charles Robert Starrett (March 28, 1903 – March 22, 1986) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the ''Durango Kid'' westerns. Starrett still holds the record for starring in the longest series of theatrical features: ...
) could lose his life.
Cast
*
Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television.
Biography
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...
as Dan Curtis
*
Peggy Shannon
Peggy Shannon (born Winona Sammon; January 10, 1907
– May 11, 1941) was an American actress. She appeared on the stage and screen of the 1920s and 1930s.
Shannon began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in 1923 before moving on to Broadway product ...
as Mary Gehring
*
Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on Theatre, stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin's ''T ...
as Babe Barton
*
Regis Toomey
John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor.
Early life
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High Sc ...
as Tom Hussey
*
George Barbier as Jerome Gehring
*
J. Farrell MacDonald
John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...
as Pop Stewart
*
George Irving as President Baker
Related information
Herman Brix
Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who prior to his screen career was a highly successful college athlete in football and in both intercol ...
broke his shoulder during filming, ''Touchdown''; and, was unable to play
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
, in
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
's screen adaptation of
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...
's popular character, in the 1932 film, ''
Tarzan the Ape Man Tarzan, the Ape Man may refer to
* Tarzan, a fictional character
* ''Tarzan the Ape Man'' (1932 film), with Johnny Weissmuller
* ''Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1959 film) with Denny Miller
* ''Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1981 film) with Richard Harris and ...
''. The injury prevented him from competing in the
1932 Olympics. At the time, he still held the world record for shot put. Swimming champion
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...
replaced him, as Tarzan, and became a major star.
References
External links
''Touchdown''in the
Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
1931 films
American football films
Films directed by Norman Z. McLeod
1930s sports films
American black-and-white films
1930s American films
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