''Jim Thorpe – All-American'' (UK title: ''Man of Bronze'') is a 1951 American

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz (; born Manó Kaminer; from 1905 Mihály Kertész; ; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silen ...

and starring

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...

, 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 features some archival footage of both the 1912 and

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

, as well as other footage of the real Thorpe (seen in long shots). Charles Bickford plays the famed coach Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner, who was Thorpe's longtime mentor. Bickford also narrates 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 portrays Thorpe's first wife. The film's production company 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, which 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 to continue his education. He likes his roommates at the

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

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 is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, 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 The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

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 A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

and the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

. 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 is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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.

Cast

* Billy Gray as Jim Thorpe as a child * Charles Bickford as Glenn S. "Pop" Warner * Steve Cochran as Peter Allendine * Phyllis Thaxter as Margaret Miller * Dick Wesson as Ed Guyac * Jack Bighead as Little Boy Who Walk Like Bear * Sonny Chorre as Wally Denny * Al Mejia as Louis Tewanema * Hubie Kerns as Tom Ashenbrunner * Eula Morgan as Charlotte Thorpe * Jack Baston as King Gustav (uncredited) *

as Coaching Assistant (uncredited)

Epilogue

Jim Thorpe was stripped of his Olympic medals, as depicted in the movie. After his death in 1953, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

partly reinstated these honors in 1983 and fully reinstated them in 2022.

Locations

Bacone College, an indigenous-serving institution in Muskogee, Oklahoma, filled in for Carlisle as the backdrop for the film.

References

External links