A college English teacher suddenly finds himself the center of a free-speech debate on campus.A college English teacher suddenly finds himself the center of a free-speech debate on campus.A college English teacher suddenly finds himself the center of a free-speech debate on campus.
- Awards
- 2 wins
- Dean Frederick Damon
- (as Ivan Simpson)
- Student
- (uncredited)
- Reporter on Porch
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe play by James Thurber and Elliott Nugent opened at the Cort Theatre in New York on 9 January 1940 and closed on 3 August 1940 after 243 performances. Don DeFore, Ivan F. Simpson, Minna Phillips, and Regina Wallace were in the cast, and originated the roles that they play in the film version. The opening night cast also included Leon Ames as Joe Ferguson, author/director Elliott Nugent as Tommy Turner, and Gene Tierney as Patricia Stanley.
- GoofsWhen Tommy and Michael are drunk on the patio, the arm Tommy has in his jacket switches depending on the camera angle.
- Quotes
Prof. Tommy Turner: [Reading Vanzetti's writing sample, at 1:35:40] If it had not been for these things, I might have lived out my life talking at street corners to scorning men. I might have died, unmarked, unknown, a failure. Now we are not a failure. Never in our full life can we hope to do such work for tolerance, for justice, for man's understanding of man, as now we do by accident. Our words - our lives - our pains - nothing! The taking of our lives - lives of a good shoemaker and a poor fish peddler - all! That last moment belongs to us - that agony is our triumph.
- SoundtracksThe Old Grey Mare
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played during the opening credits and later sung with modified lyrics as a football fight song
Henry Fonda is fine as the egghead professor and man of principle who proves that standing up for ones values and for freedom of speech is the manliest act of all. Olivia de Havilland is too matronly in appearance and manner as his wife. Far better is Jack Carson, perfectly cast as the brash ex-football 'hero' who turns out to be timid when the chips are down. As usual, this hearty character actor brought more to the part than the script required.
What strikes you while watching this in 2004 is that the film's message is as fresh and relevant as it was over 60 years ago. A world where athletes are lionized for little reason despite their many shortcomings as men, a world where athletics is given more respect than scholarship, a world where liberal, humanist, democratic values are attacked and constantly threatened with censure -- this is the world we are still living in. This revelation is sobering and suggests that the forces of conservatism have always been too strong in this country, and have been holding us back from all we should be. So while it's a pity this film isn't much, much better than it is, it's still worth a look for the little shocks of recognition it provides.
- tjonasgreen
- Mar 18, 2004
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1