Officially a big star by 1953, Tony Curtis did everything from Arabic adventures to westerns to comedies and musicals. This football drama is a bit more personal story than pigskin, and Tony's charm gets him through the cliched bits and makes it enjoyable if a predictable film. Having been at one college where he became a football hero, he left that school after his parents were killed on their way to see him playing one of the big games. Now claiming he hates football, he decides to honor his father's wishes by going to the school that his father wanted him to go to, and reapplies for the scholarship that he turned down. Going out of his way to avoid getting on the team, it is a matter of time before he changes his mind thanks to his reputation preceding him, having created a fan club among some young boys and eventually help turn a losing team into a winning one.
There's a bit of romantic conflict with him with the girl he loves, Lori Nelson, and recurring conflicts with rich boy Richard Long (quite different than his many heroes) and sexpot Mamie Van Doren. This is enjoyable for Curtis's winning personality and some good football game sequences, so it is crowd pleasing but not really all that unique. The scenes between Curtis and Long are filled with tension, and Long goes from campus hero to outcast thanks to his treatment of Curtis. Van Doren is the type of girl who can't say no, and gets angry if she isn't asked the question. A scene where Curtis encounters a group of his young fans leads to an even more rousing scene where they start chanting his name so he'll be put in the game, an action that gets the crowd going.
There's a bit of romantic conflict with him with the girl he loves, Lori Nelson, and recurring conflicts with rich boy Richard Long (quite different than his many heroes) and sexpot Mamie Van Doren. This is enjoyable for Curtis's winning personality and some good football game sequences, so it is crowd pleasing but not really all that unique. The scenes between Curtis and Long are filled with tension, and Long goes from campus hero to outcast thanks to his treatment of Curtis. Van Doren is the type of girl who can't say no, and gets angry if she isn't asked the question. A scene where Curtis encounters a group of his young fans leads to an even more rousing scene where they start chanting his name so he'll be put in the game, an action that gets the crowd going.