Undescribable Perfection

Absolutely the worst movie.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The script hedges its bets by joining a child custody battle with football with religion. A cynical boy meets not-so-tough girl romance is just a bit more than an audience can stand. Fortunately the plot is leavened with a constant supply of witty wisecracks which, though spotty, never let up. These cynical comebacks give the proceedings a bite that is strengthened by a moderately forceful expose of the ins and outs of college football.Director Curtiz handles the first half-hour at a masterfully rapid pace with cleverly staged scenes like that in which Wayne gives a capsule history of football as he plays pool. Alas, once the film settles down, Curtiz's hand becomes less evident. True, the picture is always beautifully lit and often just as attractively and tightly composed, but the Reed and Windsor characters are just not believable. This is the fault of the scripting, not the directing or the acting. In fact the two actresses strive mightily to overcome script deficiencies. There are just too many holes to fill in. Tom Helmore has the same problem. Fortunately, Coburn is such an accomplished and charismatic player he manages to outstrip both the faltering plot and his unlikely setting. Not only does he chew over every witty line with evident relish, but he contrives to chew out the other players with equal force and humor. His is a delightful performance. Wayne is much his usual screen character (despite much written to the contrary), but his fans are going to be disappointed by the lack of the usual Wayne action. Yes, he does knock Tom Helmore through a plate glass window, but that's about it. Another macho man, Chuck Connors has only a small part and a couple of minor scenes. However, Frank Ferguson has a nice bit as a venal sports store manager, and Sherry Jackson is reasonably tolerable as the tot in dispute... Of course dramatic tension in this kind of picture is undermined by the sure knowledge that despite the various pressures on the sympathetic characters, everything - I mean just everything - is going to turn out ultra sanguinely in the last five minutes.

Trouble Along the Way is directed by Michael Curtiz and collectively written by Melville Shavelson, Jack Rose, Douglas Morrow and Robert Hardy Andrews. It stars John Wayne, Donna Reed, Charles Coburn, Tom Tully, Sherry Jackson, Marie Windsor, Tom Helmore, Dabbs Greer and Leif Erickson. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Archie Stout.A church run college faces closure so turns to one time football coach Steve Williams (Wayne) to coach their failing team. Steve is facing a custody battle to keep his young daughter so he accepts the position. Can he win his battles? He uses his cunning know how to hopefully do just that, but his methods on the pitch and off it aren't exactly conventional.Aside from the fact it is by definition a heart warmer, Trouble Along the Way has a lot going on. It pitches up with strong observations on single fatherhood, with Wayne's character having an interesting approach to life with his delightful daughter. It also gets in tight as to the role of a football coach, stripping bare educational advancements via sport. There's religious angles here as well, which although a touch heavy at times, they also make for an interesting thematic thread.Ultimately though, we want cheer, swagger, fun and love, and this has it in spades. Cast perfs are excellent, with Wayne's chemistry with both Reed and young Jackson an absolute treasure. Dialogue is sharp and funny, the court scenes especially providing laugh out loud moments, and of course the pic takes us exactly where we expect and want to go. A delightful comedy - cum romance - cum drama that escapes the threat of mawkishness with wit, intelligence and a big heart. 7/10

"Winning isn't everything, it's the only the thing!" So says Steve Williams (John Wayne) who is doing his best to raise a daughter in the rough and tumble world of college football. Of course, like so many Wayne characters, Steve Williams talks roughly, but under his wise cracking tough guy exterior there is a basically decent man who when pushed a bit will try to do the right thing. Though not necessarily in the right way.His daughter Carol Williams is very well played by child actress Sherry Jackson and there is a strong supporting cast of characters that combine to make this film both fun and heart warming.Donna Reed provides the romantic element as social worker whose job has brought her in to contact with Steve and Carol.Refreshingly, unlike most modern films, the Catholic Church is positively portrayed, i.e., the priests and the Cardinal are real people with common sense and real senses of humor doing their best to make good decisions while staying true to their faith.So if you are looking for a fun, well-acted, well-directed movies with a strong performance by John Wayne and a great supporting cast you will not be disappointed in "Trouble Along the Way."

I checked this out during a recent John Wayne retrospective on American Movie Classics because it sounded so different from the Duke's usual "w/w" fare (war & westerns). Here he plays Steve Williams, a disgraced professional football coach enlisted to build a revenue-producing team that will save a down-at-the-heels Catholic college from being forced to close. In the process he has to fight for custody of his daughter from a spiteful and vengeful ex-wife. Wayne plays this role beautifully; his performance makes us aware of the fine actor he made of himself as he worked his way up over the years from those low-budget westerns, learning all along the way. Donna Reed puts in a turn as a social worker, and Charles Coburn is in his usual fine fettle as Father Burke, rector of the failing college. Wayne/William's daughter is played very well by a young lady named Sherry Jackson, and there are many familiar faces among the character actors in the cast. Chuck Connors makes one of his earliest screen appearances here.The pacing is good, and the story keeps us involved. These are all interesting people, and we want to find out what happens to them. The script is intelligent, gritty, and extremely witty in many places. Also notable is a very on-the-money portrayal of the corrupting influence of big-time athletics at the college level, as Wayne/Williams pulls many shady tricks to field a team that can stand up to the ridiculously ambitious schedule that Father Burke manages to finagle. The commentary is even more relevant today, fifty years later, as college athletics have spun almost completely out of control.One of the nicest things about the movie is the way in which, surprisingly, it does not opt for the easy-way-out happy ending that we all think we see coming as soon as Donna Reed as the social worker comes on the scene. The film is brave enough to leave things a bit unresolved.Altogether an off-beat, intriguing, well-made, well-written, well-acted and thoroughly enjoyable little "sleeper" that is well worth your while.