The Rose Bowl Story
Cast & Crew
William Beaudine
Marshall Thompson
Vera Miles
Richard Rober
Natalie Wood
Ann Doran
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
At a Midwestern college, football quarterback and team captain Steve Davis makes a heroic last-minute touchdown, which ensures that his team is eligible for the Rose Bowl tournament. Coach James Hadley immediately calls his wife Mary, who has relocated to Glendale, California to recuperate from an illness, and informs her that he will soon be by her side. Steve and his pals, spunky co-captain Allie Bassler and thoughtful blocker Bronc Buttrum, discuss the upcoming trip to Pasadena, California with enthusiasm. Although Bronc loves football and wants nothing more than to become a high school coach, Steve, who is being courted by professional scouts, cares solely about how the game will improve his marketability when he graduates. When the team finally reaches Pasadena, they are greeted by the Tournament of Roses committee, who have planned the parade and festivities that accompany the Rose Bowl game. The boys, however, are more interested in the Rose Bowl Queen and her court. Steve singles out princess Denny Burke, partly for her beauty and partly because he assumes, from her fur coat, that she is wealthy. He acquires her phone number while James discovers that Mary has been taken to the hospital. James races there and finds her weak but thrilled to see him. That night, Steve calls Denny for a date but her phone is tied up by her younger sister Sally, who is engaged in a rocky romance with a boy named Raymond. Not discouraged, Steve takes Allie with him to Denny's house, and once there is surprised by her middle-class social standing. Her loving family, which includes father "Iron Mike," mother Addie and grandfather, are all football fans and welcome Steve and Allie enthusiastically. Sally forms a crush on Allie while Mike reminisces about his big moment in the Rose Bowl game years before. Sally then takes Steve to the empty stadium, but is disillusioned to hear that he does not really like football. When he then questions her about her fur coat, she angrily informs him that it was borrowed and spurns him. Over the next few days, Steve plays miserably, and the team is informed that James is so preoccupied with his wife's illness that they will have to win the game on their own. Bronc, hearing Steve grousing, chastises his friend for not having the correct priorities. Desperate to see Denny, Steve drops by her house, and although she remains aloof, her parents urge her to drive him home. They again stop at the arena, where Steve tells Denny that even though he still considers football merely a meal ticket, he loves her. She tells him that the Rose Bowl is a proud tradition, not a mere game, and invites him to spent New Year's Eve with her family the following night. The next day, Bronc notices that Steve seems preoccupied, and counsels him to follow his heart. Soon after, Steve, Bronc and Allie hear that Mary is being rushed into surgery, and sit with James in the hospital. The surgery takes hours, and Steve tries to call Denny to explain, but Sally stays on the phone all night. Meanwhile, Denny waits despondently, and when Steve taps at her window late that night, she does not let him in. He spends the night wandering the street, remembering Steve's and Denny's words. In the morning, Bronc explains to Denny why Steve was late, and she cries with joy. Steve enters the locker room minutes before the game, excited to play, and moments later, an overjoyed James appears with the news that Mary is recovering. With their coach and star reinvigorated, the team quickly is within yards of a touchdown. Steve calls a play that allows Bronc to run the ball across the goal line and get the glory. Minutes before the end of the game, with the score is tied, Steve's team is close to the goal line, and Steve again allows Bronc to score the winning touchdown. After the game, Denny waits for Steve outside the locker room and tells him that he is the game's true hero. At the train station days later, while Mike requests a June wedding for Denny and Steve in Pasadena, Sally introduces Allie to Raymond, a hulking, jealous football player, and Allie races away in fear. Steve, however, predicts that playing in the Rose Bowl will be as big a thrill for Raymond as it was for him.
Director
William Beaudine
Cast
Marshall Thompson
Vera Miles
Richard Rober
Natalie Wood
Ann Doran
James Dobson
Jim Backus
Keith Larsen
Clarence Kolb
Barbara Woodell
Tom Harmon
Bill Welsh
Nancy Thorne
Ann Cottingham
Barbara Fisher
Diana Dial
Sharon Ann Kelley
Carolyn Graves
Marcia Long
Paul Bryar
Perc Launders
William Cabanne
Oran Breeland
Herb Vigran
John R. Hamilton
J. Anthony Hughes
John Heric
Edward Earle
Glen Vernon
William Forrest
Hart Wayne
Wilbur Mack
Ray Parsons
Lela Bliss
Bob Keys
Jean Andren
Sally Yarnell
Russ Conway
James A. Myers
Herbert B. Brackett
John L. Johnson
Donald W. Stalwick
Dick Runyan
Chuck Hicks
Gertrude Astor
Crew
Frank Beetson
Emmett Bergholz
Charles Cooper
George Dickerson
Sam Gordon
Walter Hannemann
Richard Heermance
Wilton R. Holm
Austen Jewell
Dr. David H. Jones
Esther Krebs
Charles R. Marion
David Milton
Walter Mirisch
Edward Morey Jr.
Harry Neumann
Eve Newman
Lou Phillippi
Leonora Sabine
Clifford D. Shank
Marlin Skiles
Ilona Vas
Allen K. Wood
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Various contemporary reviews note that director William Beaudine used footage from the 1951 Rose Bowl parade and football game between Stanford and Illinois in the film. He was careful, however, to omit any referenece to the team names. According to an April 1952 Hollywood Reporter news item, actor Don Klosterman was cast, but his appearance in the final film has not been confirmed. Some scenes were shot on location in Pasadena, CA. Although The Savage was released later in 1952 (see below), The Rose Bowl Story marked the last film actor Richard Rober made before his death in late 1952. A December 1956 Daily Variety article stated that the film would be reissued "to cash in on public interest in" that year's Rose Bowl game.
