By Richard Harland Smith
Gridiron Flash
Brief Synopsis
A college football team recruits a tough convict.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Glenn Tryon
Director
Eddie Quillan
Tommy "Cherub" Burke
Betty Furness
Jane Thurston
Grant Mitchell
Howard Smith
Lucien Littlefield
L. B. Fields
Edgar Kennedy
"Pinkie" Thurston
Film Details
Also Known As
The Kick Off
Genre
Comedy
Sports
Release Date
Oct
26,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 4m
Film Length
7 reels
Synopsis
While scouting for football players, Howard Smith, a benefactor of Belford College, discovers Thomas "Cherub" Burke, the small but gifted running quarterback of a local prison team. Unsuccessful at impressing Tommy honestly, Smith fakes a tough attitude with him and, after securing an early parole, talks him into playing football for Belford as a way of scouting potential robbery victims. Tommy's rough, misanthropic manner clashes with the innocent life at Belford, and to keep him from quitting school, Smith and his coach enlist the help of Jane Thurston, a policeman's daughter who works in the registrar's office. Unaware of Tommy's past, Jane provides him with unconditional friendship and guidance. Still at odds with the world, however, Tommy tells Smith that he wants to leave Belford and join a gang in Philadelphia. Desperate, Smith introduces Tommy to his rich friends, the Fields, and entices him with their jewelry collection. Although Tommy leads Belford to an undefeated season, his newfound happiness is shattered when he overhears his roommate discussing the fact that Jane made friends with him only as a favor to Smith. After angrily confronting Jane, Tommy steals the Fields's jewels and makes plans to leave before the big game with State. By asking him to throw the game, Smith convinces Tommy to play, but after Tommy is elected team captain and hears the coach's inspiring pre-game talk, he decides to leave rather than throw the match or double-cross Smith. Tommy returns the Fields's jewels to Smith and heads for the train station, where his anxious behavior causes him to be arrested. Eventually Tommy is found and released and, after hearing Smith's explanations, returns to win the game for Belford.
Director
Glenn Tryon
Director
Cast
Eddie Quillan
Tommy "Cherub" Burke
Betty Furness
Jane Thurston
Grant Mitchell
Howard Smith
Lucien Littlefield
L. B. Fields
Edgar Kennedy
"Pinkie" Thurston
Grady Sutton
Pudge Harrison
Joseph Sauers
Coach Eversmith
Allen Wood
Freshman
Margaret Dumont
Mrs. Fields
Crew
Nicholas Barrows
Story
Nicholas Barrows
Contr to Screenplay const
Pandro S. Berman
Company
John W. Boyle
Photography
John L. Cass
Recording
George Crone
Editing
Morley Drury
Football tech advisor
Charles Kirk
Art Director
Alden Nash
Contr to dial
Van Nest Polglase
Art Director
Louis Sarecky
Associate Producer
Earl Snell
Story
Max Steiner
Music Director
Louis Stevens
Contr to Screenplay const
Glenn Tryon
Screenwriter
Videos
Movie Clip
Hosted Intro
Film Details
Also Known As
The Kick Off
Genre
Comedy
Sports
Release Date
Oct
26,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 4m
Film Length
7 reels
Articles
Gridiron Flash (1934) -
While Hollywood continues to produce campus football films (We Are Marshall [2006], The Blind Side [2009]), the rate of production is hardly on par with that of the Great Depression, when sports programmers such as Maker of Men (1931), College Coach (1933), and Pigskin Parade (1936) delighted moviegoers as they appalled critics. The Marx Brothers got into the act, capping Horse Feathers (1932) with comic confusion during The Big Game, and the Three Stooges followed suit with the two-reeler Three Little Pigskins (1934). RKO's Gridiron Flash (1934) adds a new twist to the formula, offering up an unlikely protagonist in Tommy "Cherub" Burke (Eddie Quillan), a prison parolee brought in as a ringer by Philadelphia's starchy Bedford College. Aware that Cherub's game plan is to use the college as a base for criminal activity, campus benefactor Grant Mitchell partners him with policeman's daughter Betty Furness in hopes that her wholesomeness will carry the ball. First-time director Glenn Tryon was a former vaudevillian once considered by Hal Roach as a replacement for Harold Lloyd. Tryon (who also scripted) shot fast and cheap and Gridiron Flash had its premiere less than two months after the start of principal photography. Tryon later made uncredited script contributions to the 1938 Marx Brother's comedy Room Service and was an associate producer for the Abbott and Costello vehicle Hold That Ghost (1941).
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Gridiron Flash (1934) -
While Hollywood continues to produce campus football films (We Are Marshall [2006], The Blind Side [2009]), the rate of production is hardly on par with that of the Great Depression, when sports programmers such as Maker of Men (1931), College Coach (1933), and Pigskin Parade (1936) delighted moviegoers as they appalled critics. The Marx Brothers got into the act, capping Horse Feathers (1932) with comic confusion during The Big Game, and the Three Stooges followed suit with the two-reeler Three Little Pigskins (1934). RKO's Gridiron Flash (1934) adds a new twist to the formula, offering up an unlikely protagonist in Tommy "Cherub" Burke (Eddie Quillan), a prison parolee brought in as a ringer by Philadelphia's starchy Bedford College. Aware that Cherub's game plan is to use the college as a base for criminal activity, campus benefactor Grant Mitchell partners him with policeman's daughter Betty Furness in hopes that her wholesomeness will carry the ball. First-time director Glenn Tryon was a former vaudevillian once considered by Hal Roach as a replacement for Harold Lloyd. Tryon (who also scripted) shot fast and cheap and Gridiron Flash had its premiere less than two months after the start of principal photography. Tryon later made uncredited script contributions to the 1938 Marx Brother's comedy Room Service and was an associate producer for the Abbott and Costello vehicle Hold That Ghost (1941).
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was The Kick Off. Glenn Tryon made his directorial debut with this production. Robert McWade is listed as a cast member in Motion Picture Herald's "In the Cutting Room," playing the part of "the man whose home is robbed," but his participation in the final film has not been confirmed. Betty Furness was borrowed from M-G-M for the film.
