Touchdown, Army
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Kurt Neumann
John Howard
Mary Carlisle
Robert Cummings
William Frawley
Owen Davis Jr.
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Football halfback Jimmy Howal gets into West Point with the help of his political connections in New York and quickly racks up numerous demerits for his insubordinate behavior and his cocky attitude. Although a "plebe," Jimmy competes with Brandon Culpepper, an upperclassman and quarterback from the South, for Major Denby's blonde daughter Toni. Culpepper is noted for his re-telling of the Battle of Shiloh, a victory for which his great grandfather, a Confederate general, was responsible. When Culpepper finds Jimmy off-limits with Toni, he ridicules him in front of his classmates in the mess hall. The underclassmen led by Jimmy and the upperclassmen led by Culpepper compete on the football field, where Jimmy proves his athletic skills. Jimmy and Culpepper's rivalry continues into Jimmy's second year, at which time he is made a regular on the football team. Jimmy has his friend, Bob Haskins, come to a West Point party dressed as the Confederate trumpeter from General Culpepper's Brigade. Using cadets and Major Denby, Haskins stages a false version of the Battle of Shiloh, portraying a valiant soldier who refused to sound the retreat that General Culpepper had ordered. Culpepper is thoroughly humiliated, but as Haskins leaves, his disguise comes off, and Toni kicks Jimmy out of the party for his tomfoolery. Soon Jimmy and Culpepper are scheduled to star in the Army-Navy game, but in order to play, Jimmy must pass a French midterm. Toni's cousin Kirk begs her to tutor Jimmy in French and she agrees. Jimmy passes the test, but notices it was a near replica of the test Toni used to coach him and concludes that Toni is testing his honor. Jimmy confesses to the board that he knew all the answers before the test, but refuses to divulge Toni's name and is suspended. At the Army-Navy game, when Toni realizes Jimmy is not in the starting lineup, she explains the situation to her father, the French professor, who reveals that he gave Jimmy the same quiz she had used for tutoring. As the game progresses and Army is losing badly, Toni convinces Superintendent Smith to fly Jimmy to the stadium. In the middle of the fourth quarter, Jimmy arrives on the field where Culpepper is running the wrong way with the ball. After Jimmy sounds the Rebel call, Culpepper turns around and passes to Jimmy, who scores the winning touchdown for Army. He then kisses Toni.
Director
Kurt Neumann
Cast
John Howard
Mary Carlisle
Robert Cummings
William Frawley
Owen Davis Jr.
Benny Baker
Minor Watson
Raymond Hatton
Hamilton Macfadden
Grant Withers
Chester Clute
Sarah Edwards
Paul Everton
Charles A. Hughes
Harry Bailey
Oscar Rudolph
Guy Usher
John Marston
Monte Blue
Allen Fox
Tom Betterton
Paul Barrett
Hal Brazeale
Stanley Blystone
Jean Fenwick
Gloria Williams
Lyle Moraine
Robert Norton
John Hart
William J. Moore
William Orr
Charles Stafford
Bob Fisher
Lambert Rogers
Louis Durst
Phillip Warren
Peter Potter
Ruth Rogers
Cheryl Walker
Marion Weldon
Crew
Lloyd Corrigan
Hans Dreier
George Dutton
A. E. Freudeman
Erwin Gelsey
Earl Hedrick
Harold Hurley
William Lebaron
Joseph Lefert
Edward T. Lowe
Victor Milner
Boris Morros
Richard Olson
Arthur Schmidt
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film was one of the "Movie Quiz $250,000 Contest" pictures. No additional information on this contest has been located. The Hollywood Reporter production chart for the first day of shooting lists Lew Ayres and Roscoe Karns as cast members and Henry Sharpe [sic] as photographer, although none of them participated in the final film. Later production charts add John Arledge to the cast, but it is unclear whether or not he was in the final film.
