The Warner Brothers biographical movies of its golden era (1930's through mid 1950's) were mostly formulatic stuff that were entertaining but followed the same pattern. Future inventor/songwriter/political hero rises from poverty to fame, undergoes romantic troubles, gets through them, then all of a sudden is given a big tribute as the hero/heroine clinch with their partner at the end. That almost happens here. Young Jim Thorpe, a young native American (a phrase never used in the film) on a reservation is first seen running lickity split through the woods to get back home after going in one door and out the back of the school his father tried to take him to. Pop and kid have a chat, then we see Burt Lancaster, getting total camera focus as he first appears, trying to settle into an all Indian school. He excels as an athlete, and then is all of a sudden a football hero thanks to Pop Warner (an outstanding Charles Bickford). He falls in love with a pretty young student (Phyllis Thaxter) who turns out NOT to be Indian, but they marry anyway. He gets into the Olympics, looses his medals over a stupid law that forbids students from getting paid for athletics (even though it was only for living expenses), then embittered, gets into pro baseball, pro football, and ultimately destroys his marriage after tragedy hits the family. His descent into a side show attraction (hosting a dance marathon in full Indian garb!) and possible alcoholism is shown briefly but realistically. But Lancaster manages to keep the audience on his side; His hurt pride and anger are most understandable, if not fixable. Bickford returns at the last minute to try and rescue him, which sets up the finale.
What really surprised me was not Lancaster's total emersion into this role; He is one of the true greats, whom I think has not gotten the honors he deserves. What I found most amazing was the destruction of Thorpe's marriage, which cannot be fixed for the fade out at the end. The writers don't cheat the audience and fictionalize what really happened; Once Thaxter walks out on him, we know it is for good, and probably best for her sanity and the last step to Thorpe's downfall, which will ultimately help him see what he needs to do to pull himself back up. Whether he fully did in real life is not dealt with fully here; It is only insinuated, but gives an idea of his re-buildup. After seeing him recently in about half a dozen films, he has become one of my top favorites of classic leading men.
Sadly, most of the performers playing his Indian pals, particularly Dick Wesson, are extremely unrealistic, and made me uncomfortable. Jack Big Head is probably the closest to a realistic portrayal of a Native American. It must be assumed he was really a Native American. Lancaster, whose quiet masculinity seems perfect for the role, was probably 10 years too old for the part where Thorpe is in college, but doesn't suffer too badly because of that. I wonder if dark make-up was used on him in the racing scenes; He does appear to have been filmed darker than the other athletes. If they were to cast a non-native American playing an American Indian, then Lancaster was probably the best choice.
Usually the Warners bios were predicable; hero/heroine suffers in the romance department, gets a musical number, battle scene, or ballgame to triumph in, then gets honored as the Warners shield appears. All with that brassy no-holds barred musical score behind them. Here, that is also the case, but the dramatic twists put this one notch above average. Yet, I couldn't fully praise this one, but cannot help but admire it for its desire to stray away a bit from formula.
What really surprised me was not Lancaster's total emersion into this role; He is one of the true greats, whom I think has not gotten the honors he deserves. What I found most amazing was the destruction of Thorpe's marriage, which cannot be fixed for the fade out at the end. The writers don't cheat the audience and fictionalize what really happened; Once Thaxter walks out on him, we know it is for good, and probably best for her sanity and the last step to Thorpe's downfall, which will ultimately help him see what he needs to do to pull himself back up. Whether he fully did in real life is not dealt with fully here; It is only insinuated, but gives an idea of his re-buildup. After seeing him recently in about half a dozen films, he has become one of my top favorites of classic leading men.
Sadly, most of the performers playing his Indian pals, particularly Dick Wesson, are extremely unrealistic, and made me uncomfortable. Jack Big Head is probably the closest to a realistic portrayal of a Native American. It must be assumed he was really a Native American. Lancaster, whose quiet masculinity seems perfect for the role, was probably 10 years too old for the part where Thorpe is in college, but doesn't suffer too badly because of that. I wonder if dark make-up was used on him in the racing scenes; He does appear to have been filmed darker than the other athletes. If they were to cast a non-native American playing an American Indian, then Lancaster was probably the best choice.
Usually the Warners bios were predicable; hero/heroine suffers in the romance department, gets a musical number, battle scene, or ballgame to triumph in, then gets honored as the Warners shield appears. All with that brassy no-holds barred musical score behind them. Here, that is also the case, but the dramatic twists put this one notch above average. Yet, I couldn't fully praise this one, but cannot help but admire it for its desire to stray away a bit from formula.