Pigskin Parade
- Stuart Erwin: Amos
- Patsy Kelly: Bessie Winters
- Jack Haley: Slug Winters
- Johnny Downs: Chip
- Betty Grable: Laura
- Arline Judge: Sally Saxon
- Judy Garland: Sairy
- Grady Sutton: Mortimer Higgens
- Tony Martin: Tommy Barker
- Elisha Cook: Herbert Van Dyke
Pigskin Parade is an American comedy film from the year 1936 by David Butler.
Action
Responsible Yale University invite for a football match accidentally instead of the University of Texas, the Texas State University. This team has a new coach from the east coast, Slug Winters, however, is his wife Bessier the head of the family. The unexpected invitation is returned by the students on the reputation of the new coach. Yale can not undo the invitation. So to highly stylize the game to a match between David and Goliath the adman Sparks.
Bessie recognizes that the State team consists of basketball players. She convinced her husband to let the attacks on the Paßspiel, initiated by the star of the team Biff Bentley run. The team achieved three wins in the series. At a victory celebration there is an accident in which the drunken Bessie the Star Biff breaks his leg. To repair the damage, Bessie travels to Fort Smith to a new player to get into the team. There, however, she learns that the chosen players have already found at the Yale team.
On the return trip Bessie takes the students with chip and Laura. They make a stop at a sales stand for melons. Bessie watched as the young Amos Dodd throws with melons after his sister Sairy. Bessie convinces the sisters to Texas State University to come along. There, Amos can impress the team with his skills. However, the university administration Amos does not want to take up as a student, concocts chip with his friends a plan. Amos is to pretend to be the new student Herbert Can Dyke. The real Herbert is spending 60 days in jail.
By Amos in the team, the Texas State University wins on. Sally Saxon, the vamp of the university, shows interest in Amos, but when she gets a jewel bracelet from wealthy Mortimer Higgens, they can fall Amos. Amos suffers from the separation and wants to leave the university. Bessie bring Slug to flirt with Sally. Then she threatens Sally trying to bring the matter before the divorce court and to make their name in the affair publicly, they should continue to reject Amos.
By train, the team travels to the match against Yale. After a touchdown by Amos Texas State goes 6-0 lead. But the cold makes the team to create. In the fourth game section Yale 7:6 takes the lead. Time works against Texas State. Through a mishap Slug goes on the sidelines ko, so that Bessie must take command. For the last move sends Amos back on the field who wants to play barefoot, so he can feel the earth between his toes. Amos overflows the enemy defenses and creates the decisive touchdown.
Reviews
Wrote Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times, with the likes of Patsy Kelly, Stuart Erwin and Jack Haley, the film could be considered one of the best entertainment contributions of the season.
Awards
Stuart Erwin received a 1937 nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Background
The production of 20th Century Fox learned its world premiere in the U.S. on 23 October 1936. In Austria the film The point from 1938 was shown in movie theaters under the title.
In small, not mentioned in the credits, supporting roles are Alan Ladd as a student and to see Lynn Bari as a spectator. The at the time of the shooting 14 years old Judy Garland made her feature film debut. Garland was loaned for this movie by MGM, the only time in Garland's career that she has borrowed from her studio.
Outfitter of the film were Thomas Little as a set decorator and Hans O. Peters as an art director.
Although Stuart Erwin led first the cast list, he got his Oscar nomination in the just-introduced category Best Supporting Actor. This happened because audiences and critics saw as leading man Jack Haley.
Soundtrack
The songs of the film were by Sidney D. Mitchell ( melody ) and Lew Pollack ( text ) and composed by the band The Yacht Club Boys. From Mitchell and Pollack came the song It's Love I'm After ( sung by Judy Garland), The Balboa ( Garland), The Texas Tornado ( Garland), You Do the Darndest Things, Baby ( Jack Haley ), You're Slightly Terrific (Tony Martin) and TSU Alma Mater (instrumental). The band contributed the song We'd Rather Be in College, Down With Everything, Woo! Woo! , We Brought the Sunshine Texas Here With Us and football song in which she also lectured himself.