Knute Rockne, All American

• Pat O'Brien: Knute Rockne
• Ronald Reagan: George Gipp
• Gale Page: Bonnie Skiles Rockne

Knute Rockne, All American is the true story of Knute Rockne, a football coach at the University of Notre Dame.

Action

Lars Rockne and his family, including the four-year Knute emigrate in 1892 from Norway to Chicago. As Knute has saved enough to go as a young man at the Notre Dame University, he falls through above-average performance on the football. He and a teammate to work as a lifeguard and develop the offensive pass to a kind of weapon, so they beat in a historic match the highly favored Army team. After graduating is Knute Rockne teacher and spends his spare time as a coach. Finally, he devoted himself with all his energy to the football and is coach of the University team. He discovered exceptional players such as George Gipp, who later dies of pneumonia, as well as the so-called " Horsemen of the Apocalypse ", four players with whom he developed many innovative tactics. Rockne whose motivational speeches were legendary, devoted his life to the integrity of his sport, which he sees as an important component in the character development.

Background

The college team of the University of Notre Dame became famous in the 1920s, when 88% of the games were won and the team were familiar with the four players, known as the " Four Horsemen " ( Apocalyptic horsemen ), in the season 1924/1925 won the national championship. In 1930, the history of the team was first filmed. It was the former star player and coach Knute Rockne, who was visiting the shooting, in a plane crash. In 1940, then the Hollywood film Knute Rockne, All American. " All American " stands for the annually elected by sportswriters All- star team of college football teams.

Actor George Gipp is of Ronald Reagan, who was U.S. president from 1981 to 1988. This role gave him the nickname "The Gipper ", which is due to a known set in the film and to the dictum "win one for the gipper " was the Reagan himself often used in political speeches. ( "The last thing George Said to me, 'Rock, ' he said, ' sometime When the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. ' ").

The film also includes a cameo appearance by the legendary Amos Alonzo Stagg football coach, who plays himself.

Awards

In 1997 the film " culturally, historically and aesthetically significant " and selected as classified for the National Film Archive ( National Film Registry ) of the American Library of Congress (Library of Congress).