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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The All-American remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have seventy minutes to spare and a soft spot for dusty, pre-code sports melodramas, The All-American is absolutely worth your time tonight. It’s perfect for anyone who loves seeing young, sweaty men in absurdly giant leather helmets learning hard "life lessons." But if you can't stand old-fashioned overacting or sports plots that move like a runaway train, you will probably hate it. 🏈
I stumbled onto this one late last night while looking for early Gloria Stuart films. Honestly, I didn't expect much more than a basic, cheery "go team go" story.
But this movie is surprisingly cynical about how we treat sports heroes. Or at least, as cynical as 1932 would allow.
Richard Arlen plays Gary King, a football star who basically thinks he is God's gift to the gridiron. He gets so famous that his head barely fits through the locker room door anymore.
It’s funny because the actual football scenes look so incredibly ancient to modern eyes. The ball looks like a bloated leather watermelon, and the tackles look like guys just falling over each other in slow motion.
Still, Arlen has this smug charm that makes you kind of root for his downfall. When he finally gets kicked off the team, you almost want to cheer at the screen.
"He's got the million-dollar legs and a ten-cent head."
That line from one of the coaches cracked me up. It is so blunt and perfect.
Like many dramas from this era, such as 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, there is a heavy-handed moral lesson waiting for us at the end. But the journey there is wonderfully messy and weird.
There’s a moment halfway through where Gary tries to sell his own brand of "Gary King" signature footballs. The sheer capitalistic greed of it is hilarious, especially considering this was made during the Great Depression.
The film doesn't really know how to handle the climax, so it just throws a bunch of dramatic radio broadcasts at us. It’s a bit lazy, sure, but it gets the job done and keeps things moving.
It is definitely not a masterpiece, and some of the dialogue sounds like it was written by a grumpy high school gym teacher. But man, it has some real heart.
IMDb 6.3
1927
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