''Over the Goal'' is a 1937 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Noel M. Smith and written by William Jacobs and

Anthony Coldeway Anthony W. Coldeway (August 1, 1887 – January 29, 1963) was an American screenwriter who had an extensive career from 1910 through 1954. Although most of his work was on films, he did some writing for television and also was the director of a ...

. The film stars June Travis,

William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in predominantly minor r ...

Johnnie Davis John Gustave Davis (April 11, 1910 – October 28, 1983) was an American actor, singer and trumpeter. Born in Brazil, Indiana, into a family of musicians, Davis developed an interest in music during his childhood. He learned to play the tr ...

Gordon Oliver Gordon Oliver (April 27, 1910 – January 26, 1995) was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in more than 40 films and television shows between 1933 and 1972. Biography Oliver began working in films in 1936, eventually working ...

William Harrigan William Harrigan (March 27, 1894 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor who performed in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s and on stage. Early years Harrigan was born in New York City and attended New York Military Academy. Harrigan was ...

and

Willard Parker Willard Parker (born Worster Van Eps; February 5, 1912 – December 4, 1996) was an American film and television actor. He was a leading man under contract to Columbia Pictures in the 1940s and starred in the TV series '' Tales of the Texas Ran ...

. The film was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

on October 16, 1937.

Plot

A wealthy alumnus of Carlton College promises to leave his fortune to the school, but only if it can defeat football rival State three consecutive years. After two victories in a row, the alumnus dies. His descendants want his money for themselves, and therefore desperately want Carlton to lose the big game. Ken Thomas is the star player for Carlton, but he is injured and a doctor has cautioned him that he risks permanent damage to his health if he plays. Ken has given his word to girlfriend Lucille that he won't play, but after she releases him from that promise, the rich benefactor's relatives scheme to have Ken accused of stealing a car and placed under arrest. Campus friends come to his rescue just in time for Ken to suit up for Carlton and save the day.

Cast

* June Travis as Lucille Martin *

as Ken Thomas *

as Tiny Waldron *

as Benton *

as Jim Shelly *

as Duke Davis *Eric Stanley as Dr. Martin *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as Deputy Abner *

Herbert Rawlinson Herbert Banemann Rawlinson (15 November 1885 – 12 July 1953) was an English-born stage, film, radio, and television actor. A leading man during Hollywood's silent film era, Rawlinson transitioned to character roles after the advent of sound f ...

as Stanley Short * Douglas Wood as Dr. Marshall *

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson Edmund Lincoln Anderson (September 18, 1905 – February 28, 1977) was an American comedian and actor. To a generation of early radio and television comedy he was known as "Rochester". Anderson entered show business as a teenager on the vaudevi ...

as William *

Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, ...

as Hannah *Fred MacKaye as Clay *

Eddy Chandler Eddy Chandler (March 12, 1894 – March 23, 1948) was an American actor who appeared, mostly uncredited, in more than 350 films. Three of these films won the Academy Award for Best Picture: ''It Happened One Night'' (1934), '' You Can't ...

as Police Sergeant Peters *George Offerman Jr. as Teddy *Jack Chapin as Bill 'Pinky' *Robert Hoover as Larkin *

John Craven John Raymond Craven, (born 16 August 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the BBC programmes '' Newsround'', ''Countryfile'' and '' Beat the Brain''. Early life Craven was born in Leeds, West Rid ...

as King

Reception

Frank Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' said, "''Over the Goal'' is just another of those football films, leading circuitously to the inevitable moment when Carlton's white hope breaks away from his jailers to change the score from 0—13 to 14—13 in the last two minutes of play. The only difference between it and its cinematic uncles, aunts, cousins and grandfathers is the cast. It has several new faces, the best among them being the comic one of Johnnie Davis, formerly of Fred Waring's orchestra. We still feel two indifferent pictures do not compensate for the absence of one good one."

References

External links

* 1937 films 1937 comedy films American black-and-white films American comedy films American football films American sports comedy films Films directed by Noel M. Smith Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Films set in universities and colleges Warner Bros. films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links