''Pigskin Parade'' is a 1936 American

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as break ...

which tells the story of husband-and-wife

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

coaches who convince a backwoods player to play for their team so they can go to the big game. It was written by

William M. Conselman William Marien Conselman (July 10, 1896 – May 25, 1940) was an American screenwriter who also wrote newspaper comic strips under his Bill Conselman byline and sometimes under the pseudonym Frank Smiley. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, C ...

, Mary Kelly, Nat Perrin, Arthur Sheekman, Harry Tugend and

Jack Yellen Jack Selig Yellen (Jacek Jeleń; July 6, 1892 – April 17, 1991) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for writing the lyrics to the songs " Happy Days Are Here Again", which was used by Franklin Roosevelt as the th ...

, and was directed by David Butler. The cast includes Stuart Erwin (in an Oscar-nominated performance), Jack Haley, Patsy Kelly,

Arline Judge Margaret Arline Judge (February 21, 1912 – February 7, 1974) was an American actress singer who worked mostly in low-budget B movies, but gained some fame for habitually marrying. Early years Arline Judge was born in Bridgeport, Connecti ...

Dixie Dunbar Christina Elizabeth "Dixie" Dunbar (January 19, 1919 – August 29, 1991) was an American singer, film actress, and dancer. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Dunbar grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She began studying dancing as a child and went on to si ...

, Johnny Downs, Betty Grable, Tony Martin and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

in her film debut. The film was distributed by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

Plot

Due to a misunderstanding,

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

inadvertently invites the small Texas State University to come to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

and play against its football team for a benefit game. Coincidentally, TSU has just hired a new coach, Slug Winters ( Jack Haley), who arrives at the college with his wife Bessie ( Patsy Kelly) just in time to hear the announcement that the team is to play Yale. The coach digs in to whip the team into shape, with Bessie's help, she knowing more about football than Slug does. But just before the big game, Bessie causes an accident and the team's quarterback Biff Bentley breaks his leg. All seems hopeless until Slug and Bessie stumble across an

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas we ...

named Amos Dodd, played by Stuart Erwin, who throws a football like no one they have ever seen. They find him tossing

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". T ...

s with his sister, Sairy Dodd (

). The only problem remaining is to figure a way to get the college to enroll the hillbilly so that he can take the place of the injured quarterback. Amos also falls for attractive student Sally Saxon (

), bringing out jealousy in her rich suitor Mortimer Higgins (

Grady Sutton Grady Harwell Sutton (April 5, 1906 – September 17, 1995) was an American film and television character actor from the 1920s to the 1970s. He appeared in more than 180 films. Early years Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sutton was raised ...

). Texas State travels to the game at Yale, which is played in a blizzard. During half-time, The Yacht Club Boys sing their planned entertainment: "We Brought The Texas Sunshine Down With Us". The freezing Yale crowd responds with a barrage of snowballs. Yale is leading 7-6 in the final minutes when Slug accidentally knocks himself unconscious on the sideline. Bessie takes over and sends in a play, which hillbilly Amos runs barefoot for the winning touchdown, To celebrate their victory, everyone sings the "Texas Tornado."Pigskin Parade page on The Judy Garland Database, by Jim Johnson

Cast

* Stuart Erwin as Amos Dodd * Jack Haley as Slug * Patsy Kelly as Bessie *

as Sally Saxon *

as Mortimer *

Fred Kohler Jr. Fred Kohler Jr. (July 8, 1911 – January 7, 1993) was an American actor who performed in a number of Westerns such as '' The Pecos Kid'' and '' Toll of the Desert''. He played nearly 130 film and television roles between 1929 and 1978. Kohler ...

as Biff * Johnny Downs as Chip Carson * Tony Martin as Tommy *

as Ginger Jones * Betty Grable as Laura Watson *

as Sairy Dodd * Si Jenks as Baggage Master * Yacht Club Boys * Carol Adams as student (uncredited) *

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

as Football Game Spectator (uncredited) * Muriel Scheck as Dancer (uncredited)

Award nominations

References

External links

* * * *
''Pigskin Parade''
at

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 ...

{{Authority control 1936 films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1936 musical comedy films American football films Films set in Texas Films directed by David Butler Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck Films scored by David Buttolph American musical comedy films Yale Bulldogs football 1930s American films Films about hillbillies