''The Rose Bowl Story'' is a 1952 American

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

and starring Marshall Thompson,

Vera Miles Vera June Miles (née Ralston, born August 23, 1929) is an American retired actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, most notably as Lila Crane in the classic 1960 film '' Psycho'', reprising the role in the 1983 sequel '' Psycho II'' ...

and Richard Rober, featuring a young Natalie Wood. The film was made in

Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two-color motion picture process that was based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and the 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and ...

. It follows the relationship between a

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 ...

player and his girlfriend.

Plot

Qualifying to play in the illustrious Rose Bowl football game on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Whi ...

, a Midwestern college's quarterback, Steve Davis, is not as happy as he should be because playing football does not excite him, but his teammate Bronc Buttram is thrilled. Their coach, Jim Hadley, is equally pleased because his ill wife has gone to warmer

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...

for her health, so he will now be able to spend more time with her. Steve perks up in Pasadena while meeting the Rose Bowl's committee and particularly the tournament's queen, Denny Burke, a beauty in a fur coat. Steve believes she is wealthy as well as beautiful and manages to get her telephone number. He cannot get through, however, because Denny's younger sister Sally is always tying up the phone. Finding her house, Steve learns she is a middle-class girl whose dad, "Iron Mike" Burke, once played in a Rose Bowl game himself. Denny takes exception to Steve's disappointment that she is not rich and to his blasé attitude toward the Rose Bowl, a tradition her family loves. The self-involved Steve develops a guilty conscience. Agreeing to spend

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

with her family, Steve stands up Denny because he is at the hospital, where Coach Hadley's wife has taken a turn for the worse. He gets busy signals phoning because Sally's hogging it again. Next morning, Bronc explains to Denny and she is relieved. At the game, the coach announces his wife's going to be all right. Steve leads the team to victory, unselfishly letting Bronc score the winning touchdown. He and Denny are in love and plan to marry.

Cast

* Marshall Thompson as Steve Davis *

as Denny Burke * Richard Rober as Coach James Hadley * Natalie Wood as Sally Burke * Keith Larsen as Bronc Buttram * Tom Harmon as Himself * Ann Doran as Mrs. Addie Burke * James Dobson as Allie Bassler * Jim Backus as Michael 'Iron Mike' Burke * Clarence Kolb as 'Gramps' Burke * Barbara Woodell as Mrs. Mary Hadley *

Bill Welsh Bill Welsh (April 25, 1911 – February 27, 2000) was a radio and television announcer. Early years Welsh born in Greeley, Colorado, the son of Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Welsh. He attended the Colorado State College of Education. Career Welsh's car ...

as Himself

References

Bibliography

* Marshall, Wendy L. ''William Beaudine: From Silents to Television''. Scarecrow Press, 2005. * Umphlett, Wiley Lee. ''The Movies Go to College: Hollywood and the World of the College-life Film''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1984.

External links

* 1952 films 1952 romantic comedy films American football films American romantic comedy films Cinecolor films 1950s English-language films Films directed by William Beaudine Films produced by Walter Mirisch Films set in universities and colleges Monogram Pictures films Films set around New Year 1950s American films {{romantic-comedy-film-stub