Another Little Known Great John Wayne Film
John P. Rossi’s article in The American Spectator about the 1947 John Wayne film The Angel and the Badman brought to mind another little known Wayne film gem: Trouble Along the Way (1953), which starred Wayne as “Steve Williams,” a former big-time college football coach who is hired by a small, financially struggling Catholic college (St. Anthony’s) to coach its football team and raise money so the college can avoid closure.
And as John Rossi said about The Angel and the Badman, it is the Duke at his very best.
It is also the story of a divorced father’s love for his 11-year-old daughter Carole, played by Sherry Jackson, who idolizes him but is caught up in a custody battle with William’s ex-wife Ann (played brilliantly by actress Marie Windsor).
The film was directed by Michael Curtiz and also starred Charles Coburn, as Father Burke, the elderly rector of the college, and the beautiful Donna Reed, who plays custody caseworker Alice Singleton, who is charged with determining whether Wayne is a fit father to have partial custody of his daughter.
This was a very different role for Wayne, who usually played the tough guy in westerns and war movies. In Trouble Along the Way he is a football coach willing to bend and sometimes break the rules to field a winning football team — which is why he was kicked-out of big-time college football in the first place.
Father Burke suggests to Wayne that if he can build a successful football program, the college can earn enough money to remain open. Wayne needs the work and accepts the challenge. He and his daughter are given a small apartment inside the college’s bell tower — the bell’s loud ring often wakes them up.
Coach Williams soon learns that the current players on the football team are too small, too slow, and too poorly equipped to win games. Wayne hires some of his old assistant coaches and comes up with a plan to recruit new players — players who will also financially profit from joining the team.
When Father Burke observes at mass the new incoming class of students, he is amazed at their solid physical appearance. Wayne also orders top-notch equipment and builds the team into a college powerhouse. There is a scene when Wayne and other school officials are on stage when Father Burke announces their football schedule and opponents — to include such football powerhouses as Notre Dame — Wayne faints in his chair.
The small college stuns the football world by winning game after game. (The film’s football scenes were filmed at the Polo Grounds in New York City). But soon, Wayne’s ex-wife hires a private detective who gathers information to allege that Wayne has engaged again in recruiting violations. The ex-wife also brings suit in court to gain full custody of Carole — she does this not because she wants the child around, but to spite Wayne.
Donna Reed enters the picture to determine whether Wayne should keep custody of his daughter. She is concerned that the daughter is a tomboy who knows all about football but very little about being a young lady. But she also sees the strong love between Carole and her father.
Donna Reed also starts falling in love with Wayne. She eventually discovers that Carole’s mother doesn’t love the child and that Wayne loves Carole more than anything else, even more than football. At the custody proceeding in court, Reed testifies that Wayne should keep partial custody of the child. On cross examination by the ex-wife’s lawyer, Reed is asked, “Do you love Mr. Williams?” Wayne, with a grin on his face, asks the judge to remind the witness that she is under oath. Reed admits that she has fallen in love with Wayne.
Father Burke has no other option but to fire Wayne as coach. He also decides to retire as rector of the college, but St. Anthony’s remains open with its losing football team. In his farewell speech, Father Burke takes the blame for what happened to Wayne and publicly apologizes to him, who only did what he was asked to do.
Trouble Along the Way is part comedy, part drama, but in essence is about a father’s beautiful love for his daughter. And as John Rossi said about The Angel and the Badman, it is the Duke at his very best.
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