Harmon of Michigan

An old fashioned football movie, made on the eve of U.S. entry into World War II, in which Harmon would serve with distinction. It begins with footage of Harmon's games at Michigan, in which Harmon, "old number 98," starred as a triple threat, becoming the best known All-American of his day and featured in LIFE magazine. After a brief pro career, Harmon became a sportscaster and, married to actress Elyse Knox, father of Mark Harmon, a UCLA All-American and actor. Tom Harmon's team-mate Forest Evashevsky, another All-American and later a successful coach, also features in the film, while Anita Louise plays Harmon's wife. It's a simple story of an ambitious young coach who needs to learn a few lessons in life and sports from an old coach and a loving wife. It has some good staged football action, of the game as it was played in the late '30s and, of course, a happy ending.

The film started out well as the history of Tommy Harmon playing on the Michigan football field was shown with all its glory. It was at this time that the viewer believes that they are going to get a look inside the life of one of the best football players in American history. Instead we get a fantasy of make-believe stories that 'may-happen' somewhere down the line as nearly all this story, except his playing days at Michigan, is all fiction.

From his one day coach stint, his coaching with his former mentor and his breaking of football rules, and his redemption- they are all part of things that never happened. I felt duped. I guess I could have reviewed the history of Harmon and notice that the movie was filmed just a year after his playing days, but the regular viewer does not always feel the need to do a background history before viewing a broadcast.

The one thing that stands out in this film is the realism of plays on the football field. They were nicely put together and reflected the true formation at the time. This may have been a much better film had the movie been presented in a different manner and better actors were hired. Instead we are left with a film that took advantage of the situation and made a fiction out of a life that needed no embellishment.