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IMDbPro

Trouble Along the Way

  • 1953
  • Approved
  • 1h 51m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
John Wayne and Donna Reed in Trouble Along the Way (1953)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer3:06
1 Video
22 Photos
FootballSatireComedyDramaRomanceSport

An ex-football coach is hired by a small Catholic college to train its football team in the hopes of winning games and making money to save the school from bankruptcy.An ex-football coach is hired by a small Catholic college to train its football team in the hopes of winning games and making money to save the school from bankruptcy.An ex-football coach is hired by a small Catholic college to train its football team in the hopes of winning games and making money to save the school from bankruptcy.

  • Director
    • Michael Curtiz
  • Writers
    • Melville Shavelson
    • Jack Rose
    • Douglas Morrow
  • Stars
    • John Wayne
    • Donna Reed
    • Charles Coburn
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    2.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Michael Curtiz
    • Writers
      • Melville Shavelson
      • Jack Rose
      • Douglas Morrow
    • Stars
      • John Wayne
      • Donna Reed
      • Charles Coburn
    • 40User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trouble Along The Way
    Trailer 3:06
    Trouble Along The Way

    Photos22

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    Top cast80

    Edit
    John Wayne
    John Wayne
    • Steve Williams
    Donna Reed
    Donna Reed
    • Alice Singleton
    Charles Coburn
    Charles Coburn
    • Father Burke
    Tom Tully
    Tom Tully
    • Father Malone
    Sherry Jackson
    Sherry Jackson
    • Carol Williams
    Marie Windsor
    Marie Windsor
    • Anne McCormick
    Tom Helmore
    Tom Helmore
    • Harold McCormick
    Dabbs Greer
    Dabbs Greer
    • Father Peterson
    Leif Erickson
    Leif Erickson
    • Father Provincial
    Douglas Spencer
    Douglas Spencer
    • Father Procurator
    Lester Matthews
    Lester Matthews
    • Cardinal O'Shea
    Chuck Connors
    Chuck Connors
    • Stan Schwegler
    John Alban
    John Alban
    • Football Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Murray Alper
    Murray Alper
    • Bus Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Brandon Beach
    • Football Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Berkeley
    • Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    Beatrice Bernadine
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Oscar Blank
    • Pool Hall Patron
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Michael Curtiz
    • Writers
      • Melville Shavelson
      • Jack Rose
      • Douglas Morrow
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews40

    6.82.3K
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    Featured reviews

    8sbrix

    Heartwarming but still frank expose of "professional" college football.

    This is one John Wayne movie with which I was not familiar and with which his biography barely deals. While often stock & predictable, it is truly a heart-warming movie which nevertheless contains a rather frank expose and indictment of the "professionalism" present in college football. When one considers that when the movie was made, college football was MUCH bigger than professional football, it is amazing that the movie is so realistic in this regard.
    7Dr.Brent

    The Duke is funny!

    An enjoyable little film. What was surprising was how funny John Wayne is here. I am not a big fan of his films but I wish he had more films like these out of his cop/cowboy/soldier stereotypes. Perhaps because he was a football player he was comfortable in the role of football
    6bkoganbing

    Duke's labor of love

    For a guy who was very much a part of the University of Southern California football team, John Wayne did not do too many films involving sports. In one film College Coach if you look fast you can see the Duke in a film called College Coach that starred Pat O'Brien and Dick Powell.

    The usual problems of college athletics are here, problems we make for ourselves with this foolish definition of amateur and professional athlete. Trouble Along the Way also adds to the mix some of Wayne's domestic problems. He's a single parent raising a young girl in not the greatest atmosphere in the world. He's got an ex-wife, Marie Windsor who wants custody now, and a social worker, Donna Reed who has trouble keeping her personal and professional lives separate.

    As in They Were Expendable, Wayne and Reed, have good chemistry. But Wayne's scenes with little Sherry Jackson are something special. They avoid the usual sentimentality, but you will react to them.

    Charles Coburn plays the father/rector of small Catholic college St. Anthony's which is on it's financial uppers. He gets the idea that a standout football team as a gate attraction will bring his college out of debt. He hires Wayne, a down on his luck football coach to achieve that end. Wayne does it in the tried and true way that schools always do. It gives Coburn an ethical problem.

    Films from as far back as College Coach to the fine James Caan film, The Program have dealt with these issues. Twenty years from now, other films will do the same.

    But this is a nice family picture for John Wayne. He gets to go back to one of his first loves and probably the Duke was happy to be in modern dress for a change.

    James Dean is supposed to be one of the students. See if you can spot him.
    7frncsbrennan

    One of Wayne's lesser know films.

    This was a John Wayne Film I hadn't seen before, and I was surprised that it was so good. Wayne played it nice and low key, with a bit of humor thrown in. There's a real chemistry between John Wayne and Donna Reed, who plays a social worker that is being used by Steve Williams' (Wayne) ex-wife to take his daughter away from him. But little Shirley Jackson really steals the show as Waynes wise-cracking tomboy daughter, Carol. (Who would have thought that little tomboy would grow up into one of the most beautiful women ever to be on film.) She reminded me of Lucy (Quinn Cummmings) in The Goodbye Girl. Charles Coburn is tops as usual, playing the old priest who is desperate to save his college, St. Anthonys, and he turns to Wayne for help. And a crew cut Chuck Conners has a small bit as one of coach Williams assistants. All around, a very entertaining film; which is no surprise with Michael Curtiz as the director.
    8larryblanks

    Winning Isn't Everything, It's the only thing - John Wayne, Not Vince Lombardi

    The quote "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" was actually a quote made by John Wayne in this 1953 film, "Trouble Along The Way". John Wayne does a fine job playing a college football coach, Steve Williams, who get's incorrectly caught up in a recruiting scandal. Sherry Jackson plays his daughter who idolizes him and demonstrates her excellent acting ability. I'm not a big football fan, but really enjoyed this film. Not only for the nostalgic look at the days when college football was fun and not the principal business of the university, but for the ethics that were around during that period of time.

    Wayne makes the statement in the film many years before Vince Lombardi is credited with it.

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    Related interests

    Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans (2000)
    Football
    Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    Satire
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
    Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in Moneyball (2011)
    Sport

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      During one of the tackle stunts, John Wayne injured his right arm and wore it in a sling when he wasn't filming. He learned how to throw and write left-handed and his character in the film is the same, while the Duke was really right-handed.
    • Goofs
      Steve Williams (John Wayne) makes the statement that President Theodore Roosevelt changed football rules and then was voted out in the next election. In fact, President Roosevelt urged that the rules be changed in 1905, and they were changed in 1906. Roosevelt chose not to run for reelection as President in 1908, despite huge popularity; therefore, he was not "voted out" in that election. Roosevelt chose William Howard Taft to be his successor, and Taft won the 1908 election. However, Roosevelt did not like the job Taft did and chose to run against him in the 1912 election as the nominee from the Bull Moose Party. Roosevelt split the vote with Taft, and Woodrow Wilson won the 1912 election. So, although Roosevelt lost the 1912 election, he was not "voted out" because he wasn't "in" at the time.
    • Quotes

      Father Burke: You'll find the answer in Deuteronomy, Chapter 32, Verse 15.

      [the other priests look at one another]

      Father Burke: Well, well? Is there a Bible in the house, or do you have to go to a hotel?

    • Connections
      Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      St. Anthony's Alma Mater Hymn
      (uncredited)

      Music by Max Steiner

      Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

      Sung by a chorus during the opening credits and at the end

      Played often in the score

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    FAQ15

    • How long is Trouble Along the Way?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 4, 1953 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Latin
    • Also known as
      • Camino de adversidad
    • Filming locations
      • Pomona College - 333 N. College Way, Claremont, California, USA(Pomona College)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 51m(111 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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