Knute Rockne, All American is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of Knute Rockne, perhaps the most famous of all of the football coaches at Notre Dame, one of the most successful football programs in history. It stars Pat O'Brien, Ronald Reagan, Gale Page, Donald Crisp, Albert Bassermann, Owen Davis, Jr., Nick Lukats, Kane Richmond, William Marshall and William Byrne. The role of "George 'The Gipper' Gipp" by Ronald Reagan gave him the nickname of "The Gipper" for the rest of his life.
The movie was written by Robert Buckner and directed by Lloyd Bacon. In 1997, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry.
Trivia note: In the Lux Radio Theatre broadcast (12-2-1940) of the movie, Fay Wray portrayed Mrs. Rockne.
Lars Rockne and his family, including his four year old son Knute, emigrate to Chicago in 1892 from their native Norway. By his his mid-twenties Knute saves enough to attend obscure Notre Dame University, where he excels in football and chemistry. He and a teammate develop the forward pass as an offensive weapon while working as life guards on summer break and use it to upset heavily favored Army in a historic game. After graduation Rockne becomes a teacher while coaching part time but ultimately abandons academics to devote all his energies to football. During his tenure as head coach at the school, he develops such outstanding players as George Gipp, who dies prematurely from a strep infection, and the Four Horseman while introducing many innovative tactics including the backfield shift. Rockne, known for his staccato motivational speeches, devotes his life to maintaining the integrity of the sport he loves and promoting it as an integral component in the development of the American character. Written by Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)
