Saturday's Hero
Saturday's Hero is a 1951 American film noir drama sports film directed by David Miller. It is also known as Idols in the Dust, and stars John Derek and Donna Reed.[2][3][4] Saturday's Hero was the first film for Aldo Ray, who was still going by Aldo DaRe, but it was released after his second acting job in My True Story (1951). The film was also the debut score of Elmer Bernstein.
| Saturday's Hero | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Miller |
| Screenplay by | Sidney Buchman Millard Lampell |
| Based on | The Hero 1949 novel by Millard Lampell |
| Produced by | Buddy Adler |
| Starring | John Derek Donna Reed Sidney Blackmer Alexander Knox |
| Cinematography | Lee Garmes |
| Edited by | William Lyon |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,150,000 (US rentals)[1] |
Plot
Steve Novak, a Polish-American immigrant from a small New Jersey mill town, decides to go to a college in Virginia to play football. He becomes a star player as a freshman, but hears stories of teammates receiving money for their play.
Steve falls for Melissa (Donna Reed), the daughter of one of the school's rich benefactors, TC McCabe. When he suffers injuries on the field, Steve realizes that a college education will mean more to his future than football will. He also tries to win Melissa's love, over her uncle’s strong objections.
Cast
- John Derek as Steve Novak
- Donna Reed as Melissa
- Sidney Blackmer as TC McCabe
- Alexander Knox as Professor Megroth
- Elliott Lewis as Eddie Adams
- Otto Hulett as Coach "Preacher" Tennant
- Howard St. John as Belfrage
- Aldo Ray as Gene Hausler (as Aldo DaRe)
- Alvin Baldock as Francis 'Clay' Clayborne
- Wilbur Robertson as Bob Whittier
- Charles Mercer Barnes as Moose Wagner
- Bill Martin as Joe Mestrovic
- Mickey Knox as Joey Novak
- Sandro Giglio as Poppa Jan Novak
- Tito Vuolo as Manuel
Production
Columbia bought the novel specifically as a vehicle for John Derek.[5]
The film was known in production as The Hero.The shoot went for 80 days including 35 days of football sequences.[6]
References
- ^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
- ^ "Saturday's Hero". AFI. afi.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ "Saturday's Hero". FilmAffinity. filmaffinity.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ "Saturday's Hero (1951) - David Miller | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
- ^ Schallert, E. (Nov 23, 1948). "Adler to-produce 'hero' with derek starred; ross to rival lassie". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165902550.
- ^ Frank Daugherty (Aug 4, 1950). "John derek and donna reed to star in football story". The Christian Science Monitor. ProQuest 508255370.
External links
- Saturday's Hero at IMDb
- Saturday's Hero at AllMovie
- Saturday's Hero at the TCM Movie Database
- Saturday's Hero at the American Film Institute Catalog