On J List of Movie Reviews

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Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 6/24

JimTh
6/24: It's not often that a movie is made which shows the huge fall of an icon while he's still alive.

But that's what happened with Jim Thorpe -- All-American. The story is very average, and Burt Lancaster is just okay. I'm also bothered by the sight of many white actors playing American Indians. It's both disappointing and embarrassing. Even the UK title of the film is Man of Bronze.

By the way, there was no such person named Tom Ashenbrunner. Pop Warner knew beforehand that Jim Thorpe played semi-pro baseball and then abandoned him after he was declared ineligible for the Olympics with his gold medals taken away. They were eventually restored...like 110 years later (too late). Jim Thorpe was married three times and had eight kids, but yeah, one of his sons did die young...at three years old (it was polio). His first wife was named Iva, not Margaret.

At least, it's nice to hear the name "Lewis Tewanima" mentioned. He was one of the greatest runners ever. In fact, he had no prior training and could outrun just about everybody, regardless, after being taken from his Hopi reservation in Arizona. After he won the silver medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1912 Olympics, he went back to his land and became a normal person with no care for his athletic achievements.

All in all, Jim Thorpe -- All-American may be touching, but I'm not impressed with it because of the white actors and the blatant lies.