The Bob Mathias Story
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Bob Mathias story |
| Original title | The Bob Mathias Story |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1954 |
| length | 79 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Francis D. Lyon |
| script | Richard Collins |
| production |
James Fallon William Selwyn |
| music | Leith Stevens |
| camera | Ellsworth Fredericks |
| cut | Walter Hannemann |
| occupation | |
| |
The Bob Mathias Story is an American biopic by the director Francis D. Lyon from 1954. The film tells the story of the US decathlete Bob Mathias , who in 1948 became the youngest athletics Olympic champion of all time and in 1952 the first decathlete to win his Olympic victory could repeat. In the film, Bob Mathias plays himself. Melba Mathias, his future wife, also played himself.
action
17-year-old Bob Mathias is attending high school in Tulare , California . He is the star of the athletics team. His coach Virgil Jackson convinced him to try his hand at qualifying for the 1948 Olympic Games in London . Bob starts in the decathlon, although his parents, doctor Dr. Charles Mathias and his wife Lillian have reservations. They fear that his stamina will not be sufficient because he suffered from anemia in previous years . Nevertheless, both his parents and his girlfriend Melba support him as best they can.
Bob only has a month to prepare. In fact, he can qualify for the Olympics at the Olympic eliminations in Bloomfield . His parents accompany him to London and witness his Olympic victory. Bob receives a congratulatory telegram from US President Harry S. Truman . Parades are held in his honor in San Francisco and Tulare. Bob wants to succeed his father as a doctor and is aiming for a medical degree at Stanford University . The university cannot accept him due to a lack of qualifications.
Bob attends a private school in Pennsylvania . Bob separates from Melba and concentrates on his sport. In the period that followed, he was able to set several records, which enabled him to attend Stanford University. He joins the university's American football team and becomes a star here too. After a while, Bob and Melba meet by chance on campus and start a relationship again.
Bob learns from his coach that the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki will be the first time Soviet athletes will compete. Jackson is convinced that Bob can become Olympic champion again. His friends, family and the population also support his start in Helsinki. Bob qualifies for the Olympic team and travels to Helsinki, where he can repeat his Olympic victory. After the competition he calls Melba, he wants to marry her immediately.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films writes that the film shows Mathias' "career and the efforts of the trainer for his sporting development and culminates in documentary recordings of the competitions that are well worth seeing, which secure the real interest of the cheaply produced film."
The critic of the New York Times describes the work as a carefully moderate portrayal of the hero's early years, which contributes much to the excellent and authentic effect of the inserted archive recordings.
background
The world premiere took place on October 24, 1954. In Germany, the film was first shown on television on November 14, 1998 in the original version with German subtitles.
The shot putter Milt Campbell and the diver Patricia McCormick made guest appearances . Archive footage incorporated into the film shows the Finnish long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi , the American football player Frank Gifford and the diver Samuel Lee . In the original version, William Conrad can be heard as the narrator . Harold Miller took on a small supporting role as a spectator .
According to a June 20, 1954 article in the New York Times, Bob Mathias and producer James Fallon founded their own production company, Mathlon Productions Inc. , to fund the film. Forty-five Tulare residents invested in production, accounting for 40% of the approximately $ 180,000 budget.
Web links
- The Bob Mathias Story in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ The Bob Mathias Story. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 13, 2017 .
- ↑ Critique of the New York Times (Eng.)
- ↑ Frank Miller on Turner Classic Movies (Eng.)