Trouble Along the Way (Warner Bros. 1953)

Well, my depression state hit an all time new low this weekend watching my guys get their asses destroyed by another subpar team. The old guy who sits beside me at the stadium every year said it best, "We started off great but we knew there would be trouble along the way." And that's the story how Trouble Along the Way starring John Wayne and Donna Reed became the Edge Conservative Movie of the Week!

A lot of times I hear my friends with kids say I would do anything for my son or daughter. If that's true with you, then you should enjoy this week's movie!

You know, sometimes we ask a lot out of people. Sometimes we ask things or expect things that are almost impossible (no comments about ECU from the peanut gallery!). We ask our elected officials to fix our problems, and when they fall short...well...they're the biggest SOB's that ever lived...even if we voted for them.

Ex-football coach Steve Williams (Wayne) is going through a terrible divorce. He is seeking custody of his little girl, but with no job he has almost no hope of keeping her...or seeing her again.

Williams meets Father Burke (Coburn) who runs a small Catholic College in New York. The college is very poor and will be closing its doors unless it can bring in revenue in a hurry! Burke hires Williams to coach the football team, revitalize the program and bring interest back to the failing school, but the team is undermanned and has zero talent.

Oh and did I mention that Father Burke went over Williams head and constructed the most difficult football schedule ever for 1953? VS. Santa Clara? VS. Villanova? VS. Notre Dame?

If the school closes, the students will leave, Williams is out of the job and will lose his daughter. The only way for Williams to have instant success with these huge expectations is to start bending some recruiting rules...which he regrettably does.

Maybe it's a stretch that this movie is conservative, but I liked it. It's a good comedy/drama about a parent that would do anything to keep their kid...even if it means getting really dirty.

Here is trailer...



Neat story about the movie...

Island in the Sky (Warner Bros. 1953)

You're down.

You're cold.

You're alone.

You're scared.

Now...how will you survive?

The Edge Conservative Movie of the Week, Island in the Sky starring John Wayne and James Arness is a true story about survival, courage, friendship and faith!

This has to be one of the best unknown John Wayne films of all time, and there's a reason. John Wayne, in this movie, is not John Wayne! Now, I'm not gonna explain any further. I'll just leave it at that, but you have to watch the film to find out what I mean, and trust me it will be worth it! He's still the hero, he still gets it done, but just watch! This may be John Wayne's best acting job!
Here's the plot from IMDb!

A simple group of commercial flyers, post WWII, one plane is downed in uncharted Canadian tundra, dead of winter, wicked cold. Limited resources. Other pilots start a search. Simple, huh? Remember...No GPS, No Radar, Limited radio and supplies! And that relentless bitter cold! But wait. These aren't ordinary commercial pilots. We soon learn these guys have some real history, military types, probably in WWII. They're tight, driven and fearless, and they're gonna find and rescue The Duke and his crew if it kills them! Like a fine wine, what starts out as a simple story draws us into the lives of these fine men, and their families as well. Before you know it, your heart is racing, and the tears are flowing! Perhaps an overused cliche, but truly, they just don't make films like this anymore! What's more, you get to see James Arness cry! Real men, these.

It's the Duke vs. Mother Nature, and folks...Mother Nature's REALLY pissed!

Here's the trailer from the movie!