Football fans might enjoy this minor drama about a troubled professional player (Victor Mature) facing performance issues and a health crisis as he deals with new wife Lizabeth Scott's rise in the world of fashion. However, the lack of a spark and little else outside of these plot points makes this fairly dull. Scott is glamorous and gets to wear some beautiful outfits, and along with Mature does her best to add some interesting dimensions to her character. However, fans of Lucille Ball will be disappointed to see her wasted in a rather pathetically small role as the secretary to coach Lloyd Nolan, obviously in love with Mature but other than a few vivacious moments really has nothing substantial to do. She has a rather unflattering hairstyle too that doesn't flatter her in any way.
The film is also a bit cruel towards injured or disabled players, showing one player being basically waved away with a pathetic dismissal. Fellow players place crutches in Mature's train berth as a way of reminding him that he's obsolete. The film starts oddly with a scene between fellow player Sonny Tufts and his wife (Jeff Donnell) that does absolutely nothing to develop the plot or get it off the ground. The presence of some familiar faces (Jim Backus, billed as James) and the Los Angeles Rams will add curiosity, but unfortunately, this is a movie about a popular sport that somewhere along the way completely fumbled. Under the direction of the usually excellent Jacques Tourneur, this is a major disappointment.
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