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$1000 a Touchdown

  • 19391939
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 11m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
114
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
  • Comedy
  • Sport
A show-biz couple inherit a college on the brink of bankruptcy. In a bid to increase funding they attempt to build up the college football team by offering $1,000 for every touchdown scored.A show-biz couple inherit a college on the brink of bankruptcy. In a bid to increase funding they attempt to build up the college football team by offering $1,000 for every touchdown scored.A show-biz couple inherit a college on the brink of bankruptcy. In a bid to increase funding they attempt to build up the college football team by offering $1,000 for every touchdown scored.
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
114
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • James P. Hogan
  • Writer
    • Delmer Daves(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Joe E. Brown
    • Martha Raye
    • Eric Blore
Top credits
  • Director
    • James P. Hogan
  • Writer
    • Delmer Daves(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Joe E. Brown
    • Martha Raye
    • Eric Blore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos11

    Tom Dugan and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Susan Hayward and John Hartley in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye in $1000 a Touchdown (1939)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Joe E. Brown
    Joe E. Brown
    • Marlowe Mansfield Boothas Marlowe Mansfield Booth
    Martha Raye
    Martha Raye
    • Martha Madisonas Martha Madison
    Eric Blore
    Eric Blore
    • Henryas Henry
    Susan Hayward
    Susan Hayward
    • Betty McGlenas Betty McGlen
    John Hartley
    John Hartley
    • Bill Andersas Bill Anders
    Joyce Mathews
    Joyce Mathews
    • Loreleias Lorelei
    George McKay
    • Mr. Fishbeckas Mr. Fishbeck
    Syd Saylor
    Syd Saylor
    • Bangsas Bangs
    Tom Dugan
    Tom Dugan
    • Popcorn vendoras Popcorn vendor
    Matt McHugh
    Matt McHugh
    • Brick Bensonas Brick Benson
    Don Wilson
    Don Wilson
    • Announceras Announcer
    Gertrude Astor
    Gertrude Astor
    • McGlen Wifeas McGlen Wife
    • (uncredited)
    George Barton
    • Truck Driveras Truck Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Bernard
    • Dickas Dick
    • (uncredited)
    Linda Brent
    Linda Brent
    • Bertieas Bertie
    • (uncredited)
    Don Evan Brown
    • Jackas Jack
    • (uncredited)
    Fritzi Brunette
    Fritzi Brunette
    • McGlen Wifeas McGlen Wife
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Chapin
    • Redas Red
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • James P. Hogan
    • Writer
      • Delmer Daves(screenplay) (story)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    A show-biz couple inherit a college on the brink of bankruptcy. In a bid to increase funding they attempt to build up the college football team by offering $1,000 for every touchdown scored.
    • american football
    • actor shares first name with character
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Joe's carrying the ball for dear old Madison...Martha's carrying the torch for Joe. Will Joe make the team? Will Martha make Joe? Don't miss the All-American laff show of the century! (Print Ad-Portsmouth Times, ((Portsmouth, Ohio)) 22 November 1939)
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Sport
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Film debut of Wanda McKay.
    • Goofs
      During the climactic game, Don Wilson's overcoat, which is merely draped over his shoulders, keeps disappearing and reappearing.
    • Soundtracks
      Love with a Capital U
      Music by Ralph Rainger

      Lyrics by Leo Robin

    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    2/10
    Well, shut their big mouths...
    Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye were (separately) both known for their wide mouths, so I guess it was inevitable that someone would decide to team them on screen. Unfortunately, this movie isn't very funny. The cleverest thing about this movie is Joe E.'s character's name: he plays a ham actor christened Marlowe Mansfield Booth, which is the name of a 16th-century playwright and two 19th-century actor/managers.

    Joe E. inherits a college (don'tcha hate it when that happens?). This is an American movie, so of course the 'college' is merely a front for a football team. (Classes? What classes?) Inevitably, everything Joe E. and Martha need to accomplish depends on their team winning the Big Game. Inevitably, Joe E. goes into the game at the last moment. So far, so good: Joe E. Brown was an extremely athletic man who often played inept weaklings on screen, and several of his films relied upon his character suddenly developing athletic prowess at the climax. Unfortunately, in this movie Joe's success is more down to dumb luck than anything else. The number on Joe's football jersey is 13 ... which tells you how obvious everything in this movie is.

    I have mixed feelings about Martha Raye. I consistently find her unfunny, and I dislike the characters she played. In 'Monsieur Verdoux', I kept hoping that Chaplin's attempts to murder her would succeed, and I was annoyed that she survived at the end. However, in the real world, Martha Raye risked her life to perform for American servicemen in combat zones during several wars, and she was a tireless advocate on behalf of Vietnam veterans. In the last years of her life, Martha Raye hoped to get a film made based on her experiences performing in the USO during World War Two. Unfortunately, a certain well-known 'actress' ripped off the facts of Martha's life and made a flop movie that put paid to any chances of a straightforward Martha Raye biopic. So, I have a lot of sympathy for Martha Raye as a person even while I intensely dislike her as a performer.

    And she's extremely unfunny in this movie. Several reliable character actors are in '$1,000 a Touchdown' - Eric Blore, Tom Dugan, Matt McHugh, Jimmy Conlin - but none of them have any decent material. All of them have been funny elsewhere, but none are funny in this movie. I was grateful for the presence of tall shapely brunette Joyce Mathews as a campus vamp. I'll rate '$1,000 a Touchdown' 2 points out of 10.
    helpful•5
    6
    • F Gwynplaine MacIntyre
    • Mar 13, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 4, 1939 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Boca não é Garganta
    • Filming locations
      • Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 11 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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