Watch Pigskin Parade

In the 1936 movie Pigskin Parade, Stuart Erwin stars as Amos Dodd, the football coach of Texas State University (TSU). Amos is having a tough time trying to find new and talented football players for his team. His assistant coach, Slug Winters (played by Patsy Kelly), suggests bringing in some players from Harmony University, a school for African Americans.

Amos goes to meet the coach of Harmony University, Ezekiel Smith (Fred "Snowflake" Toones). Despite their initial reluctance to help, Ezekiel and his team finally agree to play in a scrimmage against TSU. However, Amos soon realizes that the Harmony University football players are raw and unpolished, and he needs to train them from scratch if they are to stand a chance against other teams.

Amos takes the responsibility of training and coaching the Harmony team himself. However, he soon discovers that the differences in language, habits, and lifestyles between the Texas boys and the African American players make it hard to train them. Amos also has to deal with the anger and prejudice of some of his own players and fans who do not believe that African American football players should be integrated into the TSU team.

As the training progresses, Amos and Slug become close friends with the African American players, learning more about their history, culture, and struggles in America. We learn that some of the players have been denied equal opportunity and had to settle for sub-standard education and employment opportunities.

The climax of the movie is the highly anticipated scrimmage between the TSU team and the Harmony University team. The Harbury brothers, who are African American, show off their talents and score crucial touchdowns for the Harmony team. Amos and his players slowly begin to understand that skin color does not define a man's ability on the football field.

Overall, Pigskin Parade is an uplifting and entertaining movie that touches upon important themes of equality, discrimination, and teamwork. The movie handles these themes subtly and with humor, defying the racial stereotypes that were prevalent in Hollywood movies of that time.

The cast is a strong point of this movie, with Stuart Erwin delivering an excellent performance as the kind and patient coach Amos. Patsy Kelly's witty one-liners add comedic relief to the more serious themes of the movie. Jack Haley's role as the humorous and clueless Professor Quackenbush provides some of the funniest scenes of the movie.

The football scenes are well choreographed and filmed, showing the chaos and physicality of the game. The use of African American football players adds to the authenticity and realism of the movie.

In conclusion, Pigskin Parade is a classic feel-good movie that offers an insightful look at race relations, teamwork, and the power of sports. It is an underrated gem that deserves to be rediscovered by a modern audience.

Pigskin Parade is a 1936 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 33 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.1.