Sports movies based on real-life figures and events have been a mixed bag. For every classic Pride of the Yankees (1942) or Eight Men Out (1988), there's a noted bomb like The Babe Ruth Story (1948) or The Bear (1988). One problem can be the casting. Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig sounds great, but the decidedly unathletic William Bendix (or later John Goodman) as Babe Ruth just doesn't work. For this rarely seen 1954 independent film, however, producer James L. Fallon got it right twice. Not only did he cast two-time gold medal winner Bob Mathias as himself, but he cast Mathias's wife, Melba, as his leading lady. Not only did he get an attractive starring couple, but he also discovered a pair of charming, totally natural actors. Mathais had made history as the first man to gold medal in the Olympic Decathlon twice and, at 17, the youngest athlete to win a gold medal in any track and field event. He and Fallon created Mathlon Productions, Inc. to produce the film, raising the low $180,000 budget through family members and residents of Mathias's home town, Tulare, California. Then they intercut footage of his two winning games, in London and Helsinki, to make the film look more expensive than it was.

By Frank Miller