College Coach is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, December 6 at 7:45am EST.

This 75 minute tale of corruption in college football was Ann Dvorak’s big Warner Bros “comeback” after being in Europe on a year-long honeymoon. The extended absence was not approved by the studio and while she came back to a desired pay increase, the studio began casting Ann in roles of little consequence, like her character in College Coach. After turning out impressive performances in strong films like Scarface and Three on a Match, this supporting role as Pat O’Brien’s neglected wife who falls for a conniving Lyle Talbot is a step back for her and she has very little to do. Ann aside, the movie itself is pretty mediocre and the most interesting thing about it is the brief appearance of a very young uncredited John Wayne as a student. For the sake of sounding like a girly-girl, I also like Ann’s pointy eyebrows which she was sporting for her role as a gypsy in Paramount’s The Way to Love which filmed around the same time. Very exotic.

If you are interested in seeing Ann cheat on a film-husband with Lyle Talbot, Three on a Match is a much better watch than College Coach. If college football corruption strikes your fancy, the Marx Brothers’ Horse Feathers is what I recommend.