As part of their new line of Marquee Musicals, 20th Century-Fox's Pigskin Parade has been released on DVD in a snappy new transfer with some fun extras. Combining two moribund subgenres (although they were hugely popular back in the 1930s) -- the college musical and the college football film -- Pigskin Parade is a speedy little entry from 1936 that has a certain wit and flair with its comedy scenes, while the songs (both romantic and novelty) dominate the skimpy storyline. Today, Pigskin Parade is perhaps best known for featuring Judy Garland, borrowed from M-G-M, before she hit the big time. Listening to her here, it's apparent that Leo the Lion had a huge talent on their hands, and that they clearly didn't know what to do with her, especially if they were lending her out for entertaining, but slight, fare such as Pigskin Parade.

In an effort to find a suitable team for the Yale football squad to play for a charity event, a mix-up occurs in that tiny Texas State University receives the invitation, and not the agreed upon powerhouse team from the University of Texas. Of course, the athletic and publicity director for TSU, Chip Carson (Johnny Downs), is ecstatic that his small school has been honored with such a prestigious invitation. And he's sure it has something to do with the newly arrived football coach, Winston "Slug" Winters (Jack Haley). A former high school football coach from New Jersey, Slug is keeping a secret from his new employers; he doesn't really know all that much about football -- but his wife, Bessie (Patsy Kelly) sure does. Browbeating the milquetoast coach, Bessie is the brains behind Slug's winning numbers, as well as the one who wears the pants in the family.

When Yale discovers that a mistake has been made in the invitation, they can't rescind it (out of fear of offense), so Sparks (Eddie Nugent), who's help responsible for the mix-up in the first place, sets out to build up the TSU team in the media so Yale won't look like a bully beating up a third-rate team -- a match-up that no one would pay to see, either, at a charity event. What Sparks and the rest of the Yale faculty don't know is that Bessie's reading those phoney stories pretty carefully, including the one about TSU inventing a new kind of "basketball/football" passing game, and she begins to implement those ideas into the team's training. But no amount of training is going to help when Bessie, trying to show the team's captain and star player Biff Bentley (Fred Kohler, Jr.) how to block, breaks Biff's leg. Desperate to find a replacement, Bessie stumbles upon barefooted farmer Amos Dodd (Stuart Erwin), who can chuck a watermelon fifty yards, and his young sister, singer Sairy Dodd (Judy Garland). Inviting Amos to enroll in college, TSU is ready for the big game against Yale.

With a storyline as old as the hills, Pigskin Parade's football drama is just a skeleton to hang a big handful of musical numbers on, and at that level, Pigskin Parade succeeds quite well. I love the college musical subgenre (could they even make such a thing today?), and when combined with the college football film, Pigskin Parade has a heavy nostalgia factor that fans of Hollywood musicals will find welcome. The YachtClub Boys (the oldest looking college "kids" you've seen this side of a 1960s Elvis movie) provide some fun patter and novelty songs (The Woo! Woo! number is probably the best), while we get to hear young Tony Martin croon You're Slightly Terrific, while dynamite dancer Dixie Dunbar does a mean toe tap. And of course, there's Garland. Looking a little heavier than perhaps you're used to seeing her, Garland's unprepossessing looks melt away when that voice belts out The Texas Tornado or lovingly phrases It's Love I'm After. You can just tell that she has that certain something that only real stars have, even at this earliest point of her film career.

Directed with some verve by David Butler, Pigskin Parade has some snappy dialogue going for it ("I wonder what position she plays?" "She's the drawback."), as well as those two comedy pros, Haley and Kelly. Kelly in particular is memorable as the tough-talking, hen-pecking wife who knows football inside and out. Kelly has a real disdain for playing up to the camera in any way, shape, or form as a "film actress," and this grumbling, snotty, who cares attitude comes off quite well today. Pigskin Parade even manages to incorporate some of the topical issues of its day into the humor, including having the avowed Socialist agitator Herbert Terwilliger Van Dyck (Elisha Cook, Jr.) spout off about "Youth versus Capitalism" (the name of his agit-prop pamphlet) before giving up his college I.D. so Amos can play ball. And of course, the Depression is mentioned several times (albeit in couched, careful terms), giving Pigskin Parade a more rounded tone to its essentially fantasy-based story.

The DVD:

The Video:
A lot of work went into restoring Pigskin Parade, as the Restoration Comparison bonus features shows. Except for the inherent grain, its black and white full frame picture looks glossy and smooth.

The Audio:
You can choose to watch Pigskin Parade in either its original English mono soundtrack, or a new Dolby Digital English 2.0 stereo track. Subtitles in English, French and Spanish are included, as well as close-captioning.

The Extras:
There are quite a few extras included in Fox's DVD release of Pigskin Parade. First, we have a behind-the-scenes featurette: Making the Team: The Talent of Pigskin Parade. It's a good look at the personnel behind the production, as well as some interesting observations about the film. However, when film historian Scott McIsaac (who's usually pretty good) said this, I saw "Red" -- literally:

Final Thoughts:
Snappy, unpretentious fun with a lot of zip and energy, Pigskin Parade moves through its familiar story with a lot of verve, courtesy of director David Butler, a fine cast of comedians and singers like Patsy Kelly, Jack Haley, and of course, Judy Garland, and some clever, lively songs. I recommend Pigskin Parade.