Knute Rockne–All American

film by Bacon [1940]

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July 16, 2026

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The film Knute Rockne—All-American (1940) is a biographical drama about the legendary Knute Rockne, a Norwegian-born American football coach. Rockne transformed the University of Notre Dame into a college football powerhouse and became the sport's first celebrity coach. He is credited with popularizing the forward pass after a pivotal 1913 game. His coaching career at Notre Dame (1918–1931) saw numerous victories and three national championships. The film also highlights the story of his star player, George Gipp, and the famous phrase "win one for the Gipper," though its historical accuracy is debated. Ronald Reagan portrayed Gipp in the movie.

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Lloyd Bacon
Warner Brothers
Knute Rockne–All American (1940) was one of the era’s best sports biopics, while Honeymoon for Three (1941) was an unremarkable comedy. Bacon got his one chance to direct Errol Flynn in Footsteps in the Dark (1941), which featured Flynn not as a swashbuckler or a…
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Knute Rockne–All American (1940) was one of the era’s best sports biopics, while Honeymoon for Three (1941) was an unremarkable comedy. Bacon got his one chance to direct Errol Flynn in Footsteps in the Dark (1941), which featured Flynn not as a swashbuckler or a…
Read More

William K. Howard
Later films
Howard was fired from Knute Rockne–All American (1940), and Lloyd Bacon completed the classic biopic. Howard’s last credits were mostly modest B-film crime dramas, including Money and the Woman (1940) and Bullets for O’Hara (1941). In 1943 he directed James Cagney in Johnny Come Lately, but it was largely…
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Howard was fired from Knute Rockne–All American (1940), and Lloyd Bacon completed the classic biopic. Howard’s last credits were mostly modest B-film crime dramas, including Money and the Woman (1940) and Bullets for O’Hara (1941). In 1943 he directed James Cagney in Johnny Come Lately, but it was largely…
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Knute Rockne
…culminating in the 1940 film, Knute Rockne—All-American (with Ronald Reagan playing George Gipp), guaranteed his immortality as the most famous of American football coaches.
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…culminating in the 1940 film, Knute Rockne—All-American (with Ronald Reagan playing George Gipp), guaranteed his immortality as the most famous of American football coaches.
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