The delight in this film is the fact that a father is taking care of his daughter the best way he can. His ex-wife abandons the family when confronted about an affair or maybe a better way to say it is caught being unfaithful to her husband. He crashes and lives down and out taking care of his little girl. He has to make changes when a child services officer is acting on a petition from the girl's mother wanting to take back her daughter, and accusing dad of being an unfit father. So, he compromises when offered a job as a football coach at a struggling small catholic college who is looking at closing their doors because of financial problems. So the school and the father are a perfect fit. They need stability fast and they do it in a compromising way.
This is a really good story and a lot of lessons learned, a good bit of comedy, and some romance. This may not be a John Wayne memorable movie, but it does touches the heart. With a fine cast like Charles Coburn, Donna Reed, Marie Windsor and little Sherry Jackson, the movie survives with some good acting.
The weakness I can see is the way they copped this movie up as assumed to keep it under the time that was set. I bet a good portion of this movie was on the cutting floor. It is charming to me.
Cheers 
Posts from Hondo Duke Lane in thread „Trouble Along The Way (1953)“
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Agree with you about Charles Coburn. He is a fine actor and plays a priest well. I also like the chemistry with Sherry Jackson, the child actress. They play off each other so well. I wish they had more scenes together.
Cheers
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This is a must see movie by all Duke fans. I guess I like it because of the way he makes a change in his life for the better at the end of the movie. It is not a high quality movie and it is not a top Duke movie. It is probably a movie that most of you have never seen, but I do recommend this movie for all to see.
It is not released on DVD, but is on VHS. I don't think I ever seen this movie on TV.
As for the child in the movie, she is quiet good. Sherry Jackson was so good for a child actor. It is the first time that Duke did a movie from beginning to end with a child under his wing. Donna Reed is good too. I think she has great legs too. And Charles Coburn was great as the priest in this movie. He played his part well.
If you get the chance, see it. I think you will like it. It will not be a top movie for your list, but you will like it.
Cheers
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This is one movie in my opinion that has been shoved and forgotten. I really like this movie a lot and see that Duke and Donna Reed work well together. As a down and out football coach with a daughter trying to hustle his way through life, Duke plays the part well and with Sherry Jackson playing his daughter, they have good chemistry.
You get to see a young Chuck Conners (The Rifleman), with a bit part, but the movie is delightful and a great addition to any collection.
It is only available on VHS (at this time), so watch out for a DVD release, hopefully very soon.
Cheers
