Product Details

• Actors: Henry Fonda, Olivia De Havilland, Joan Leslie, Jack Carson, Hattie Mcdaniel
• Directors: Elliott Nugent
• Producers: Warner Bros.
• Format: Black & White, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Bros.
• DVD Release Date: May 8, 2009
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0026ZQJES
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,722 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Male Animal" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

His fangs are bared, his hackles raised, his gin bottle nearly empty. The Male Animal is out of his lair, storming battle-of-the-sexes bulwarks, skewering college athletics and speaking his mind when folk of narrower hat size seek to stop him. Henry Fonda plays bookish Prof. Tommy Turner, struggling to get in touch with his man-of-action side during the weekend of the big football game, the arrival of an ex-gridiron star (Jack Carson) once - perhaps still - fancied by Turner's wife (Olivia de Havilland), and the academic tussle that threatens the professor's tenure. This Hollywood version of the Broadway smash co-written by James Thurber stays close to its source - the film's director is the stage hit's other writer and star, Elliott Nugent.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Movie That Makes You Think And Laugh, January 8, 2000

By 

James L. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Male Animal [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Male Animal is a movie that has you think about such serious issues as censorship and what it means to be a man, yet it doesn't sacrifice any laughs. Henry Fonda is perfectly cast as the professor who must learn whether he is man enough, and he is well supported by a beautiful Olivia deHavilland and a cast of good character actors. Not enough attention has been given to this movie over the years, and it deserves to be re-discovered. A great movie!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ready for the big game?, October 10, 2004

By 

bob lundy "bob lundy" (San Mateo CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Male Animal [VHS] (VHS Tape)

First, I'm dismayed to see such a pitifully few(5)reviews for this great American classic (demonstrating that hardly anyone knows about this must see movie) and second, that it hasn't yet been transferred to DVD.

It's social importance aside this is a first rate production featuring none-other-than Henry Fonda, Olivia de Havilland, Eugene Pallette, Jack Carson, Joan Leslie, Herbert Anderson(TV's Dennis the Meance's Dad), Don De Fore(TV's Hazel's Mr.B)and Hattie McDaniel. This is as good as it gets and all you could ask for from Warner Bros. in 1942. Turner-Time/Warner deserve a big kick in the rear for letting this very important classic slip away into anonymity.

It's homecoming week and everyone's getting ready for the big game. Everyone except English teacher Fonda and undergrad Anderson. They find the rising tide of testosterone is causing them to lose a grip on their women. This is coming at a time when the boys are most in need of the girl's support. All the old boosters are coming back to town to add to the complications. Along with these sexual rifts are a number of politcal values in question and what constitutes a real American and what is the America way of life.

The James Thurber script and Elliott Nugent direction accomplishes this in a very non-heavyhanded way. It's kept amazingly light and funny considering the weight of the material. It seems to be a light and very funny romp that in the end has a huge message to Americans about the American Way and what we must do to perserve it.

I know it's not on DVD but check out the price of the VHS. I implore you to see this movie. On even the shallowest level it's very entertaining and on the deepest level it's one of the biggest messages to ever come out of Hollywood. It's not what you expect from a movie made in 1942 but unfortunately, you're even less likely to see such an important message in such an entertaining way in the movies of today.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic without even trying, June 5, 2009

By 

R. Hessler (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Male Animal [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie achieves much without much instigation. A professor wants to read a letter in a classroom. There isn't much more to it than that. Yet, events quickly unfold that make this event into so much more. The movie marvelously pits Collegiate Intellect against Collegiate Business, something which stands true today as much as it did when the movie was made. Then toss in the side-by-side story of this professor and his relationship with his wife.

This film has intelligence, a bit of comedy and manages to deal with a significant issue of censorship in such a nonchalant, but very effective manner. The cast is great, the script solid. This film must be watched.