Touchdown, Army
1938 film by Kurt Neumann
Touchdown, Army retitled Generals of Tomorrow in the UK is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Kurt Neumann, written by Lloyd Corrigan and Erwin S. Gelsey, and starring John Howard, Mary Carlisle, Robert Cummings, William Frawley, Owen Davis Jr., and Benny Baker. It was released on October 7, 1938, by Paramount Pictures.
Plot
Army University football player, Jimmy Howal, gets a reception far different from what he expected when he enters West Point. His cocky attitude makes everyone opposed to him, especially hot-tempered southerner, Brandon Culpepper, who also sees Howal as a rival for beautiful Toni Denby; daughter of West Point officer Colonel Denby. Howal is failing French prior to the Army-Navy game, and the cadets fear he will be kept from playing because of it. Toni then tutors Howal, but she, unknowingly, uses an old exam which is the basis for the new test. Howal realizes what has happened when he passes the exam with flying colors and suspects Toni of having set out to make a fool of him.
Cast
John Howard as Cadet Brandon Culpepper
Mary Carlisle as Toni Denby
Robert Cummings as Cadet Jimmy Howal
William Frawley as Jack Heffernan
Owen Davis Jr. as Cadet Kirk Reynolds
Benny Baker as Cadet Dick Mycroft
Minor Watson as Col. Denby
Raymond Hatton as Bob Haskins
Production
Lew Ayres was meant to play a lead but Robert Cummings – who was already in the cast – took the part instead, promoted from a more subsidiary role.
The public source identifies “Touchdown, Army” as 1938 film by Kurt Neumann. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Touchdown, Army and film.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Touchdown, Army”, the useful work is to connect “1938 film by Kurt Neumann” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19881489. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1938.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Touchdown, Army”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Touchdown, Army primary sources, Touchdown, Army archive and Touchdown research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Touchdown, Army”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Touchdown, Army” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.