🏈 Saw “12 Mighty Orphans” Today...Stay for credits which featured bios on original “Orphans ” with 3 who attended UNT.

PlummMeanGreen · June 11, 2021

•••I give it 6.5 to 7 stars out of 10. It started out slow but ended fast.

Weatherford’s Pythian Home off Bankhead Highway was featured as the FW Masonic School. Mineral Wells Baker Hotel was used in the shooting as was other recognizable venue in the North Texas area.

••• Martin Sheen did a more than commendable acting job as Doc.
•••Luke Wilson was good as Coach Rusty Russell.
•••Treat Williams played the part of FW’s Amon Carter. Comedian Ron White, Robert Duval & Matthew McConaughey’s brother were also in the movie.
“Newman!” from Jerry Seinfeld played a villainous role.
•••Featured in the credits were the original Orphans with bios on each. 3 of them attended 🦅 North Texas.

••• I saw Weatherford acquaintance Congressman Roger Williams in a bit part as a referee. (How ironic that Roger Williams Dodge dealership was right next door to the theater I saw “12 Mighty Orphans.”
https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/12mightyorphans/

Edited June 12, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen

EAGLE83 · June 12, 2021

That was a great football movie

ADLER · June 12, 2021

It was certainly an interesting football movie, but they tried to keep it somewhat based on truth so it ended with more of a moral victory than a Death Star explosion...Good for historic accuracy, but probably bad for box office.

I saw it at a sneak preview and sat behind one of the actors that played a game official, wearing his MASONS sweatshirt, and a really old guy that was a fan of the book because he was a child when the 'orphans' came to play his hometown Sandies.

I was a little confused by the chronology in the film, as to what season it represented. It seemed to condense Russel's 14 season career at Masonic Home into one 'almost' dream season. It also showed, I believe, one player progressing to NTSTC and two playing after WWII service at North Texas State.

PlummMeanGreen · June 12, 2021

6 hours ago, ADLER said:

It was certainly an interesting football movie, but they tried to keep it somewhat based on truth so it ended with more of a moral victory than a Death Star explosion...Good for historic accuracy, but probably bad for box office.

I saw it at a sneak preview and sat behind one of the actors that played a game official, wearing his MASONS sweatshirt, and a really old guy that was a fan of the book because he was a child when the 'orphans' came to play his hometown Sandies.

I was a little confused by the chronology in the film, as to what season it represented. It seemed to condense Russel's 14 season career at Masonic Home into one 'almost' dream season. It also showed, I believe, one player progressing to NTSTC and two playing after WWII service at North Texas State.

I wonder if any of the 3 “Orphans” who went to North Texas tried out for the Eagles football team?

ADLER, 2 of my local married couple friends saw it last night & they loved it, but probably (like me) more for its historical value & the fact that all 3 of us enjoyed seeing the Pythian Home locale getting to introduce itself to America.
••• It’s a football movie & outside of made-for-TV “Brian’s Song” that stigma will hurt box office appeal with most any American female. We all know Paramount’s “Necessary Roughness” shot at Fouts & Denton was never on anyone’s favorite sports movie list, but some of us enjoyed the eye candy.👀

⭐️Your assessment will probably be that of many, but I enjoyed seeing old actors (like Martin Sheen) doing commendable jobs in this flick. Luke Wilson who played the great Rusty Russell probably did his best ever acting job in this movie, albeit he was “quirky” funny in “Death At A Funeral.” Although in very few scenes, Treat Williams was good as Amon Carter.

••• The first referee shown in this movie was none other than Weatherford Congressman Roger Williams (who once showed me his scars from the D.C. baseball practice shooting). Williams once applied for the TCU AD job & as a student was a total asset to TCU baseball.

Heck! I still may go see it again just to see who & what I missed in the first showing. I will confess I almost got all choked up during some of the scenes. My daddy (at 10 mos. old) & his 9 siblings were basically orphans when their mom & dad died 1 day apart of the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic in Limestone County.

For certain “12” is not a summer blockbuster flick, but I was somewhat entertained; somewhat like Mean Green sports—it doesn’t take much for most of us to be entertained & to follow our favorite school’s sports teams but— if we get more no one is going to complain—except on GMG.com!🙄😆

🦅❇️🦅

Edited June 12, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen

Graddean · June 12, 2021

I am eager to see this movie, especially for the Pythian Home scenes. My late wife was a Home girl from the age of 8 until we married after her junior year at NTSU.

PlummMeanGreen · June 14, 2021

On 6/12/2021 at 12:16 PM, Graddean said:

I am eager to see this movie, especially for the Pythian Home scenes. My late wife was a Home girl from the age of 8 until we married after her junior year at NTSU.

I think she would have liked the movie, Graddean.
_____________________________

Here is an an interesting article from the Houston Chronicle on the movie.

https://preview.houstonchronicle.com/movies-tv/latest-texas-football-film-12-mighty-16225605/amp

Hunter Green · June 20, 2021

The wife and I saw it tonight. Very enjoyable. I give it two thumbs up!

Eagle71 · June 20, 2021

On 6/11/2021 at 4:49 PM, PlummMeanGreen said:

•••I give it 6.5 to 7 stars out of 10. It started out slow but ended fast.

Weatherford’s Pythian Home off Bankhead Highway was featured as the FW Masonic School. Mineral Wells Baker Hotel was used in the shooting as was other recognizable venue in the North Texas area.

••• Martin Sheen did a more than commendable acting job as Doc.
•••Luke Wilson was good as Coach Rusty Russell.
•••Treat Williams played the part of FW’s Amon Carter. Comedian Ron White, Robert Duval & Matthew McConaughey’s brother were also in the movie.
“Newman!” from Jerry Seinfeld played a villainous role.
•••Featured in the credits were the original Orphans with bios on each. 3 of them attended 🦅 North Texas.

••• I saw Weatherford acquaintance Congressman Roger Williams in a bit part as a referee. (How ironic that Roger Williams Dodge dealership was right next door to the theater I saw “12 Mighty Orphans.”
https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/12mightyorphans/

From my Little League days in Fort Worth. Roger was a teammate. His father, Jack Williams, was our sponsor and a great one at that! When we were 13, Roger hit a buck forty two at best. He worked his tail off and had a nice baseball career.

HoustonEagle · June 21, 2021

I saw the movie last night and enjoyed it. Luke Wilson and Martin Sheen really seemed good fits for their roles. I did not like “Newman” playing the Principle. For one he acted just like the character he played in Jurassic Park. Two, I see no reason to tarnish the legacy of the school with a depiction of corruption and abuse unless it’s true. Is it true?

PlummMeanGreen · June 21, 2021

Saw this movie a 2’nd time yesterday & liked it even better.

I love that 1930’s era & the architecture in Texas & America, too.

Yes, the Great Depression was sadly going on full speed ahead, but people helped out each other. My late former neighbor out here off Bankhead Highway told me hobos would come to their back door & her mother would feed them. So Inspirational.

The Texas Pythian Home opened on March 1, 1909, as a home for widows and orphans of Knights of Pythias members. It is still functioning as an orphanage.

Edited June 21, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen