It was here, then gone, so quickly you may have missed it. Or, you simply weren't born yet: over 40 years ago, a made-in-Ohio film originally titled Return to Campus opened with Hollywood-like fanfare at Graceland Cinemas, complete with red carpet, spotlights, and limousines shuttling the film's "stars" to the entrance of the duplex. However, the film itself was a dud - despite a plot promising "Action! Excitement! Thrills!", the film closed within a few weeks and made only fleeting big screen appearances in the years that followed. Until now.

I was only 11 when Return to Campus came out; my mom took me to Graceland to see the movie during its brief run, due to its billing as a comedy/romance that featured a gridiron hero who wins games for the Buckeyes through his use of a unique invention. Even then I knew the film really wasn't very good; brief recollections of scenes included a rowboat on Mirror Lake, stock gameday footage of a scowling Woody Hayes (badly) intercut with staged on-field heroics, and so on. Even TV Guide didn't have much positive to say about it in this one star review. The film was directed, seemingly in earnest, by former OSU player Harold Cornsweet, who - in his own post-college acting career - made uncredited appearances in a handful of Hollywood films. It is my personal impression that the Cleveland native intended to make a major motion picture; there was occasional publicity about the production during filming, and it was a project that obviously occupied an enormous amount of his time. It is also my impression that he was deeply disappointed about the film's reception - I would like to hear from others who remember this movie and could perhaps fill in the blanks and/or correct any assumptions I have made based on my admittedly sketchy first-hand knowledge.

Back to the film itself: its ownership and distribution rights were bought and transferred between several firms in the subsequent decades, until winding up in the possession of VCI Entertainment about five years ago (this is the part where I promise I have no relationship with VCI and do not profit in any way, shape or form by sales of this film). The reels sat for a few years, but - due in very small part to occasional prodding by myself - the film, now sporting its alternate title, The World's Greatest Kicker, is available on DVD as of about two weeks ago. I ordered a copy and, while I have not yet watched the entire film at home, the first several minutes appear to be as laughably bad as I remember. One additional oddity: the DVD is in the old TV-style 4x3 aspect ratio, perhaps partially intended as a made-for-TV production. Here again I am hoping to hear from others who know more about this film than I do.

So, if you are an Ohio State football fan (the film predates the university's emphasis of the word "The," with credits declaring the movie was, "Filmed on actual location at Ohio State University"), are interested in big screen appearances by Arnold Palmer and Tom Harmon, or just want to chuckle at some unusual film history, I recommend Return t...er, The World's Greatest Kicker. The world's greatest film, it is not - but it is entertaining in its own way.

Mods: this post is likely more appropriate to the "Anything Else" forum but, due to the role OSU football plays in the film's plot, I placed it here. Do feel free to move and/or edit as needed.