A drama based on the life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.A drama based on the life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.A drama based on the life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
- Marie Davis
- (as Aunjanue Ellis)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaChadwick Boseman's feature film debut.
- GoofsIn the movie, Texas leads Syracuse 15-14 in the 1960 Cotton Bowl. In real life, the game was never that close in the second half. Syracuse was up 23-6 when Texas scored their second and last touchdown with 7:39 remaining in the game. Texas was not in a position to tie Syracuse even with a touchdown and 2-point conversion.
- Quotes
Texas Longhorn player: I'm gonna kick your black ass back to Africa boy!
Jack Buckley: Oh yeah? Too bad I'm from Philly.
- ConnectionsFeatured in HBO First Look: The Express (2008)
- SoundtracksChoo Choo Ch' Boogie
Written by Vaughn Horton, Denver Darling, Milton Gabler
Performed by Louis Jordan & The Tympany Five (as Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five)
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Featured review
It's a shame that this film went to such trouble to get details like uniforms and campus settings accurate and then played so loosely with the facts. A prime example is when the 1959 Syracuse team won the national championship by defeating Texas in the Cotton Bowl, an event portrayed as if the Orange had never experienced such a rabid segregationist setting. In fact, they had played in the same Cotton Bowl three years earlier, losing to TCU 28-27. And for that game they had Jim Brown, an African-American, on the team so the problems they encountered (segregated hotels etc.) would not have been unexpected nor unprepared for. The actual game is totally mixed up, that is to say the first SU TD was the 87-yard Schwedes to Davis pass, not the last, as shown. And, as Schwartzwalder was always quick to point out, Texas was never within fewer than two scores of overtaking the Orange -- not as close as 15-14 as shown in the film. One could go on and on, but to someone unfamiliar with the facts, it is an inspiring story that should complement other films about the civil rights era.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Express: The Ernie Davis Story
- Filming locations
- Chicago, Illinois, USA(Lane Tech High School)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,793,406
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,562,675
- Oct 12, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $9,808,124
- Runtime2 hours 10 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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