“The Boys in the Boat”: George Clooney directs an American sports fairy tale
A young rowing team from the University of Washington competes against the world at the 1936 Olympics in George Clooney's true drama “The Boys in the Boat.”
Ten years ago, the bold and adventurous story of a new book quickly attracted great interest from critics and readers. That story is now George Clooney's latest directorial effort, “The Boys in the Boat” (now in theaters).
Set in the harsh 1930s, the film focuses on Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a poor boy whose attendance at the University of Washington is funded in part by his ability to row for the school's crew team. “Boys” takes us on this team’s unlikely journey to victory over better-funded college rivals and ultimately Hitler’s German team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This true story is also chronicled in the 2016 American Experience documentary The Boys of '36, now streaming on PBS.org and YouTube.
But as with almost every feature film developed from a nonfiction book, shortcuts and compressions were made to create a taut two-hour film. This was also the case with the source material “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.”
Author Daniel James Brown had some early conversations with Clooney about adapting his 2013 book. “He understood the spirit of the story,” says Brown, “but I didn't expect him to transcribe the book.” Brown highlights some of the biggest differences between the book and the film.
USA TODAY interview: How George Clooney finally made an “exciting” rowing film with “The Boys in the Boat.”
Was the timeline of the winning University of Washington team accurate?
Brown points out that the story arc that culminated in the University of Washington's junior varsity crew team's victory at the Berlin Olympics spanned three years, but in the film “everything is condensed to 1936, the year it all came together.” This strategy “makes sense unless you’re making a (long-form) TV series.”
But the compression leaves out some important details of Rantz's tough upbringing. “There was a moment in high school, it was a rainy day and the car was packed with his dad, his stepmom and his stepkids, and they said, 'We're leaving, and we're not taking you,'” Brown says. “It is a touchstone in his history and resulted in him having a hard time trusting people.”
Exclusive clip “The Boys in the Boat”: Underdog rowers make a comeback
The University of Washington rowing team makes a comeback at the 1936 Poughkeepsie Regatta in an exclusive clip from “The Boys in the Boat.”
Did the University of Washington coach really choose his junior varsity team over the varsity squad?
Due in part to Rantz's strong rowing skills, the University of Washington's green junior varsity team quickly posted faster times than its experienced varsity counterpart, Brown says. As this trend continued over the next few years, the team's coach, Al Ulbrickson (played by Joel Edgerton in the film), “made the dramatic decision to send his JV team to the major college competitions in the East.”
The move drew the ire of many school advocates. “It was dangerous because a lot of young talent was invested in the university team; some had sons on that team,” Brown says. “So it was a very risky thing for his future employment.”
Could people actually watch team races on movable stands in the 1930s?
A century ago, sports like rowing and horse racing were as national pastimes as football and baseball are today, Brown says. And yes, the trains were redesigned to place stands along the river banks where such competitions were held.
“The spectators on these observation trains were able to keep an eye on each race, as much of the dynamics of a crew race take place on the trail,” he says. And in a place like Poughkeepsie, New York, the site of the big college showdown in the film, the race was four miles long, Brown says.
Did the winning University of Washington team really need to raise money to compete in the Olympics?
In the film, the University of Washington's celebration of winning college rowing's top prize is immediately dampened by the news that the U.S. Olympic Committee couldn't afford to send the team to Berlin. So a fundraising campaign started overnight. “The next morning a steering committee had formed, and by the afternoon the students were selling paper ID cards, calling on businesses for donations, and in about 48 hours they had raised the $5,000 needed for the trip,” Brown says.
But the film's feel-good moment — when the coach of the University of California-Berkeley team, the Cal Bears, writes a check for $300 to complete the fundraising effort — never happened. “He said the Washington team should leave, which was bold since they were bitter rivals,” Brown says. But he never wrote a check.
Did a sick University of Washington crew member really lead the team to an Olympic gold medal victory?
The film portrays Hume as a socially awkward boy who was key to the team's great victory in front of a crowd that included angry Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Hume overcomes illness and leads his team to victory. “It’s all true,” Brown says. “Don Hume was the so-called batting oar; it is the crucial seat as it sets the rhythm for the entire team.”
As in the film, Hume contracted a respiratory illness on the ship to Germany and his condition worsened as the team prepared for their races. “Don was very, very sick on the day of the finale and it was really unclear whether he would make it to the end,” says Brown. “His performance speaks for itself.”
Was the victory at the 1936 Olympics really a photo finish?
At the film's climax, the hard-fought race for the gold medal ends with a photo finish. The athletes and spectators wait impatiently while a photographer edits the negative to show the result.
Not quite, says Brown: “It was an extremely close finish, and no one knew who won,” he says. “Photographs were taken (by spectators) of that finish, but I have no reason to believe they took a photo to determine who won. But it works dramatically; otherwise they would just sit in the boat and wait.” “