Bartlett, Palatine high bands hit the big screen

When high school students meet on a football field, there might be a bone-crushing tackle or some trash-talking from the two sides.

But when the marching bands at Bartlett and Palatine high schools met last year to film "The Express" at Northwestern University's Ryan Field, it was all about unity.

"The students are collaborating and getting together," said Bartlett band director Paul Loucas. "It's not like a sporting contest where you're beating people up."

Fittingly, that's the kind of sportsmanship that would have earned the respect of Ernie Davis, the subject of "The Express."

He starred as a running back for Syracuse University, winning college football's fabled Heisman Trophy in 1961. No. 44 was the first black player to win the award.

The achievement is magnified by the fact fellow African-American Jim Brown graduated from Syracuse before Davis without winning the award. Brown is widely considered the best running back to ever play both in college and the NFL.

Sadly, Davis never reached those heights and never suited up in an NFL contest. He died of cancer at 23 after his senior year.

The movie version of Davis' story debuted last month. The crews from "The Express" filmed many of the scenes in the Chicago area calling on local actors for roles. That's where the local students came in, as filmmakers needed a stand-in for the Syracuse marching band.

Thirty students from Palatine and 20 from Bartlett donned dark-blue vintage band uniforms, complete with police captain-styled hats with orange stripes. Their work generated about six seconds of footage at Ryan Field, which masqueraded as the Cotton Bowl. Movie viewers could look for the students as they march across the muddy grass during the sequence where Syracuse plays Texas.

Despite only rehearsing together once before filming, the two bands quickly learned to work in tandem to seamlessly form Syracuse's "S" on the field. Separately, the bands had to learn the college's fight song. On film, their sound and look proves integral to properly capturing the college football experience to tell Davis' poignant story.

"It's about life, teaching and coaching," said Palatine's band director Raeleen Horn.

Back in the '60s, only men were allowed in the band, not counting the baton twirler. Bartlett High's Loucas said his female students were able to perform in the movie, but had to hide their long hair.

Reflecting the history of the period, the Syracuse band didn't include black students. That meant African-American band members from Bartlett and Palatine couldn't appear in the film. The fact that some of his students couldn't participate bothered Loucas, but he said those excluded understood the historical context.

"And we got to talk about it in class," he said.

So how did they get chosen?

Palatine's big break came from an alumnus who auditioned for a bit role, Horn said. Jessica Schlobohm heard crews were looking for a band and referred them to Horn. Palatine's marching band also has film experience. Under Horn's guidance, they appeared in Clint Eastwood's 2006 film "Flags of our Fathers," which was shot in Glencoe.

Horn got to meet Eastwood two years ago. This time around she didn't get to spend any time with actors Dennis Quaid, who plays coach Ben Schwartzalder in "The Express," or Rob Brown, who plays Davis. Still, movies are becoming a niche for Horn.

"It's a great opportunity for the students," she said.

Loucas agrees, as Bartlett's band also is no stranger to being in front of the camera. They've appeared in TV commercials, helped by Loucas, who does film extra work as a hobby. He said he was proud of his students' performance. It showed maturity.

"They were phenomenal," he said.

The students were paid union rate for the work and the filmmakers also made a donation to both high schools' band programs.

Palatine High's Bryan Zelasko remembers the more than 30 takes needed that day, which started at 7:30 a.m. and ended around 3 p.m. near a harsh Lake Michigan wind in Evanston.

"After a while the marching gets to your legs," he said.

The trombone player, who's now a senior, enjoyed the inside look he got at filmmaking, which is what he wants to study in college.

Palatine students held a private screening of the film last week in Mount Prospect, and Horn gave a thumbs up to the story and her students' work. Loucas added that Davis' story is one that should have a positive impact on his students.

"It's a shame he didn't live a long life (and that) he took a lot of heat from racists," Loucas said. "But he shined in a big way."

Movie: Scene took more than 30 takes