No typo in the title of this fun documentary, but taken from the real headline in the Harvard Crimson student newspaper reporting on the wildest game in Ivy League football history.

Both the Elis and the Crimson were undefeated when they met in the final game of the season, Nov. 22, 1968.

Favored was the more powerful Yale 11, quarterbacked by Brian Dowling, model for the helmet-wearing B.D. of "Doonesbury" fame, and featuring future NFL star running back Calvin Hill.

Harvard, with a bunch of nobodies that included offensive lineman Tommy Lee Jones, also managed to win every game, but by the fourth quarter at Harvard Stadium, appeared doomed, down 29-13 with 3 minutes to go.

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'Harvard Beats
Yale, 29-29'

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained

• Rating: PG in nature for mild profanity.
• Web site: kino.com/harvardbeatsyale

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How Harvard found a way to tie the game with no time left is the ostensible subject of the film, but it's largely about the time and place.

The nation and its campuses were in turmoil over the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy. Richard Nixon had been elected president on a "law and order" platform but wouldn't take office for two months.

As we find from director Kevin Rafferty's large collection of interviews of the players, including a surly Jones, political activism motivated many, but girls and parties continued their universal appeal.

The actor, an unemotional fellow, manages a few smiles discussing his roommate, Al Gore, who could play "Dixie" on the newfangled push-button phone.

Despite his annoying style of lingering a bit too long on his subjects, Rafferty, mainly a TV documentary maker, pries fascinating stories and insights from the now aging players.

Two stand out:

• Pat Conway, safety for Harvard who returned to college after serving in the Marines in Vietnam at the terrible battle of Khe Sanh. Football trivia: He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers but refused to join the team.

• Mike Bouscaren, Yale linebacker and kick returner who admitted he tried to injure Harvard players, including quarterback Frank Champi. His attempt to slam Champi on the forehead above his faceguard resulted in a costly penalty.

The game, which Rafferty attended as a Harvard student, was taped by the university's television station. It's a little fuzzy and primitive by today's standards but holds up well.

So do the men, now in their 60s, an intelligent and humorous bunch, except for grumpy Jones.

The film opens Friday at the Harris Theater, Downtown.