Bruce Springsteen’s Most Famous Song Accidentally Spawned into an Underrated ’80s Movie

Scott Cooper’s “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” places a pivotal moment in the rocker’s career under a microscope, seeking to depict how an artist on the brink of stardom could implode under the stressors of sudden success and overwhelming depression. It’s also a bit of a quiz machine, scattering intriguing tidbits that leave you wondering what might have happened if Bruce Springsteen had accepted the more commercial offers offered to him after his hugely successful tour in support of “The River” LP.

If you’re not a big Springsteen fan, Cooper’s film has plenty of surprises. One of the most intriguing hypotheses is that filmmaker Paul Schrader offers the musician a starring role in a film called “Born in the USA.” You can definitely see the appeal from Schrader’s side. By 1981 (when the film debuted), Springsteen had established himself as an electrifying presence on the concert scene, which seemed to translate well into acting in films (a la Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley). The musician turned down Schrader but, as we all know, found deep inspiration in the film’s title. While it may seem like a complete creative theft, Springsteen generously repaid Schrader with a new song for his renowned film.

Obviously, Springsteen came out on top in this deal when “Born in the USA” went 17 times platinum selling in the United States. It was the album that made him the global icon he wasn’t sure he wanted to be, but ultimately fully embraced.

Among the movie kids of the 1970s, no one was less destined for mainstream success than Paul Schrader. The Calvinist provocateur from Grand Rapids, Michigan, tackles thorny subjects but lacks his peers’ taste for pure cinema. Perhaps if Schrader had convinced Springsteen to star in the film that became “Light of Day” in 1987, he would have had the opportunity to take on large-scale projects. I doubt it. I always thought Schrader, the author of “Taxi Driver” and director of dour character studies, found himself where he belonged.

Nevertheless, “Light of Day” was commercially ambitious. Schrader cast Michael J. Fox (at the height of his fame in “Family Ties”) and Joan Jett as brother and sister in a Cleveland, Ohio bar band. While Fox struggles valiantly to play against the Yuppie type, Jett digs deep to match the theatrical fireworks set off by all-time star Gena Rowlands. Neither is fully successful, but their efforts remain captivating. It’s a good movie.

“Light of Day” ends with Fox and Jett putting aside their sibling rivalry long enough to rock out to the catchy Springsteen-penned title track in a Cleveland bar (with the great Michael McKean on bass), and it takes you out of the movie with a bang. This is one of my favorite Boss songs, so I’m not surprised that he plays it frequently on his tours. It’s a glimpse of what his career could have been had he been dissuaded from leaving “Nebraska.”