Slap Shot (1977)

A failing ice hockey team finds success using constant fighting and violence during games.

Director:

George Roy Hill

Writer:

Nancy Dowd

Stars:

Paul Newman, Strother Martin, Michael Ontkean

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	Reggie 'Reg' Dunlop
Strother Martin	...	Joe McGrath
Michael Ontkean	...	Ned Braden
Jennifer Warren	...	Francine Dunlop
Lindsay Crouse	...	Lily Braden
Jerry Houser	...	Dave 'Killer' Carlson
Andrew Duncan	...	Jim Carr
Jeff Carlson	...	Jeff Hanson
Steve Carlson	...	Steve Hanson
David Hanson	...	Jack Hanson
Yvon Barrette	...	Denis Lemieux
Allan F. Nicholls	...	Johnny Upton (as Allan Nicholls)
Brad Sullivan	...	Morris 'Mo' Wanchuk
Stephen Mendillo	...	Jim Ahern
Yvan Ponton	...	Jean-Guy Drouin

Storyline

Located in the US Rust Belt, Charlestown is home of the hapless Chiefs, a losing Federal League hockey team whose games are poorly attended. To make money, the team's unknown owner makes its manager, Joe McGrath, do cheesy publicity much to the players' chagrin. Rumors abound among the players that if the local mill closes, the team will fold. Just before the official announcement is made, the team's aging player/coach, Reggie Dunlop, does get wind that the mill is indeed closing and that this season will be the team's last. Beyond efforts to reconcile with his wife Francine, who loves Reggie but doesn't love his career, Reggie begins to focus on how to renew interest in the team for a possible sale as he knows if the team folds, his hockey career is over. Without telling anyone of his plan, he begins a rumor that the owner is negotiating a sale with a city in Florida. He also decides that "goon" hockey - most especially using the untapped talents of the recently acquired childlike ...

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Plot Keywords:

ice hockey | small town | violence | team owner | siren | 

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Taglines:

Slap Shot out slaps... out swears... out laughs...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Schlappschuß

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$28,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kings Road Entertainment, Pan Arts, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nancy Dowd wrote the script because her brother, Ned Dowd, was a professional hockey player. He also has a part in the movie, as well as being stunt coordinator and technical advisor.

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Goofs

Through out the course of the movie, Reggie Dunlop has the team, the media, and the public duped into believing that the team is being sold to a retirement community in Florida. However, at no time does Joe McGrath, who, as G.M. of the team, has a working relationship with the owner, ever make a public comment, or stop Reggie Dunlop from perpetrating the lie. Nor does anyone know who the owner is until Dunlop blackmails him into getting the owner's name. At some point prior, the media had to know who the owner was, certainly the names of the ownership group would have been in the team's program and media guide.

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Quotes

Reggie Dunlop: What are you guys doing?
Steve Hanson: Puttin' on the foil!
Jeff Hanson: Every game!
Jack Hanson: Yeah, you want some?

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to John Mitchell and his Johnstown Jets.

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Connections

Referenced in ECW Hardcore Heaven 1995 (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Rhiannon"
Fleetwood Mac
Reprise Records
Written by Stevie Nicks (uncredited)

User Reviews

Hilarious, oddly influential dark sports comedy

Mostly hated by critics on its release, as much for its cynical viewpoint as its relentless profanity, "Slap Shot" has since become something of a cult classic.

Set in the low-rent world of minor-league hockey, the movie follows the efforts of player-coach Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) to turn around the Charlestown Chiefs' final, losing season in a dying Pennsylvania steel town. Reggie is not above using a dirty trick or two to manipulate his teammates or psych out opposing players, and cheerfully gets physical when he has to. Even Reggie recoils in disgust, however, when his tightwad manager (Strother Martin) brings in the Hanson Brothers, three thick-lensed, thicker-headed goons who are more interested in fighting than playing Reggie's brand of "old-time hockey".

When it becomes apparent that the hometown crowd loves the Hanson's rough and bloody style, Reggie decides to go with the flow, and to fire up his other players concocts the story that, if they can win the championship, the owner will be able to sell the franchise to a group of rich retirees in Florida. To do that, though, they will have to get past an opposing squad specially stocked with the league's most notorious goons...

A sometimes uneasy blend of slapstick and kitchen-sink realism , "Slap Shot" has some pertinent things to say about the American worship of success at all costs, and (long before the rise of the WWF) our fascination with violent sports. Echos of its gritty style can be seen not only in many later sporting films, such as "Bull Durham" and "Major League", but even in the wave of British movies in which characters fight to hold onto their lives after the collapse of hometown industry, such as "The Full Monty" and "Brassed Off".

The film really shines as a straight comedy, though, delivering some classic characters and set pieces: virtually every appearance of the Hansons; a clueless, toupee-wearing sportscaster (Andrew Duncan); the team's tiny Quebecker goalie (Yvon Barrette), and Newman himself, in one of his personal favorite roles. The females fare less well, although Jennifer Warren stands out as Dunlop's long-suffering, estranged wife.

Note: in the VHS version, the background music has been replaced by an inferior, generic soundtrack. The DVD version, with the original music, is preferable.