A semi-fictional account of life as a professional (American-style) football player. Loosely based on the Dallas Cowboys team of the early 1970s.
Director:
Ted Kotcheff
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Title: North Dallas Forty (1979)
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1 win & 2 nominations.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Nick Nolte | ... | Phillip Elliott | |
| Mac Davis | ... | Seth Maxwell | |
| Charles Durning | ... | Coach Johnson | |
| Dayle Haddon | ... | Charlotte Caulder | |
| Bo Svenson | ... | Jo Bob Priddy | |
| John Matuszak | ... | O. W. Shaddock | |
| Steve Forrest | ... | Conrad Hunter | |
| G.D. Spradlin | ... | B. A. Strothers | |
| Dabney Coleman | ... | Emmett Hunter | |
| Savannah Smith Boucher | ... | Joanne Rodney (as Savannah Smith) | |
| Marshall Colt | ... | Art Hartman | |
 |
Guich Koock | ... | Eddie Rand |
| Deborah Benson | ... | Mrs. Hartman | |
|
|
Jim Boeke | ... | Stallings (as James F. Boeke) |
|
|
John Bottoms | ... | Vip |
Edit
Plot Summary
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Storyline
A semi-fictional account of life as a professional (American-style) football player. Loosely based on the Dallas Cowboys team of the early 1970s. Written by Afterburner <aburner@erols.com>
Plot Keywords:
football | football movie | sports team | reference to sigmund freud | nfl |Taglines:
"Wait till you see the weird part." [USA Theatrical] See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
3 August 1979 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Destino de un rebelde See more »Edit
Box Office
Gross USA:
$26,079,312Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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Performed by The Gibson Brothers
Written by Jean Kluger & Daniel Vangarde
courtesy of Island Records
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The character of Stallings was played by Jim Boeke (billed as James F. Boeke), who was one of source novelist and co-scripter Peter Gent's real-life teammates from the Dallas Cowboys. This was not Boeke's cinema movie debut though, Boeke had film experience, as he had earlier appeared in Heaven Can Wait (1978) and had two other TV credits. See more »Goofs
There are several lip-synch problems throughout, probably due to re-dubbing lines. See more »Soundtracks
CubaPerformed by The Gibson Brothers
Written by Jean Kluger & Daniel Vangarde
courtesy of Island Records
See more »
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When this movie first came out (late 70's), I was still in high school and very naive as to the behind the scenes machinations of professional football. This movie was ahead of its time in its depiction since no other movie on professional football had ventured into this area exposing drug use, both off the field casual usage and to get players on the field, and indifference of ownership and coaching staff to players feelings and thoughts.
Nick Nolte was exceptional as Phil Elliot, the wide receiver whose character was based on Pete Gent, a wide receiver with the Dallas Cowboys who authored the book (North Dallas Forty) the movie was based on. He is a free spirit with little regard for authority but undoubtedly cares about his performance on the field. He cannot play by the rules because he doesn't make them. Mac Davis was great as quarterback Seth Maxwell, the jaded athlete who knows how to "bend" the rules to remain in good standing with the team.
Supporting cast, especially GD Spradlin as the coach modeled after Dallas Cowboys coaching genius Tom Landry, was excellent. If you have 2 hrs and want to catch a well-acted, well-written movie on the reality of professional football, then catch this flick. It preceded such films and Stone's Any Given Sunday, but its content is very relevant to football 30 years later.