There’s a heck of a lot of good movies with sports as the central theme. This month’s list is made all the more special by the contribution of a movie review sent from a reader of SPORTSLORE. Bob Smith graciously sent us a review of RUNNING BRAVE, and we think it deserves to be seen. Bob is a loyal visitor to this page and runs his own page "Galts Gulch".

The movie-guys appreciate this sort of input, and encourage you to write in with your own selections, too. Thanks, Bob!

Here’s this month’s list of sports movies, with what we may think of them. You can tell us what you think by voting for your favorite sports movie in this month’s poll. By year’s end, we’ll have another Top Ten Favorite Sports Movie Poll for you to choose from.

Don’t forget to rewind!
Your Pal, Hal

RUNNING BRAVE (1983) – The story of Billy Mills, one of my own tribe or close, as I'm Oglala he is a Lakota Indian, but still Sioux.

Beautiful and highly inspirational true story of Billy Mills, an American Indian Sioux, who overcame great odds and poverty to become (to date) the only American to win the 10,000m Olympic Gold Medal.

Mills was orphaned at age twelve and due to his profound achievements, holds legendary status among the Native American Indian community in the United States. He is now 64.

Because of the historic nature of this event, every attempt has been made to preserve the last lap in what will always be considered one of the most exciting upsets in Olympic history. Watch and Listen to the final lap as Billy Mills, the unknown runner, after setting the pace thoughout the exhausting 10,000 meters finds himself bumped off stride, passed and boxed in by the expected front runners. Be there for a moment of inspired athletic prowess as Billy Mills finds an untapped source of strength and kicks his way into Olympic history, pulling out in front and breaking the ribbon of victory. (PG)
ROBBY BENSON, CLAUDIA CRON, PAT HINGLE, DENIS LACROIX
Review by Bob Smith

HEART LIKE A WHEEL (1983) – Real life story of Drag Racer Shirley Muldowney. From the opening scene, driving too fast on her daddy’s lap, we can see little Shirley is excited by speed. Jump to 1956 – where she is dating a "Road King" street Racer. We can see her pantomiming shifting gears for him, as she is left on the starting line. He chokes, losing the race. But love conquers all and they marry with Daddy’s blessing. Somehow, Shirley convinces her new hubby to let her drag against the former competitor. She wins on the street, and, with hubby’s reluctant support, continues winning.

The need for speed becomes overwhelming, as Shirley tries to enter the world of Professional Drag Racers. She knows her skill and talent can make her a professional. But it is always hard for a woman to break into to any sport against guys. Her persistence and determination wins her a spot to tryout on a Pro strip, where she breaks the track record!

We follow Shirley’s story through pushing herself into a "man’s" world and pushing her husband to the point of divorce. He encouraged her, at first, but now wants the old familiar, waitress, Shirley, to be his wife, and mother of their son.

Shirley drives on, is encouraged by, and falls for, a slick hot-rod womanizer, Connie Kalitta. He distracts her from her true dream of Drag Racing, racing her in his Funny Cars. Publicity hound Connie renames her "Cha-Cha" Muldowney for the 70’s press, but is basically holding her back. Played perfectly by BRIDGES, Connie is basically one of those smarmy guys who keeps hitting on and getting all the girls, even when he has a great one at home. Shirley finds out about these indiscretions, and cuts him loose.

She’s made several wrong turns along the way, but Muldowney’s heart has been always fixated on Drag Racing. It is perhaps one of her last supporters left, her son, which helps regain Muldowney’s focus on the sport of Drag Racing. Her confidence and courage, enables her to block out all her personal tragedy, beating her former lover, Kalitta, and become the first person, male of female, to win the Championship more than once.

A note from the video cover reveals: "[BEDELIA’s] portrayal was so convincing that many of the drag racers who saw clips from the film actually thought Shirley played herself in several scenes." (PG)
BONNIE BEDIELIA, BEAU BRIDGES, BILL McKINNEY, HOYT AXTON, ANTHONY EDWARDS

HOOSIERS (1986) – In 1950’s Indiana, basketball is a way of life. No more so than in the tiny town of Hickory, Indiana. New to Hickory High is Coach Norman Dale. He is a down on his luck former college basketball coach, hired by his friend, the principal, to coach the Hickory Huskers. He’s been out of the game for ten years while in the Merchant Marines, and he’s got his work cut out for him. Definite problems he has to face.

There are only eight guys on the whole team to begin with. The female Vice-Principal (and played-down love interest) has convinced the school’s best player Wade, to take a year off the team and devote it to study. Coach’s calisthenics and passing drills are foreign concepts to a team that simply likes to take their best shots. Reaching out to one of the team member’s fathers, Dale asks Shooter, town drunk, basketball fanatic and former high-school star to be his Assistant Coach, on the one condition: that he sobers up. This is an act of trust that the townsfolk cannot fathom.

Sure, Dale has collegiate basketball experience, but his unorthodox training methods are exasperating to the team and the town. Hickory is a town, like others around them, that lives and dies for basketball. These folks are slow to accept change of any kind; especially Dale’s unorthodox coaching. He is obviously in town on borrowed time.

What no one can deny is that Coach is winning games. Dale’s skill as a coach, and his conviction to education, convinces the Vice-principal to persuade Wade to rejoin the team. Dale and his newly energized team take the eight-man squad to the Regional, and amazingly, the State Championships. No school this small has ever been in the State Championships. It may be the most exciting thing to ever happen to Indiana basketball!

The Hickory Huskers are humbled and awed by the sheer size of the stadium. Coach Dale has the team methodically measure the court: 15 feet from the foul line… 10 feet from rim to floor. The exact same measurements as the gym back at Hickory High, he reminds them. You’re winners there, you’re winners here: no difference. ("But, it is pretty big, isn’t it," he chuckles, knowingly, to his friend.)

Each member of the team has his own personal reason to win: for the school; "For my Dad," (Shooter, now drying out, again, listening on the radio), but most of all, for the Coach that got them this far.

This is a movie about second chances. What each character has to decide is what to do with theirs. The Principal, old friend of Coach Dale’s gives him a second chance to coach. Dale gives Shooter a second chance in life, and the Coach gives the team a second chance, when as a team, they pull together and insist that Wade, their best shooter, take the final shot.
(Hollywood, it can be also said, gave Dennis Hopper a second chance, in his Oscar Nominated role as Shooter.) (PG)
GENE HACKMAN, BARBARA HERSHEY, DENNIS HOPPER, DAVID NEIDORF, SHEB WOOLEY

THE HARDER THEY FALL (1956) – New York City. Late 50’s. Clipped Sentences. Big Cars. Bow Ties. High Profiles. Low Lifes. Smokey Rooms. Back Alleys. Jazzy Vibes…

BOGART is Eddie Willis, a sports writer, who currently doesn’t have a gig. Jaded. No stories left in him. He needs money, so he accepts a job from crooked boxing promoter Benko (STEIGER). He is to be the press agent for Benko’s newly arrived whiz kid from the Andes, Toro Moreno. This seven-foot tall giant has got to be the ringer they were hoping for, but as it turns out, the big fella has a "powder-puff punch with a glass jaw." They’ve got him under contract, and rather than lose their cash they decide to fight him. Eddie’s first advice: Move Toro to out of New York to California, where they don’t have a clue what good boxers look like. It’s all show business out there anyway and Eddie can make it spin.

With tour buses, press connections, and that new media, television, Willis gets the kid some attention. But can they make the kid win? Traveling across the country, through a series of fixed fights arranged by the promoters, Toro beat a path to become a contender for the heavyweight championship back in NYC. Arriving in New York, the current heavyweight champ (real-life champ, MAX BAER) refuses to throw the fight. Plans change for the dirty-dealing promoters. They’ll just bet against Toro and clean up.

Eddie has never been comfortable with the job. He jaws a lot about how he’s making big money, but as a reporter, he is not used to lying to the press. And he doesn’t like the fact that this kid is in danger of getting his head beat off at any moment. So Eddie hires a trainer (played by JERSEY JOE WOLCOTT) to teach him to defend himself at the very least.

Toro somehow manages to make a show of it and lasts through the first three rounds before he gets KO’d, which gives these wanna-be gangsters their cash and Toro, his supposed pay-day.

Willis, Toro’s only friend at this point, confronts the Benko and finds out Toro’s cut is only $49, for all the months of pain and hard work. (That’s all that’s left after the expenses for the towels, lockers, food, travel, lodging etc. that are subtracted out by the crooked accountants.) Willis gives the thousands he has made on the road to Toro, and sends him home to Argentina to take care of his family.

Willis begins writing once again. This time it’s an expose on the crimes he’s witnessed, first hand, in the world of professional boxing.

This was HUMPHREY BOGART’s last film, he died soon afterwards, but the strength and character he had always displayed are evident in every scene. The boxing scenes feature great Point Of View (POV) shots which can be seen as an influence to RAGING BULL, made some 30 years later. (N/R) B&W
HUMPHREY BOGART, ROD STEIGER, MIKE LANG, JAN STERLING

THE SIXTH MAN (1997) – Two brothers, high school basketball teammates, rely one each other. Antoine is the Star and little bro’ feeds him all of his shots. Since early childhood, Coach Dad has given them advice. When Dad consoles Kenny about not being the star, he tells him that he has always had the "heart’, pounding his chest. "It’s all about what’s in here."

After Daddy dies of a heart attack, we cut to Antoine and Kenny in college, playing for the Huskies. Kenny is still throwing the ball to Ant, never taking a shot on his own. Then tragically, Antoine is struck down, another heart attack, leaving Kenny all alone.

Kenny obviously has a bad time of it, and when coach tries to consul him, he reminds Kenny, tapping his chest, "It’s all about what’s in here." During the next few days, freaky things begin to happen. The other Huskies are concerned about Kenny. He’s talking to himself and acting all whack. His shots are wild, but they keep going in. But we can see it: Big Brother’s Ghost is in the House!

Most of the humor in the Sixth Man up to this point is either based on Kenny jiving with his invisible brother (to very confused lookers-on), or from the all-too-familiar involuntary high-flying hook shots, ala "Flubber". We’ve all seen this before. I was fully prepared to dis’ this movie.

As the film progresses, the other Huskies actually begin to see the ghost of Antoine, too, but resent his interfering.

When an opponent, and friend of the family, is hurt by big bother’s overly spirited, interference (Angry Ghost!), Kenny has to make a life-defining decision. Ghost Antoine is out of hand – it’s time to let him go and let the team play on it’s own, win or lose.

Without Antoine’s ghostly presence, the Huskies have a hard time keeping up in the final championship game. In a spirited speech, (forgive the pun), Kenny is the one who taps his heart: "It’s all about what’s in here." He inspires his team to work together and in the end Kenny takes and makes the winning shot, without any unearthly help. Kenny finally lets go of, and makes peace with, his Brother Antoine’s spirit.

The dramatic scenes, so necessary to the plot of THE SIXTH MAN, were directed with such care that I had to forgive the dopey comedic scenes and totally predictable plot. The Sixth Man is a touching comedy. A good movie to watch with your kids. (PG-13)
KADEEM HARDISSON, MARLON WAYANES, DAVID PALMER, MICHAEL MICHELLE

EXTREME OPS (2003) – A crew of Winter Extreme Sports professionals sign up to film a spectacular stunt for a commercial on a remote Austrian Mountain top. The remote location that is so perfect for filming their raw and perilous stunts, is also the perfect remote location that a group of Eastern-European terrorists have chosen to hole-up in.

Naturally suspicious, as terrorist are wont to be, the bad guys think these kids must be CIA, spying on them, what with the cameras and all. In a surprise meeting, to bully the crew off the mountain (complete with gun-toting helicopter), the terrorists reveal their true colors. It ends in a bloody confrontation.

Now the chase is on! At the very least, this band of misfits must escape with their lives. Relying on their athletic ability, and pooling their individual skills to defeat the terrorists, the out-numbered, under-armed athletes, must not only team together to escape with their lives, but also save the world. With their X-Sports skills, they escape down the mountain and stop the terroristic threat.

A hint of a love story, a good soundtrack, lots of explosions, and great James Bond type over-the-top stunts make this movie quite enjoyable. But did they get the shot? (PG-13)
DEVON SAWA, BRIDGETTE SILSON-SAMPRAS, RUFUS SWELL, RUPERT GRAVES

THE BLACK STALLION (1979) – A violent shipwreck leaves pre-teen Alec all alone on a deserted island. The only other "survivor" of the ship to make it to the island is a wild Arabian Black Stallion. Boy and horse learn to trust and rely on each other to survive in this desolate environment. When Alec finally gets rescued, he insists that his rescuers bring "Black" along. Alec and "Black" have formed a friendship and bond that will surely last a lifetime.

Finally back at home, Alec and Black are thrown in the company of an ex-jockey and horse trainer, Henry Dailey (ROONEY). Dailey recognizes the magnificent stallion’s wild spirit as something that could be molded into excellence as a racehorse. He also sees Alec’s devotion to his beloved stallion and trains him as the jockey. Dailey’s tutelage prepares both young Alec and his Black Stallion to race at Belmont.

OK, I know, this review makes this movie seem like some sort of dull cross between CAST AWAY and SEABISCUIT, but THE BLACK STALLION is a beautifully-shot, timeless, touching movie, with plenty of suspense and action, that the whole family can enjoy. (G)
KELLY RENO, MICKEY ROONEY, TERI GARR, CLARENCE MUSE

BLUE CHIPS (1994) – Finally, here is a Basketball movie that isn’t about the team winning in the last 3 seconds of the game. This one’s about the coach and his total dedication to his team, his players, and the rules.

Western University’s Coach Pete Bell may be the most honest coach in college Basketball. He runs the cleanest program in America. But he is facing his first losing season ever. The other College teams are getting the better players, by giving them "incentives" to sign up to their schools. Against the rules, yes, but widely accepted. It is a fact of life.

While Bell is totally against incentives, he knows he’s facing a dilemma: If he is to keep his job, he has to continue winning. If he wants to win next season, he has to start attracting better players. To attract better players, he has to allow the "Alumni Association" to offer silent gifts to his best prospects. If he gets caught doing that, he gets fired. It’s a no-win situation.

Bell and his team of recruiters go out into the heartland to dig up three prospects Bell thinks he can train into high-profile players. Yet, as he approaches both the players and their families, with the opportunity of a good education, team spirit, etc., they know the drill. The corruption goes so deep that even the high school prospects now expect to get paid. They name their price up-front during the interview process. ("I figure a Blue Chip Athlete deserves 30K".) Frustrated, Coach Bell asks a mother what she wants her son to be when he gets out of college. "A millionaire," she answers, matter-of-factly.

Bell’s ethics are pushed to the limit as the head of the Alumni Association tries to convince him to let the "Friends of the Program" to help recruit these kids to attend the University. ("You get a six-figure salary, endorsement deals and they get NOTHING! We OWE these kids this!") Bell knows he needs these guys to win. He quietly gives the nod to Alumni-Guy, but doesn’t want to know any of the details.

Coach Bell gets his team and coaches them into a winning season. He’d like to think it’s his superior coaching ability, but he’s lying to himself. By now, he knows the details of his three stars’ deals. He speaks to the team about believing in the rules, how they / he broke those rules, and how he can’t live with that. (PG-13)
NICK NOLTE, SHAQUILLE O’NEILL, MARY McDONNELL, ED O’NEIL, J.T. WALSH, ALFRE WOODARD

DRIVEN (2001) – Here’s the original blurb for the end-of-the-year round up of last year’s top-ten. "SLY STALLONE wrote and stars in this competent racing drama." Competent was the best word I could come with at the time.

STALLONE wrote this convoluted mess, and he’s been known to write better. (ROCKY rings a bell.) RENY HARLIN has directed far better action movies: DIE HARD 2, CLIFFHANGER and THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT, among them. So, what went wrong? For one thing, it’s the Word: Cliché.

The story basically is that an older driver, Joe Santo, former winner on the Championship Auto Racing Team Circuit is brought in to mentor up-and-coming driver, Jimmy. Santo is brought on-board by old pal and owner of the team, played by REYNOLDS.

There are lots of nifty car racing scenes and crashes galore, as to be expected. But the crashes are so obviously computer generated, we never think anyone is any danger.

The trouble is with STALONE’s script; we can’t figure out which one these guys is "Rocky." Is it the old guy trying to make a comeback, or the young guy trying to win? And by the end, we just don’t care.

The standout performance in DRIVEN is the Computer Generated (CG) tire that comes whizzing by you at a really amazing speed…with a really loud "Whoosh!" (PG-13)
SYLVESTER STALLONE, KIP PARDUE, BURT REYNOLDS, STACY EDWARDS, ESTELLA WARREN, GINA GERSHON, ROBERT SEAN LEONARD

THE JOE LOUIS STORY (1953) – JOE LOUIS’ career as Heavyweight Champion lasted for a record-breaking 12 years and was filled with hardship both in and out of the ring. This film shows the champ’s struggle through racism and the battles with other legendary fighters in the ring. We also see the man’s personal life, complicated by bankruptcy and marital trials. But the "Brown Bomber" remained on top through his determination and skill to win his place in boxing history. This movie features actual footage from some of Joe Louis’ greatest fights with the likes of PRIMO CARNERA ROCKY MARCIANO, MAX SHMELING and MAX BAER. (BAER was also in "The Harder They Fall" on this month’s movie list, and might be better known to non-sports fans as the father of MAX BAER JR., who played Jethro Bodine of THE BEVERLY HILLBILLY’s.)

Searching the ‘net I found that COLEY WALLACE, who played Joe Louis, was also somewhat of a boxer himself. You’ll have to ask the sport guys about that one. (N/R) B&W
COLEY WALLACE, PAUL STEWART, HILDA SIMS

NOTE: Coley Wallace was born in Jacksonville, Fla. though New York City became his home. In 1948 he had an amatuer status of 17 - 0. All were knockouts. It was then he fought, and was judged to beat, Rocky Marciano. He became known as the last boxer to beat The Rock.

From 1950 to 56 he fought pro with a 20 - 7 record.
Mike Indri, New Jersey representative for the the Retired Boxers Foundation.

EXTRA FEATURES

Some movies are Good, some movies are Great, some movies are just plain awful and we like those too. From time to time we hope to provide you with a review of some of our favorite guilty pleasures, a movie that’s "so bad, that it’s good."

HOT ROD GIRL (1956) – Champion dragster Jeff vows to quit racing after his kid brother is killed in a street race. Like in the old west movies, where a bigheaded kid wants a gunfight with the retired hero, a newcomer wants to race Jeff for his title. Jeff isn’t tempted by the newbie’s taunts, but Jeff’s girl falls for the young gun and sidles up with him. This is too much for Jeff to take, and the race is on! (Am I going to be typing "And the Race Is On!" forever?)

CHUCK CONNORS (TV’s RIFLEMAN), plays the Sheriff who tries to stop these illegal and dangerous, street-racing kids, by organizing supervised racing. Yeah, that’ll work.

Also starring one of the B-Movie Queens, LORI NELSON (REVENGE OF THE CREATURE, THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED.) This movie, also know as HOT CAR GIRL, features an early appearance from FRANK GORSHIN, impressionist, who is perhaps best known now as "The Riddler" in the 60’s BATMAN TV series. (N/R) B&W
LORI NELSON, CHUCK CONNORS, JOHN W. SMITH, LORI NELSON, FRANK GORSHIN