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Slap Shot (film)
Encyclopedia
Slap Shot is a 1977 film comedy starring Paul Newman
and Michael Ontkean
directed by George Roy Hill
. It depicts a minor league hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a declining factory town.
, has no idea who the owner of the team is. While not particularly talented as either a player or a coach, Dunlop is a skilled con man, and regularly manipulates the team to his own advantage.
During a hopeless season, the team picks up the Hanson Brothers
, bespectacled violent goons with child-like mentalities, complete with toys in their luggage. Dunlop, appalled at being given players who seem stupidly immature and unreliable, initially chooses not to play them. But in a moment of desperation, he brings the trio of thugs into a game to see what they can do. Their fighting and overly aggressive style of play excites the fans and the Chiefs win the game.
Dunlop, seeing the potential of a dynamic goon squad, retools the team in the Hansons' image. Most players, such as Dave "Killer" Carlson (Jerry Houser
), take a liking to this. Talented young top scorer Ned Braden (Ontkean), however, prefers a clean style of hockey from his college days, and clashes with Dunlop over the direction of the team. Braden's depressed wife, Lily (Lindsay Crouse
), has difficulty adjusting to the life and finds a sympathizer in Dunlop's estranged wife Francine (Jennifer Warren
).
To keep them motivated, Dunlop plants a story (in fact an outright lie) with sportswriter Dickie Dunn that the Chiefs are being sold to a prospective buyer in Florida, who would move the team out of bleak Charlestown to sunny climes. As the Chiefs continue winning and gaining fans, Dunlop blackmails the team's stingy General Manager Joe McGrath (Strother Martin
) to tell him who the Chiefs' owner is, a running joke throughout the movie as nobody is sure who owns the Chiefs. The owner turns out to be a rich widow, Anita McCambridge, who couldn't care less about hockey. She compliments Dunlop on his clever manipulations of the team and suggests that she could easily sell the team now that Reggie has made it a success, but she can do better by folding the franchise and taking a tax write-off. Disgusted with her indifference towards the players losing their jobs, he storms out, and realizes that his lies blew up in his face. Seeing no alternative and feeling guilty, Dunlop elects to come clean to his boys.
One last playoff game remains, and Dunlop reveals to the players that there is no buyer and he made the whole story up. After apologizing to his team, he decides that this is to be his last game, so Reggie wants to go out with dignity and not like a goon. Despite being conned, the team follows Dunlop's lead and vows to play clean, going out playing "old-time hockey."
However, their opponents, the Syracuse Bulldogs, fed up with the aggressive tactics of the Chiefs, have chosen to assemble the most infamous set of enforcers ever to disgrace a hockey rink. They include legendary Federal League brawlers and a dreaded rookie goon, Ogie Ogilthorpe.
Playing it straight, the Chiefs are brutally battered in the first period. In the locker room, a furious McGrath tells the players that there are NHL
scouts in the stands. Some could get contracts. Hearing this, the Chiefs turn into goons again and the game degenerates into a slugfest.
Braden, sulking on the bench after refusing to goon it up, finally snaps. He spies his wife Lily, who has undergone a complete makeover by Francine and is wearing a sexy new dress and hairdo. She's even enjoying the game. Braden skates out to center ice and strips off his uniform, prompting the arena's band to accompany him with "The Stripper
". Both teams stop fighting and stare in amazement at Braden's striptease, hypocritically more offended by Braden's antics than the violence they have been engaging in.
Syracuse captain Tim "Dr Hook" McCracken demands that the referee stop Braden. When the official refuses, McCracken sucker-punches him, causing the referee to declare a forfeit. This gives the game – and the Federal League championship – to the Chiefs. The team celebrates by parading around the ice with the championship trophy, carried by Braden, wearing nothing but skates and a jockstrap.
It is revealed during a championship parade in Charlestown the following day that Reggie Dunlop has accepted a job as the coach of a new team, the Minnesota Nighthawks, and that he intends to bring Chiefs players with him. It is never made clear on whether or not this was another of Dunlop's lies.
, is based in part on her brother Ned Dowd
's experiences playing minor league hockey
in the United States in the 1970s, during which time violence, especially in the low minors, was the selling point of the game.
Dowd was living in Los Angeles when she got a call from her brother Ned, a member of the Johnstown Jets
hockey team. Her brother gave her the bad news that the team was for sale. Dowd moved to the area and be inspired to write Slap Shot. It was filmed in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
; and upstate New York (Utica
Auditorium and the Onondaga County War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse
).
Nancy Dowd (who also produced the film) used her brother Ned and a number of his Johnstown Jets teammates in Slap Shot, with Ned Dowd portraying Syracuse goon "Ogie Ogilthorpe". He later used the role to launch a career as a Hollywood character actor and producer. The characters of the "Hanson Brothers" are in fact based on three actual brothers, Jeff, Steve and Jack Carlson, who played with Ned Dowd on the Jets. The character of "Dave 'Killer' Carlson" is based on then-Jets player Dave "Killer" Hanson. Steve and Jeff Carlson played their Hanson brother counterparts in the film. Jack Carlson was originally scripted to appear in the film as the third brother, Jack, with Dave Hanson playing his film counterpart, "Dave 'Killer' Carlson". However by the time filming began, Jack Carlson had been called up by the Edmonton Oilers
, then of the WHA
to play in the WHA playoffs, so Dave Hanson moved into the role of "Jack Hanson", and actor Jerry Houser
was hired for the role of "'Killer' Carlson".
Paul Newman, claiming that he swore very little in real life before the making of Slap Shot, said to Time magazine in 1984:
Newman also stated publicly that the most fun he ever had making a movie was on Slap Shot, as he had played the sport while young and was fascinated by the real players around him. He also said that playing Reggie Dunlop was one of his favorite roles.
, where lines from the movie such as "Dave est magané" (Dave's a mess) and "Du hockey comme dans le temps" (Old Time Hockey) are common catch phrases.
The movie was filmed in (and loosely based around) Johnstown, Pennsylvania
and utilized several players from the then-active North American Hockey League Johnstown Jets (the team for which Dowd himself played) as extras. The Carlson Brothers and Dave Hanson also played for the Jets in real life. Many scenes were filmed in the Cambria County War Memorial Arena
and Starr Arena
in Hamilton, New York, the Utica Memorial Auditorium
(used as "Peterborough" where the pre-game fight occurs and where a Hanson reprimands the referee for talking during the anthem), Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, NY (used as "Hyannisport" where the Hanson Brothers charge into the stands to accost a fan and are subsequently arrested), and in other Johnstown locales. Coincidentally, the Johnstown Jets, and the NAHL, folded in 1977, the year Slap Shot was released.
Although much of the movie takes place during the Fall and Winter seasons, when hockey is in season, filming at the Utica Memorial Auditorium took place during the month of July. Similarly, in Johnstown, Paul Newman is wearing a coat as though it should be cold, but there is no snow on the ground and the trees are in full bloom.
The Reggie Dunlop character is based, in part, on former Eastern Hockey League
Long Island Ducks
player/coach John Brophy
, who receives homage by his last name being used for the drunken center of the Hyannisport Presidents. Ironically, Brophy would later coach one of the Hanson brothers (Jack Hanson, real name Dave Hanson) in 1978 when he coached the Birmingham Bulls.
Syracuse Bulldogs rookie goon Ogie Ogilthorpe, who was mentioned throughout the film but never actually seen until the final playoff game, was based on longtime minor-league goon Bill "Goldie" Goldthorpe. Like Ogie Ogilthorpe, Goldie Goldthorpe is also infamous for his rookie season in professional hockey (1973) when as a member of the Syracuse Blazers he amassed 25 major fighting penalties before Christmas.
The Blades in the film were based on the Broome County Dusters
. One scene in the film was specifically drawn from events that occurred in Binghamton
. In the movie, the Hanson brothers wear black-rimmed, Coke-bottle eyeglasses, and in one game, get into a fight immediately after the opening faceoff. In reality what happened was that both Jeff and Steve Carlson wore those type of glasses, and did get into a long fight right after an opening faceoff. Coach Dick Roberge told the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, "We got into Binghamton about two or three weeks before the playoffs. In the team warmup, we're out there and all the Binghamton players came out with the plastic glasses and big noses, every one of them, poking fun at the Carlson brothers. We went back in the dressing room and the boys said, 'Coach, as soon as that puck is dropped, we're pairing up.' We had one heckuva fight. They went about 30 minutes until everyone got tired. We met them again in the finals (1974–75) and beat them four straight."
A scene in the film shows the Hanson brothers jumping the Peterboro Patriots during pre-game warm-ups. This scene is based on events in a mid-1970s North American Hockey League
playoff series between the Johnstown Jets
and the Buffalo Norsemen
. The Jets had a black player on their roster, and during a playoff game held in North Tonawanda, New York
(a northern suburb of Buffalo where the Norsemen played their home games) a Norsemen fan held up a derogatory sign stating that blacks should be playing basketball. The next game in the series was held in Johnstown, and the Jets retaliated by attacking the Norsemen players during the warm-ups, with a huge brawl erupting. The Norsemen players and coaches then returned to the dressing room and refused to come out to start the game. The game was awarded to the Jets by forfeit, as was the playoff series since the "win" gave the Jets the needed number of victories to capture the series. In an ironic twist of fate, in 1978 the NHL
's Buffalo Sabres
drafted a black player, Tony McKegney
, who became the first black player to make a major impact in the NHL. McKegney played his Buffalo Sabres home games in front of many of the same fans who had attended Buffalo Norsemen
games.
Another scene from the movie is also based on a real life event. In the film, Jeff Hanson scores a goal and is hit in the face by a set of keys thrown by a fan. The Hansons then go into the stands after the fan and Jeff Hanson punches out the wrong fan. After the game, the Hansons are arrested for the incident. In real life, a similar incident occurred in Utica, New York in a game between the Johnstown Jets and the Mohawk Valley Comets. Jeff Carlson was hit in the face by a cup of ice thrown by a Utica fan and he went into the stands after the fan with his brothers Jack and Steve. All three were arrested and Dave Hanson gathered the money for bail for the Carlson brothers.
noted that his greatest regret as a critic was giving a mediocre review to this movie when it was first released. After viewing it several more times, he grew to like it more and later listed it as one of the greatest American comedy movies of all time. The Wall Street Journal
' s Joy Gould Boynum seemed at once entertained and repulsed by a movie so "foul-mouthed and unabashedly vulgar" on one hand and so "vigorous and funny" on the other. Michael Ontkean's strip tease displeased Time
magazine's critic, Richard Schickel
, who regretted that, "in the dénouement [Ontkean] is forced to go for a broader, cheaper kind of comic response." Despite the mixed reviews, the film won the Hochi Film Award
for "Best International Film".
Critical reevaluation of the film continues to be positive. In 1998, Maxim magazine named Slap Shot the "Best Guy Movie of All Time" above such acknowledged classics as The Godfather
, Raging Bull, and Newman's own Cool Hand Luke
(which received a backhanded tribute when Newman's character, while the Hansons were being bailed out of jail, stated to the booking officer that "most folk heroes started out as criminals"). Entertainment Weekly
ranked the film #31 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films".
In the 2007 50th Anniversary Issue, GQ named Slap Shot one of the "30 films that changed Men's Lives." In the November 2007 issue of GQ, Author Dan Jenkins proclaimed Slap Shot "the best sports film of the past 50 years".
In June 2008, Adam Proteau of The Hockey News rated Slap Shot as the best hockey film ever made.
" (hockey players Steve Carlson
, Jeff Carlson and Dave Hanson) have made permanent careers out of touring as their personas from the movie. McFarlane Toys
released a set of figures of the Hanson brothers with connecting bases resembling the hockey rink. McFarlane Toys first set that they released received complaints because of the blood painted on the toys' characters. McFarlane then re-released the Hanson Brothers figures without the blood.
The character of Ned Braden (described by the team's announcer as "a Princeton graduate...and an American citizen!", two unusual traits of a minor-league hockey player in the 1970s) is at least partially based on the actor Michael Ontkean, who played the part of Braden, a star player for the University of New Hampshire
squad in the late 1960s.
In another tribute to the movie's popularity, several real-life teams are called the Chiefs and, at one time or another, wore the fictional squad's sweaters. The ECHL
's Johnstown Chiefs
were also based in Johnstown and whose name came after the Charlestown team after the original owners of the Jets would not allow the new team to resurrect the Jets' name in 1988. The team's phone number is also 1-800-SLAP-SHOT, paying homage to the film. Other notables are the Saint-Jean Chiefs
of the Ligue nord-américaine de hockey
(LNAH) and the Garges
Chiefs, a suburban Paris team playing in France's Division 1 (the country's second level).
IHC Leuven of the Belgian Championship
are also nicknamed the Chiefs, however they use an original jersey design bearing no resemblance with that of the Charlestown Chiefs.
Two direct-to-video sequels have been made. Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice, was filmed in 2002 and Slap Shot 3: The Junior League
in 2008. Both movies featured the Hanson brothers in supporting roles.
The appearance and mannerisms of the Hanson Brothers inspired a professional wrestling
stable known as the Dudley Boyz
, who had great success in several major wrestling promotions, including World Wrestling Entertainment
. Similarly, the movie inspired The Hanson Brothers
, a side project of the Canadian rock band NoMeansNo
.
The Maxine Nightingale
tune "Right Back Where We Started From
" and a Sonny James
country tune entitled "A Little Bit South of Saskatoon" are featured in the original release as was Elton John
's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
". These songs were in the film when first shown on Showtime in the 1970s. The Nightingale song had been replaced in later TV showings of the film with a generic sound-alike tune (possibly due to copyrights issues) or other music. However, the DVD release keeps all the original music. The VHS version of the film, released in the early 1980s, contains none of the music by the name acts as heard in the theaters; all that music is substituted with songs in the same general style of the originals, but not the actual original songs nor artists. Recent showings of the movie on the Versus
cable channel has a lot of the original music back (with the Nightingale song being played in some scenes it was not in originally); however, one scene with the wives awaiting the return of the team, which has Elton John
's song, seems to have been cut.
The EA Sports
video games "NHL 98, NHL 99, NHL 2000, NHL 2001, NHL 2002 and NHL 2003
" features a mode in which you can create two custom teams, one of which, called the EA Blades, have very similar jerseys to the Chiefs.
Darude
's music video "My Game" was based around this film and one the characters in the video was named the Chief.
Although uncredited, the opening scene in which Sportscaster Jim Carr is interviewing Chief's goalie Denis Lemieux, the "Indian Spring Water" commercial that they are paused for (which prompts Denis to get up to get a cup of water) is narrated by longtime character actor Richard Stahl, better known for his recurring role on the 1980s series It's a Living with Ann Jillian
.
In a scene just after the Hanson Brothers are acquired by the Charlestown Chiefs, they are seen in the locker room mixing aluminum foil with hockey tape on their hands before putting on their gloves, which would aid in cutting their opponents during a hockey fight. Dick Roberge, the Carlson brothers coach on the Johnstown Jets, claims that the Carlson brothers did this in real life too. "They used to come into the dressing room and wrap their hands with aluminum foil under the gloves. They came up with a ruling (a month into the season) that you could not wear anything under your hockey gloves except a golf glove." However in commentary on the Slap Shot 25th Anniversary DVD the Carlson brothers and Dave Hanson deny using aluminum foil. They do however state that they used to wear water-treated leather golf gloves that had been dried to a rock-hard state.
During a charity auction by the Quad City Flames
, Eric Nystrom
stripped off his jersey in imitation of a Slap Shot scene.
During the third period of every Syracuse Crunch game, if an opposing teams player goes in the box, one of three men dressed as the Hanson brothers runs from behind the bench to the box and slams into the glass. This is because when the Charlestown Chiefs played the Hyannisport Presidents on the road in the movie, they filmed it in the Onondaga County War Memorial, as mentioned earlier on this page. The Crunch also reserved the #7 worn by Newman's character for the 2008-09 season, weeks after Newman's death. The number is not retired, however, and could be used by a future Crunch player after the 2008-09 season.
The Lake Erie Monsters
of the American Hockey League
have The Mullet Brothers, a trio of long-haired, horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing guys who do "ice maintenance" during the official time-outs at home games, who are patterned after the Hanson Brothers.
Northern Michigan University
, located in Marquette, Michigan
, where Steve and Jeff Carlson started their hockey careers has a tradition based on the film. Toward the end of the 3rd period, the marching band plays The Stripper while a fan takes off his shirt and pounds the glass behind the visiting goaltender.
The film holds a cult status in the province of Québec
because of the fact that the French version released there was dubbed in joual
, the province's working-class slang. Also, the fact that local actors Yvan Ponton and Yvon Barrette co-star alongside world-famous movie stars like Paul Newman has contributed to its special status in the province.
In 2010, Wiley Publishing released The Making of Slap Shot: Behind the Scenes of the Greatest Hockey Movie Ever Made by Jonathon Jackson.
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
and Michael Ontkean
Michael Ontkean
Michael Leonard Ontkean is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the 1970s crime drama The Rookies, the film Slap Shot , and the cult-favorite TV series Twin Peaks .-Life and career:...
directed by George Roy Hill
George Roy Hill
George Roy Hill was an American film director. He is most noted for directing such films as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, which both starred the acting duo Paul Newman and Robert Redford...
. It depicts a minor league hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a declining factory town.
Plot
A team called the Charlestown Chiefs plays hockey in the fictional Federal League. A perennial loser and in financial trouble due to mill closings in the town, the team is due to be folded at season's end. Reggie Dunlop, the veteran player-coachPlayer-coach
A player-coach, in sports, is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. The term can be used to refer to both players who serve as head coaches, or as assistant coaches....
, has no idea who the owner of the team is. While not particularly talented as either a player or a coach, Dunlop is a skilled con man, and regularly manipulates the team to his own advantage.
During a hopeless season, the team picks up the Hanson Brothers
Hanson Brothers
The Hanson Brothers are fictional characters in the 1977 movie Slap Shot. The characters are based on three brothers who were actual hockey players; two of them starred in the film.The movie, which stars Paul Newman, was written by Nancy Dowd...
, bespectacled violent goons with child-like mentalities, complete with toys in their luggage. Dunlop, appalled at being given players who seem stupidly immature and unreliable, initially chooses not to play them. But in a moment of desperation, he brings the trio of thugs into a game to see what they can do. Their fighting and overly aggressive style of play excites the fans and the Chiefs win the game.
Dunlop, seeing the potential of a dynamic goon squad, retools the team in the Hansons' image. Most players, such as Dave "Killer" Carlson (Jerry Houser
Jerry Houser
Jerry Houser is an American character actor and voice actor in film and television.-Career:Houser was born in Los Angeles, California. Since 1971, he has appeared in countless films, TV series, animated series, and commercials...
), take a liking to this. Talented young top scorer Ned Braden (Ontkean), however, prefers a clean style of hockey from his college days, and clashes with Dunlop over the direction of the team. Braden's depressed wife, Lily (Lindsay Crouse
Lindsay Crouse
-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
), has difficulty adjusting to the life and finds a sympathizer in Dunlop's estranged wife Francine (Jennifer Warren
Jennifer Warren
Jennifer Warren is an American actress and film director.Warren was born in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, the daughter of Paula Bauersmith, an actress, and Barnet M. Warren, a dentist. Her uncle was Yiddish theatre actor and director Jacob Ben-Ami. Warren graduated from Elisabeth...
).
To keep them motivated, Dunlop plants a story (in fact an outright lie) with sportswriter Dickie Dunn that the Chiefs are being sold to a prospective buyer in Florida, who would move the team out of bleak Charlestown to sunny climes. As the Chiefs continue winning and gaining fans, Dunlop blackmails the team's stingy General Manager Joe McGrath (Strother Martin
Strother Martin
Strother Martin was an American actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison "captain" in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the line, "What we've got here is...failure to communicate."-Early life:Strother Martin Jr. was born in Kokomo,...
) to tell him who the Chiefs' owner is, a running joke throughout the movie as nobody is sure who owns the Chiefs. The owner turns out to be a rich widow, Anita McCambridge, who couldn't care less about hockey. She compliments Dunlop on his clever manipulations of the team and suggests that she could easily sell the team now that Reggie has made it a success, but she can do better by folding the franchise and taking a tax write-off. Disgusted with her indifference towards the players losing their jobs, he storms out, and realizes that his lies blew up in his face. Seeing no alternative and feeling guilty, Dunlop elects to come clean to his boys.
One last playoff game remains, and Dunlop reveals to the players that there is no buyer and he made the whole story up. After apologizing to his team, he decides that this is to be his last game, so Reggie wants to go out with dignity and not like a goon. Despite being conned, the team follows Dunlop's lead and vows to play clean, going out playing "old-time hockey."
However, their opponents, the Syracuse Bulldogs, fed up with the aggressive tactics of the Chiefs, have chosen to assemble the most infamous set of enforcers ever to disgrace a hockey rink. They include legendary Federal League brawlers and a dreaded rookie goon, Ogie Ogilthorpe.
Playing it straight, the Chiefs are brutally battered in the first period. In the locker room, a furious McGrath tells the players that there are NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
scouts in the stands. Some could get contracts. Hearing this, the Chiefs turn into goons again and the game degenerates into a slugfest.
Braden, sulking on the bench after refusing to goon it up, finally snaps. He spies his wife Lily, who has undergone a complete makeover by Francine and is wearing a sexy new dress and hairdo. She's even enjoying the game. Braden skates out to center ice and strips off his uniform, prompting the arena's band to accompany him with "The Stripper
The Stripper
"The Stripper" is an instrumental composed by David Rose and recorded in 1962. It evinces a jazz influence with especially prominent trombone lines, and evokes the feel of music used to accompany striptease artists....
". Both teams stop fighting and stare in amazement at Braden's striptease, hypocritically more offended by Braden's antics than the violence they have been engaging in.
Syracuse captain Tim "Dr Hook" McCracken demands that the referee stop Braden. When the official refuses, McCracken sucker-punches him, causing the referee to declare a forfeit. This gives the game – and the Federal League championship – to the Chiefs. The team celebrates by parading around the ice with the championship trophy, carried by Braden, wearing nothing but skates and a jockstrap.
It is revealed during a championship parade in Charlestown the following day that Reggie Dunlop has accepted a job as the coach of a new team, the Minnesota Nighthawks, and that he intends to bring Chiefs players with him. It is never made clear on whether or not this was another of Dunlop's lies.
Cast
- Paul NewmanPaul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
– Reggie 'Reg' Dunlop - Strother MartinStrother MartinStrother Martin was an American actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison "captain" in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the line, "What we've got here is...failure to communicate."-Early life:Strother Martin Jr. was born in Kokomo,...
– Joe McGrath - Michael OntkeanMichael OntkeanMichael Leonard Ontkean is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the 1970s crime drama The Rookies, the film Slap Shot , and the cult-favorite TV series Twin Peaks .-Life and career:...
– Ned Braden - Jennifer WarrenJennifer WarrenJennifer Warren is an American actress and film director.Warren was born in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, the daughter of Paula Bauersmith, an actress, and Barnet M. Warren, a dentist. Her uncle was Yiddish theatre actor and director Jacob Ben-Ami. Warren graduated from Elisabeth...
– Francine Dunlop - Lindsay CrouseLindsay Crouse-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
– Lily Braden - Jerry HouserJerry HouserJerry Houser is an American character actor and voice actor in film and television.-Career:Houser was born in Los Angeles, California. Since 1971, he has appeared in countless films, TV series, animated series, and commercials...
– Lewie "Killer" Blackburn - Andrew Duncan – Jim Carr
- Jeff Carlson – Jeff Hanson (#18)
- Steve CarlsonSteve CarlsonSteven Edward Carlson is a retired American ice hockey forward and a former minor league hockey coach.Carlson was born in Virginia, Minnesota. He appeared in the movie Slap Shot as one of the Hanson Brothers...
– Steve Hanson (#17) - David HansonDavid Hanson (ice hockey)David J. "Dave" Hanson is a retired American professional hockey player. He played 33 games in the National Hockey League, and a total of 103 games in the World Hockey Association.-Early life:...
– Jack Hanson (#16) - Yvon BarretteYvon BarretteYvon Barrette is a Canadian actor who grew up in Alma, Quebec. He trained at the National Theater School of Canada but left in 1969 before graduation due to disagreement over the notion of creation the School had toward Quebec theater, along with fellow classmates Pierre Curzi, Paule Baillargeon...
– Denis Lemieux - Allan F. NichollsAllan F. NichollsAllan F. Nicholls born April 8, 1945 in Montreal, Quebec, is a Canadian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, composer and musician. He was nominated for both a BAFTA and WGA award for his writing on the 1978 film A Wedding. He is often credited as Allan Nicholls.Allan was lead...
– Johnny Upton - Brad SullivanBrad SullivanBrad Sullivan was an American actor known for character roles in television and on film and stage.-Early life and career:...
– Morris Wanchuk - Stephen Mendillo – Jim Ahern
- Yvan PontonYvan PontonYvan Ponton is a Quebec actor, commentator and television host. Ponton has had a lengthy acting career which included roles in major Quebec television series and movies as well as the 1977 film Slap Shot....
– Jean–Guy Drouin - Matthew CowlesMatthew Cowles-Personal life:The son of actor and theatre producer Chandler Cowles, he was born in New York City.Since 1983 he has been married to actress Christine Baranski with whom he has two daughters, Isabel and Lily...
– Charlie - Kathryn WalkerKathryn WalkerKathryn Walker is an American theater, television and film actress. She was with Douglas Kenney for many years until his death in 1980 at the age of 32, and was married to singer James Taylor from 1985 to 1995...
– Anita McCambridge - Melinda DillonMelinda DillonMelinda Rose Dillon is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the holiday classic A Christmas Story.-Early life and career:...
– Suzanne Hanrahan - M. Emmet WalshM. Emmet WalshMichael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
– Dickie Dunn - Swoosie KurtzSwoosie KurtzSwoosie Kurtz is an American actress. She began her career in theater during the 1970s and shortly thereafter began a career in television, garnering ten nominations and winning one Emmy Award. Her most famous television project was her role on the 1990s NBC drama Sisters...
– Shirley Upton - Paul D'Amato – Conrad "Dr. Hook" Denise
- Ronald L. DockenRon DockenRonald L. Docken is a retired American professional ice hockey goaltender.-Career:Docken spent three years with the University of Minnesota from 1967-70. After not playing during the 1970-71 season, Docken signed with the Johnstown Jets of the EHL. Docken backed up second-year Jets goalie Bob...
– Lebrun - Guido TenesiGuido TenesiGuido Rocco Tenesi is a former ice hockey defenceman who played seven seasons of professional hockey from 1973 to 1980. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 5th round of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, and was also drafted by the Toronto Toros in the 9th round of the 1973 WHA Amateur...
– Billy Charlebois - Jean Rosario Tetreault – Bergeron
- Christopher MurneyChristopher MurneyChristopher Murney is an American actor and vocal artist. He is the father of singer and actress Julia Murney.Murney attended several universities before picking up several undergraduate degrees , and one graduate level degree .Murney has worked on...
– Tommy Hanrahan - Myron Odegaard – Final Game Referee
- Blake BallBlake BallBlake Ball was an ice hockey defenceman who spent the majority of his career in the Eastern Hockey League.-Hockey:...
– Gilmore Tuttle - Jack SheldonJack SheldonJack Sheldon is an American bebop and West Coast jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He is a trumpet player and was a comedian on The Merv Griffin Show, as well as the voice heard on several episodes of the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock.-Biography:Sheldon was born in...
– Ogie Ogilthorpe - Gracie Head – Pam
- Nancy DowdNancy DowdNancy Dowd is a screenwriter most famous for her films Slap Shot and Coming Home. Her brother Ned Dowd inspired the story behind Slap Shot based on his experiences playing minor league hockey...
– Andrea - Barbara L. Shorts – Bluebird
- Larry BlockLarry BlockLawrence Joel "Larry" Block is an American radio, TV, film and theater actor. In 1971, Block appeared on Sesame Street as Tom, who worked at Hooper's Store....
– Peterboro Referee - Paul DooleyPaul Dooley-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
– Hyannisport Announcer - Bruce BoudreauBruce BoudreauBruce Allan Boudreau is a Canadian professional ice hockey head coach and current head coach of the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League . As a player, Boudreau played professionally for 20 seasons, logging 141 games in the NHL and 30 games in the World Hockey Association...
– Hyannisport player - Mark Bousquet – Andre "Poodle" Lussier
- Connie MadiganConnie MadiganCornelius Dennis "Mad Dog" Madigan is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman notable for being the oldest rookie in National Hockey League history....
– Ross "Mad Dog" Madison - Joe NolanJoe Nolan (ice hockey)Joe Nolan was a ice hockey defenceman whose career spanned six seasons across two leagues.-Playing career:Nolan would start the 1955-56 season as a member of the Clinton Comets. On November 7, 1955, Nolan was signed by the Clinton Comets after defenceman Jim Johnson was waived from the team...
– Clarence "Screaming Buffalo" Swamptown - Cliff ThompsonCliff ThompsonCliff Thompson was an American professional ice hockey player. He played defense in the Boston Bruins organization from 1939 until 1950, playing for the NHL Bruins in 1941–42 and 1948–49.-Playing career:...
– Walt Comisky - Dan Belisle, Jr. – Stickboy
- Ross Smith – Barclay Donaldson
Development
The screenplay, by Nancy DowdNancy Dowd
Nancy Dowd is a screenwriter most famous for her films Slap Shot and Coming Home. Her brother Ned Dowd inspired the story behind Slap Shot based on his experiences playing minor league hockey...
, is based in part on her brother Ned Dowd
Ned Dowd
Ned Dowd is an American actor and film producer.-Career:After graduating from Bowdoin College in 1972, Dowd earned a master's degree at McGill University and played professional hockey. The film, Slap Shot , written by his sister, Nancy Dowd, is based in part on his experiences playing minor...
's experiences playing minor league hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
in the United States in the 1970s, during which time violence, especially in the low minors, was the selling point of the game.
Dowd was living in Los Angeles when she got a call from her brother Ned, a member of the Johnstown Jets
Johnstown Jets
The Johnstown Jets were a professional ice hockey team from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Jets were founded in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War Memorial Arena...
hockey team. Her brother gave her the bad news that the team was for sale. Dowd moved to the area and be inspired to write Slap Shot. It was filmed in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
; and upstate New York (Utica
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
Auditorium and the Onondaga County War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
).
Nancy Dowd (who also produced the film) used her brother Ned and a number of his Johnstown Jets teammates in Slap Shot, with Ned Dowd portraying Syracuse goon "Ogie Ogilthorpe". He later used the role to launch a career as a Hollywood character actor and producer. The characters of the "Hanson Brothers" are in fact based on three actual brothers, Jeff, Steve and Jack Carlson, who played with Ned Dowd on the Jets. The character of "Dave 'Killer' Carlson" is based on then-Jets player Dave "Killer" Hanson. Steve and Jeff Carlson played their Hanson brother counterparts in the film. Jack Carlson was originally scripted to appear in the film as the third brother, Jack, with Dave Hanson playing his film counterpart, "Dave 'Killer' Carlson". However by the time filming began, Jack Carlson had been called up by the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
, then of the WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
to play in the WHA playoffs, so Dave Hanson moved into the role of "Jack Hanson", and actor Jerry Houser
Jerry Houser
Jerry Houser is an American character actor and voice actor in film and television.-Career:Houser was born in Los Angeles, California. Since 1971, he has appeared in countless films, TV series, animated series, and commercials...
was hired for the role of "'Killer' Carlson".
Paul Newman, claiming that he swore very little in real life before the making of Slap Shot, said to Time magazine in 1984:
Newman also stated publicly that the most fun he ever had making a movie was on Slap Shot, as he had played the sport while young and was fascinated by the real players around him. He also said that playing Reggie Dunlop was one of his favorite roles.
Production notes
Yvan Ponton and Yvon Barette (who played forward Jean-Guy Drouin and goaltender Denis Lemieux, the two French-Canadian players in the film) dubbed their own voices for the film's translated French version. The film is one of few mainstream American films that was translated in Quebecois French and not Parisian French . Heavy use of French-Canadian dialect and foul language has made this version of the film a cult classic in French CanadaFrench Canada
French Canada, also known as "Lower Canada", is a term to distinguish the French Canadian population of Canada from English Canada.-Definition:...
, where lines from the movie such as "Dave est magané" (Dave's a mess) and "Du hockey comme dans le temps" (Old Time Hockey) are common catch phrases.
The movie was filmed in (and loosely based around) Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
and utilized several players from the then-active North American Hockey League Johnstown Jets (the team for which Dowd himself played) as extras. The Carlson Brothers and Dave Hanson also played for the Jets in real life. Many scenes were filmed in the Cambria County War Memorial Arena
Cambria County War Memorial Arena
The Cambria County War Memorial Arena is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that is managed by SMG Entertainment. It was built in 1950, for the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern Hockey League. The film Slap Shot, based on the Jets, was filmed in this arena...
and Starr Arena
Starr Arena
Starr Hockey Rink is a 2,600-seat multi-purpose arena in Hamilton, New York. It is home to the Colgate University Raiders men's and women's ice hockey teams. It is named for John Howard Starr, the coach of the hockey team from 1936 to 1950. It takes up the western half of the William A...
in Hamilton, New York, the Utica Memorial Auditorium
Utica Memorial Auditorium
Utica Memorial Auditorium is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Utica, New York, with a capacity of 5,700 for concerts.It was built in 1959 on the site of the old Erie Canal. When it was completed, the "Aud" was one of just three arenas built without obstructed views. It hosted the 1962 NCAA...
(used as "Peterborough" where the pre-game fight occurs and where a Hanson reprimands the referee for talking during the anthem), Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, NY (used as "Hyannisport" where the Hanson Brothers charge into the stands to accost a fan and are subsequently arrested), and in other Johnstown locales. Coincidentally, the Johnstown Jets, and the NAHL, folded in 1977, the year Slap Shot was released.
Although much of the movie takes place during the Fall and Winter seasons, when hockey is in season, filming at the Utica Memorial Auditorium took place during the month of July. Similarly, in Johnstown, Paul Newman is wearing a coat as though it should be cold, but there is no snow on the ground and the trees are in full bloom.
The Reggie Dunlop character is based, in part, on former Eastern Hockey League
Eastern Hockey League
-Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972...
Long Island Ducks
Long Island Ducks (ice hockey)
The Long Island Ducks were a minor league hockey team in the Eastern Hockey League owned by Al and Renee Baron that played their home games at the Long Island Arena...
player/coach John Brophy
John Brophy (ice hockey)
John Brophy is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former hockey player who has spent most of his career in minor professional leagues, including 18 years as a player in the Eastern Hockey League and 13 seasons as a coach in the East Coast Hockey League...
, who receives homage by his last name being used for the drunken center of the Hyannisport Presidents. Ironically, Brophy would later coach one of the Hanson brothers (Jack Hanson, real name Dave Hanson) in 1978 when he coached the Birmingham Bulls.
Syracuse Bulldogs rookie goon Ogie Ogilthorpe, who was mentioned throughout the film but never actually seen until the final playoff game, was based on longtime minor-league goon Bill "Goldie" Goldthorpe. Like Ogie Ogilthorpe, Goldie Goldthorpe is also infamous for his rookie season in professional hockey (1973) when as a member of the Syracuse Blazers he amassed 25 major fighting penalties before Christmas.
The Blades in the film were based on the Broome County Dusters
Broome Dusters
The Broome Dusters were an ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena...
. One scene in the film was specifically drawn from events that occurred in Binghamton
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
. In the movie, the Hanson brothers wear black-rimmed, Coke-bottle eyeglasses, and in one game, get into a fight immediately after the opening faceoff. In reality what happened was that both Jeff and Steve Carlson wore those type of glasses, and did get into a long fight right after an opening faceoff. Coach Dick Roberge told the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, "We got into Binghamton about two or three weeks before the playoffs. In the team warmup, we're out there and all the Binghamton players came out with the plastic glasses and big noses, every one of them, poking fun at the Carlson brothers. We went back in the dressing room and the boys said, 'Coach, as soon as that puck is dropped, we're pairing up.' We had one heckuva fight. They went about 30 minutes until everyone got tired. We met them again in the finals (1974–75) and beat them four straight."
A scene in the film shows the Hanson brothers jumping the Peterboro Patriots during pre-game warm-ups. This scene is based on events in a mid-1970s North American Hockey League
North American Hockey League
The North American Hockey League is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is enterting its 36th season in 2011-12. It is currently the only Junior A Tier II league, sanctioned by USA Hockey. The NAHL currently acts as an alternative to the United States Hockey League...
playoff series between the Johnstown Jets
Johnstown Jets
The Johnstown Jets were a professional ice hockey team from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Jets were founded in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War Memorial Arena...
and the Buffalo Norsemen
Buffalo Norsemen
The Buffalo Norsemen played in the old North American Hockey League during the 1975–76 season, playing their home games in North Tonawanda, New York, a suburb of Buffalo 12 miles to the north, at the Tonawanda Sports Center, a now-defunct ice rink that currently houses an indoor soccer field.An...
. The Jets had a black player on their roster, and during a playoff game held in North Tonawanda, New York
North Tonawanda, New York
North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 31,568 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek, its south border...
(a northern suburb of Buffalo where the Norsemen played their home games) a Norsemen fan held up a derogatory sign stating that blacks should be playing basketball. The next game in the series was held in Johnstown, and the Jets retaliated by attacking the Norsemen players during the warm-ups, with a huge brawl erupting. The Norsemen players and coaches then returned to the dressing room and refused to come out to start the game. The game was awarded to the Jets by forfeit, as was the playoff series since the "win" gave the Jets the needed number of victories to capture the series. In an ironic twist of fate, in 1978 the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
drafted a black player, Tony McKegney
Tony McKegney
Anthony Syiid McKegney is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player, who played thirteen seasons in the National Hockey League from 1978–79 until 1990–91.-Career:...
, who became the first black player to make a major impact in the NHL. McKegney played his Buffalo Sabres home games in front of many of the same fans who had attended Buffalo Norsemen
Buffalo Norsemen
The Buffalo Norsemen played in the old North American Hockey League during the 1975–76 season, playing their home games in North Tonawanda, New York, a suburb of Buffalo 12 miles to the north, at the Tonawanda Sports Center, a now-defunct ice rink that currently houses an indoor soccer field.An...
games.
Another scene from the movie is also based on a real life event. In the film, Jeff Hanson scores a goal and is hit in the face by a set of keys thrown by a fan. The Hansons then go into the stands after the fan and Jeff Hanson punches out the wrong fan. After the game, the Hansons are arrested for the incident. In real life, a similar incident occurred in Utica, New York in a game between the Johnstown Jets and the Mohawk Valley Comets. Jeff Carlson was hit in the face by a cup of ice thrown by a Utica fan and he went into the stands after the fan with his brothers Jack and Steve. All three were arrested and Dave Hanson gathered the money for bail for the Carlson brothers.
Reception
Film critic Gene SiskelGene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
noted that his greatest regret as a critic was giving a mediocre review to this movie when it was first released. After viewing it several more times, he grew to like it more and later listed it as one of the greatest American comedy movies of all time. The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's critic, Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
, who regretted that, "in the dénouement [Ontkean] is forced to go for a broader, cheaper kind of comic response." Despite the mixed reviews, the film won the Hochi Film Award
Hochi Film Award
The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by the Hochi Shimbun.- Categories :*Best Picture*Best International Picture*Best Actor*Best Actress*Best Supporting Actor*Best Supporting Actress*Best New Artist*Special Award*Best Director- Winner :...
for "Best International Film".
Critical reevaluation of the film continues to be positive. In 1998, Maxim magazine named Slap Shot the "Best Guy Movie of All Time" above such acknowledged classics as The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
, Raging Bull, and Newman's own Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce's 1965 novel of the same name. The film features George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D...
(which received a backhanded tribute when Newman's character, while the Hansons were being bailed out of jail, stated to the booking officer that "most folk heroes started out as criminals"). Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
ranked the film #31 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films".
In the 2007 50th Anniversary Issue, GQ named Slap Shot one of the "30 films that changed Men's Lives." In the November 2007 issue of GQ, Author Dan Jenkins proclaimed Slap Shot "the best sports film of the past 50 years".
In June 2008, Adam Proteau of The Hockey News rated Slap Shot as the best hockey film ever made.
Legacy
The movie has had an enduring impact on hockey culture. Key lines of script are frequently quoted, some of its terms entering the hockey lexicon outright. Its enduring popularity can be seen in the fact that replica Chiefs jerseys from the movie remain popular sellers, and that the "Hanson BrothersHanson Brothers
The Hanson Brothers are fictional characters in the 1977 movie Slap Shot. The characters are based on three brothers who were actual hockey players; two of them starred in the film.The movie, which stars Paul Newman, was written by Nancy Dowd...
" (hockey players Steve Carlson
Steve Carlson (hockey player)
Steven Edward Carlson is a retired American ice hockey forward and a former minor league hockey coach.Carlson was born in Virginia, Minnesota. He appeared in the movie Slap Shot as one of the Hanson Brothers...
, Jeff Carlson and Dave Hanson) have made permanent careers out of touring as their personas from the movie. McFarlane Toys
McFarlane Toys
McFarlane Toys, a subsidiary of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc., is a company started by Todd McFarlane that makes highly detailed models of characters from movies, comics, musicians, video games, and sport figures...
released a set of figures of the Hanson brothers with connecting bases resembling the hockey rink. McFarlane Toys first set that they released received complaints because of the blood painted on the toys' characters. McFarlane then re-released the Hanson Brothers figures without the blood.
The character of Ned Braden (described by the team's announcer as "a Princeton graduate...and an American citizen!", two unusual traits of a minor-league hockey player in the 1970s) is at least partially based on the actor Michael Ontkean, who played the part of Braden, a star player for the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
squad in the late 1960s.
In another tribute to the movie's popularity, several real-life teams are called the Chiefs and, at one time or another, wore the fictional squad's sweaters. The ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
's Johnstown Chiefs
Johnstown Chiefs
The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1988 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League when that league was formed...
were also based in Johnstown and whose name came after the Charlestown team after the original owners of the Jets would not allow the new team to resurrect the Jets' name in 1988. The team's phone number is also 1-800-SLAP-SHOT, paying homage to the film. Other notables are the Saint-Jean Chiefs
Saint-Jean Chiefs
The Saint-Jean Chiefs is a hockey team based in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. The team is part of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey . The Chiefs play at the Colisée Isabelle-Brasseur....
of the Ligue nord-américaine de hockey
Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey
The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey was founded in 2004 and is a low-level professional league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was called the Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League from 1996 until it turned pro in 2004...
(LNAH) and the Garges
Garges-lès-Gonesse
Garges-lès-Gonesse is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Transport:Garges-lès-Gonesse is served by Garges – Sarcelles station on Paris RER line D.-References:** -External links:* * *...
Chiefs, a suburban Paris team playing in France's Division 1 (the country's second level).
IHC Leuven of the Belgian Championship
Belgian Hockey League
The Belgian Hockey League was the highest level of competition sanctioned by the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation until 2011 . The league winner was the Belgian Champion. It is played since 1912...
are also nicknamed the Chiefs, however they use an original jersey design bearing no resemblance with that of the Charlestown Chiefs.
Two direct-to-video sequels have been made. Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice, was filmed in 2002 and Slap Shot 3: The Junior League
Slap Shot 3: The Junior League
Slap Shot 3: The Junior League is a 2008 sports film starring Greyston Holt and Lynda Boyd and directed by Richard Martin. The direct-to-video film is the sequel to the 2002 direct-to-video film Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice....
in 2008. Both movies featured the Hanson brothers in supporting roles.
The appearance and mannerisms of the Hanson Brothers inspired a professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
stable known as the Dudley Boyz
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
, who had great success in several major wrestling promotions, including World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
. Similarly, the movie inspired The Hanson Brothers
The Hanson Brothers
The Hanson Brothers are a Canadian punk rock band based in Vancouver, British Columbia and led by John and Rob Wright and Tom Holliston, all members of the punk rock band Nomeansno....
, a side project of the Canadian rock band NoMeansNo
Nomeansno
NoMeansNo is a Canadian progressive punk rock music group originally from Victoria, British Columbia and now located in Vancouver.The band has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America and Europe...
.
The Maxine Nightingale
Maxine Nightingale
Maxine Nightingale is a British R&B and soul music singer. She is best known for her hits in the 1970s, with the million seller "Right Back Where We Started From" Maxine Nightingale (born 2 November 1952; Wembley, London) is a British R&B and soul music singer. She is best known for her hits in...
tune "Right Back Where We Started From
Right Back Where We Started From
"Right Back Where We Started From" is a song written by Pierre Tubbs and J. Vincent Edwards which was first recorded in the summer of 1975 by Maxine Nightingale for whom it was an international hit...
" and a Sonny James
Sonny James
James Loden , known professionally as Sonny James, is an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, "Young Love". Dubbed the Southern Gentleman, James had 72 country and pop chart hits from 1953 to 1983, including a five-year streak of 16 straight among his 23 No. 1...
country tune entitled "A Little Bit South of Saskatoon" are featured in the original release as was Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the Blue Moves album. It was his second single on Rocket Records. The song is a mournful ballad about a romantic relationship...
". These songs were in the film when first shown on Showtime in the 1970s. The Nightingale song had been replaced in later TV showings of the film with a generic sound-alike tune (possibly due to copyrights issues) or other music. However, the DVD release keeps all the original music. The VHS version of the film, released in the early 1980s, contains none of the music by the name acts as heard in the theaters; all that music is substituted with songs in the same general style of the originals, but not the actual original songs nor artists. Recent showings of the movie on the Versus
Versus (TV channel)
Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
cable channel has a lot of the original music back (with the Nightingale song being played in some scenes it was not in originally); however, one scene with the wives awaiting the return of the team, which has Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's song, seems to have been cut.
The EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
video games "NHL 98, NHL 99, NHL 2000, NHL 2001, NHL 2002 and NHL 2003
NHL series
NHL is a series of professional ice hockey simulation video games developed by EA Canada and published yearly by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports brand...
" features a mode in which you can create two custom teams, one of which, called the EA Blades, have very similar jerseys to the Chiefs.
Darude
Darude
Ville Virtanen , better known by his stage name Darude is a trance producer and DJ from Eura, Hinnerjoki, Finland. Debuting in 1995, he released the hit single "Sandstorm" in late 1999 and subsequent album Before the Storm...
's music video "My Game" was based around this film and one the characters in the video was named the Chief.
Although uncredited, the opening scene in which Sportscaster Jim Carr is interviewing Chief's goalie Denis Lemieux, the "Indian Spring Water" commercial that they are paused for (which prompts Denis to get up to get a cup of water) is narrated by longtime character actor Richard Stahl, better known for his recurring role on the 1980s series It's a Living with Ann Jillian
Ann Jillian
Ann Jillian is an American actress, who started acting at age 10. Her career reached its zenith in the 1980s, with her best-known role being that of waitress Cassie Cranston on the sitcom It's a Living.-Early life and career:...
.
In a scene just after the Hanson Brothers are acquired by the Charlestown Chiefs, they are seen in the locker room mixing aluminum foil with hockey tape on their hands before putting on their gloves, which would aid in cutting their opponents during a hockey fight. Dick Roberge, the Carlson brothers coach on the Johnstown Jets, claims that the Carlson brothers did this in real life too. "They used to come into the dressing room and wrap their hands with aluminum foil under the gloves. They came up with a ruling (a month into the season) that you could not wear anything under your hockey gloves except a golf glove." However in commentary on the Slap Shot 25th Anniversary DVD the Carlson brothers and Dave Hanson deny using aluminum foil. They do however state that they used to wear water-treated leather golf gloves that had been dried to a rock-hard state.
During a charity auction by the Quad City Flames
Quad City Flames
The Quad City Flames were an ice hockey team that played between 2007 and 2009. They were owned by QC Sports Ventures Inc., an ownership group based out of the Quad Cities. The Flames played at the I wireless Center in Moline, Illinois. They were the American Hockey League farm team of the...
, Eric Nystrom
Eric Nystrom
Eric Nystrom is an American ice hockey left winger for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League . He was a first round selection by the Flames, 10th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. In addition to the Flames, Nystrom was a member of the Minnesota Wild before joining the Stars...
stripped off his jersey in imitation of a Slap Shot scene.
During the third period of every Syracuse Crunch game, if an opposing teams player goes in the box, one of three men dressed as the Hanson brothers runs from behind the bench to the box and slams into the glass. This is because when the Charlestown Chiefs played the Hyannisport Presidents on the road in the movie, they filmed it in the Onondaga County War Memorial, as mentioned earlier on this page. The Crunch also reserved the #7 worn by Newman's character for the 2008-09 season, weeks after Newman's death. The number is not retired, however, and could be used by a future Crunch player after the 2008-09 season.
The Lake Erie Monsters
Lake Erie Monsters
The Lake Erie Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They began play in the 2007–08 AHL season at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio...
of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
have The Mullet Brothers, a trio of long-haired, horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing guys who do "ice maintenance" during the official time-outs at home games, who are patterned after the Hanson Brothers.
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest...
, located in Marquette, Michigan
Marquette, Michigan
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...
, where Steve and Jeff Carlson started their hockey careers has a tradition based on the film. Toward the end of the 3rd period, the marching band plays The Stripper while a fan takes off his shirt and pounds the glass behind the visiting goaltender.
The film holds a cult status in the province of Québec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
because of the fact that the French version released there was dubbed in joual
Joual
Joual is the common name for the linguistic features of basilectal Quebec French that are associated with the French-speaking working class in Montreal which has become a symbol of national identity for a large number of artists from that area...
, the province's working-class slang. Also, the fact that local actors Yvan Ponton and Yvon Barrette co-star alongside world-famous movie stars like Paul Newman has contributed to its special status in the province.
In 2010, Wiley Publishing released The Making of Slap Shot: Behind the Scenes of the Greatest Hockey Movie Ever Made by Jonathon Jackson.
Old-Time Hockey
Old-Time Hockey in the movie Slap Shot refers to the team's turn away from the brawling style for the last game of the championship. Instead, the team wants to play the style of hockey that still had respect and dignity. Ironically, when used in modern terms, "Old Time Hockey" is often used in reference to the violent, fist-happy style for which the film is famous.External links
- The Official Home of the Hanson Bros.
- The Charlestown Chiefs compared with the Johnstown Jets at ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
- Capturing the spirit of "Slap Shot" ...30 years later
- Interviews with cast members about the 25th anniversary
- Snapshots from Slap Shot by Mike Mastovich, The Tribune-Democrat
- *How Slapshot Inspired a Cultural Revolution. A very extensive and detailed interview with Italian writers Wu Ming 1 and Wu Ming 2 (formerly members of the cultural guerrilla movement Luther Blissett ProjectLuther Blissett (nom de plume)Luther Blissett is a multiple-use name, an "open reputation" informally adopted and shared by hundreds of artists and activists all over Europe and the Americas since 1994...
), conducted by professor Henry JenkinsHenry JenkinsHenry Jenkins III is an American media scholar and currently a Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the USC School of Cinematic Arts...
and published on his blog in two installments, 1 and 2. - Where Are They Now: The Hanson Brothers