Slap Shot (1977) on Netflix
The Charlestown Chiefs sit last in the Federal League as the town's steel mill nears closing. Player-coach Reggie Dunlop needs a crowd, and the club signs the Hanson Brothers.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.2/1045,704 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes85%
Trailer
Plot summary
In Charlestown, Pennsylvania, the steel mill is about to close and put ten thousand people out of work, and the town's minor league hockey team, the Charlestown Chiefs, is losing and playing to thin, hostile crowds. Reggie Dunlop, the aging player-coach, knows the players have no employment prospects outside hockey. Manager Joe McGrath saves money by signing the Hanson Brothers, three young players from the Iron League, and top scorer Ned Braden, a college graduate, plays for the love of the game and wants no part of brawling. Reggie spreads word that a buyer in Florida may purchase the club, and turns the Hanson Brothers loose on the opposition.
Cast
- Jeff Carlsonas Jeff Hanson
- Steve Carlsonas Steve Hanson
- David Hansonas Jack Hanson
- Yvon Barretteas Denis Lemieux
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Slap Shot (1977)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- A similar incident really happened in Utica, New York, during a game between the Johnstown Jets and the Mohawk Valley Comets: Jeff Carlson, hit in the face by a cup of ice thrown by a fan, went into the stands after him with brothers Jack and Steve, all three were arrested, and Dave Hanson gathered the bail money.
- Ogie Ogilthorpe, the Syracuse Bulldogs rookie goon mentioned throughout the film but never seen until the final playoff game, was based on longtime minor-league goon Bill "Goldie" Goldthorpe, who in his 1973 rookie season with the Syracuse Blazers amassed 25 major fighting penalties before Christmas.
- Al Pacino wanted to play the role of Reggie Dunlop, the team's number 7, but director George Roy Hill chose Paul Newman for the part instead.
- Nancy Dowd based her original screenplay partly on her brother Ned Dowd's experiences playing minor-league hockey in the 1970s: he would call her from towns like Utica, Syracuse and New Haven and tell her how he was being beaten up and having his teeth knocked out.
- Although much of the film takes place in the fall and winter hockey season, filming at the Utica Memorial Auditorium took place from June 3-4, and in Johnstown Newman wears a coat as though it should be cold while there is no snow and the trees are in full bloom.
- After the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018, a broken Slap Shot DVD was found at the crash site, and Steve Carlson met with some of the survivors.
