HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES!
May, 1979
IT'S CANADA'S NATIONAL game. It's also the fastest, most exciting sport there is. Surprisingly, though, ice hockey has inspired only a handful of movies. In the quiz that follows, name the feature films in which the big screen stars play hockey:
1. Keir Dullea (b. 1936), as the Dilise, Sask., bush league team's big gun, Rick "Marshal" Dillon.
2. Ryan O'Neal (b. 1941), as the Harvard Crimson's star forward, Oliver Barrett IV.
3. Paul Newman (1925-2008), as the Charleston Chiefs' player-coach, Reggie Dunlop.
4. John Wayne (1907-1979), as New York Panthers' star forward, Johnny Hansen.
Name the movies in which the following hockey stars act:
5. George Armstrong (b. 1930; Toronto Maple Leaf, right wing)
6. Frank Mahovlich (b. 1938; Toronto Maple Leaf, left wing)
BONUS QUESTION:
Name the movie in which Charles Bronson coaches a hockey team.
ANSWERS
1. Paperback Hero (1973)
2. Love Story (1970)
3. Slap Shot (1977)
4. Idol of the Crowds (1937)
5. Face-Off (1971)
6. J'ai Mon Voyage / Enuf Is Enuf (1973)
BONUS ANSWER
Telefon (1977), in which Bronson's character, KGB Major Grigori Borzov, is introduced as the coach of a boys' hockey team in Leningrad.
1. Paperback Hero (1973)
2. Love Story (1970)
3. Slap Shot (1977)
4. Idol of the Crowds (1937)
5. Face-Off (1971)
6. J'ai Mon Voyage / Enuf Is Enuf (1973)
BONUS ANSWER
Telefon (1977), in which Bronson's character, KGB Major Grigori Borzov, is introduced as the coach of a boys' hockey team in Leningrad.
The above is a restored version of Quiz 77, one of 78 included in The Canadian Movie Quiz Book by Michael Walsh, originally published in 1979. For additional information on this archived material, please visit my FAQ.
Afterword: American interest in hockey increased after the National Hockey League's expansion in 1967, that doubled its number of teams from six (clustered in Central Canada and the Northeastern U.S.) to 12, with all of the new franchises in the U.S. The film industry became involved in a big way in 1993, when the Walt Disney company founded the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to play in the NHL's Pacific Division. Disney had already released a sports comedy called The Mighty Ducks (1992), and turned it into a trilogy with sequels in 1994 and 1996. In 2004, Disney released The Miracle, a celebration of the U.S. men's hockey team and its victory over the Soviet Union's team at the 1980 Olympic Games. The picture starred Kurt Russell and, yes, it was filmed in and around Vancouver, B.C.