If you ask any hockey fan what their favourite hockey movie is they’re probably going to name of the favourites like Slap Shot, Miracle, Happy Gilmore, The Mighty Ducks, Goon or Youngblood - They might even throw you off guard and tell you it’s MVP: Most Valuable Primate.
But just because those are the main hockey related movies that people think of it doesn’t mean they were the only ones ever made, or even the first ones made, as hockey has been the subject of many films dating all the way back to 1936.
King of Hockey (1936)
Released in 1936 by Warner Bros., King of Hockey starred Dick Purcell, Anne Nagel and Marie Wilson. College hockey player Gabby Dugan (Dick Purcell) turns pro and gets offered money to throw the game. While refusing to take the offer, Dugan ends up taking penalties on purpose because the girl he is interested in sits next to the penalty box with her family. He ends up getting the money because the person who offered the deal thought the penalties were taken to throw the game. One of his friends/teammates sees the money and concludes he threw the game and it led to a fight that ended with a Gabby head injury resulting degradation in his eyesight.
Idol of the Crowds (1937)
John Wayne, aka Duke, was an actor and filmmaker known for his roles in Western films, but one of his non-Western movies was a hockey movie. Released in 1937 by Universal Pictures, Idol of the Crowds is about a former amateur hockey player turned chicken farmer who doesn’t want to return to the game until he gets an offer he can’t refuse. The reason for accepting the offer? To upgrade the chicken farm, of course.
White Lightning (1953)
Not to be mistaken for White Lightning (1973) starring Burt Reynolds, the version that hit theatres 20 years earlier was about betting in sports and throwing games. In the middle of their losing skid, the Red Devils’ proprietor Jack Monohan (Steve Brodie) took bribes from gamblers to throw the games. The team gets a new player in Mike Connors (Stanley Clements) who also happens to be Jack’s childhood friend. One of Jack’s sisters becomes attracted to Mike, which causes the two friends to fight. Mike ends up accepting a bribe to throw the final game out of anger, but a young fan helps him turn it around.
Face-Off (1971)
Not to be mistaken for Face/Off (1997) starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, Face-Off (1971) was about Billy Duke (Art Hindle) a rookie on the Toronto Maple Leafs and roommates with George Armstrong. He falls in love with a musician (Sherri Lee Nelson) who doesn’t exactly agree with his rough hockey playing. As the two start spending more time together, Leafs’ coach Fred Wares (John Vernon) worries that she’s causing his player to lose focus from hockey. Aside from Armstrong, other members of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Derek Sanderson also made cameos in the film.
Paperback Hero (1973)
Some more Canadian content for you! This film takes place in Saskatchewan and is about a hockey player living in a small town who starts to lose grip on reality and begins to believe his life is set in the Old West where he plays the role of a gunslinger. The film won Canadian Film Awards for Film Editing, Overall Sound and Cinematography the year of its release and was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival’s Canadian Open Vault program in 2006.
Touch and Go (1986)
Was Michael Keaton your Batman when you were growing up? Maybe you remember him from something else instead? Whatever it might be, we’re guessing it’s not Touch and Go. Released in 1989, the movie is about a pro hockey player named Bobby Barbato (Michael Keaton) who gets mugged by a bunch of kids but fends them off and catches one of them. After giving the kid a ride home, he ends up falling in love with the kid’s mom and the kids becomes friends with Bobby.
National Lampoon’s Pucked (2006)
Jon Bon Jovi, yes, Jon Bon Jovi, played a former lawyer who thinks he hits the jackpot after receiving a credit card in the mail. He tries to make his dream of running an all-woman hockey team come true but ends up in more than $300,000 worth of debt and continues to dig his hole deeper until his plan backfires. It was the last film directed by Canadian director Arthur Hill before his death in 2016.
Breakaway (2011)
Breakaway is about a young man named Ravjeer who loves hockey but was prohibited from playing because he was raised a traditional Sikh and wore a turban. Struggling against traditional values and discrimination from mainstream hockey players, Ravjeer decides to create an all-Sikh hockey team. The cast is pretty stacked, too, as it includes Russell Peters, Noureen DeWulf and Rob Lowe to name a few, and includes cameos from Drake and Ludacris.
We’re not telling you to rush out and watch these movies, but we are telling you they exist. What’s favourite hockey movie of all-time?
