North Dallas Forty
Promotional poster for North Dallas Forty
Directed by	Ted Kotcheff
Produced by	Frank Yablans
Written by	Peter Gent, Ted Kotcheff, Frank Yablans Nancy Dowd (uncredited)
Starring	Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, Charles Durning, Dayle Haddon, Bo Svenson, John Matuszak, Steve Forrest, G. D. Spradlin, Dabney Coleman, Savannah Smith Boucher
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	August 3, 1979 ( United States)
Running time	119 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	unknown

North Dallas Forty is a 1979 dramatic film written by Peter Gent and starring Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, and G. D. Spradlin.

[edit] Synopsis

The film's setting is a 1970s era professional football team based in Dallas, Texas named the North Dallas Bulls^[1], which closely resembles the Dallas Cowboys. Nolte plays the aging wide receiver, Phillip Elliott, who is struggling to stay competitive and relies heavily on the use of painkillers. Backed up by quarterback Seth Maxwell, played by Davis, both players give insight into the drug, sex, and alcohol-fueled party atmosphere of teams of this era, all under the watchful eye of iconic coach B. A. Quinlan, played by G.D. Spradlin.

Through its use of drama, comedy, and satire, many consider North Dallas Forty a classic sports film, giving insights into the lives of professional athletes.^[2]

Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Peter Gent, a former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver in the late 1960s, the film's characters closely resemble real-life team members of the era, with Seth Maxwell often compared to quarterback Don Meredith, Quinlan to Tom Landry, and Elliott to Peter Gent himself. Upon hearing/reading/seeing the book or movie, Don Meredith came out with another of his classic lines: "If I'd known Gent was as good as he says he was, I would have thrown to him more."

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• North Dallas Forty at the Internet Movie Database
• New York Times movie review
• RottenTomatoes reviews

v • d • e Films directed by Ted Kotcheff Tiara Tahiti (1962) · Life at the Top (1965) · Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969) · Wake in Fright (1971) · Billy Two Hats (1974) · The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) · Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) · Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978) · North Dallas Forty (1979) · First Blood (1982) · Uncommon Valor (1983) · Joshua Then and Now (1985) · Switching Channels (1988) · Winter People (1989) · Weekend at Bernie's (1989) · Folks! (1992) · The Shooter (1995)