The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Gilbert Moses

Writers:

David Dashev (story)
Jaison Starkes (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Plot:

The Pittsburgh basketball team is hopeless. Maybe with the aid of an astrologer, and some new astrologically compatible players, they can become winners.

Plot Keywords:

Basketball | Astrology | Disco | African American | Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Cast

Julius Erving	...	Moses Guthrie
Jonathan Winters	...	H.S. / Harvey Tilson
Meadowlark Lemon	...	Rev. Grady Jackson
Jack Kehoe	...	Setshot
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	...	Himself
Margaret Avery	...	Toby Millman
James Bond III	...	Tyrone Millman
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Harry the Trainer
Peter Isacksen	...	Driftwood
Nicholas Pryor	...	George Brockington
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Wally Cantrell
Stockard Channing	...	Mona Mondieu
Flip Wilson	...	Coach 'Jock' Delaney
Marv Albert	...	Himself (as Marvin Albert)
Debbie Allen	...	Ola (as Debra Allen)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Capital Center - 1100 Capital Center Boulevard, Largo, Maryland, USA

Company:

Lorimar Productions

Trivia:

'Cher' (I) was initially cast as the female lead, but backed out at the last minute due to scheduling conflicts.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The score before the timeout of the last game was Los Angeles 101, Pittsburgh 91, but when the game resumed, the Pisces made well over ten field goals. Their victory should have been by a double-digit margin.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Swimming with Sharks (1994)

A sports tale of magic and belief

I haven't seen this movie in almost 2 decades. I saw it as a young adolescent growing up in Pennsylvania. Nonetheless its still one of my favorites. I can't tell ya why....its simply a story of magic and a boy who has smartz and more importantly a belief in others and all. I'll wait for the DVD to see it again....even if i have to wait a couple more decades.