The Bear (1984)

Director:

Richard C. Sarafian

Writer:

Michael Kane (written by)

Release Date:

28 September 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Family | Sport

Tagline:

WINNING. That was the difference between playing football and playing for "The Bear".

Plot:

Biopic about the great college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant of the University of Alabama. |

Plot Keywords:

Bear | University Of Alabama | Sports Team | Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Cast

Gary Busey	...	Paul W. Bryant
Cynthia Leake	...	Mary Harmon Bryant
Carmen Thomas	...	Mae Martin Bryant
Cary Guffey	...	Grandson Marc
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Coach Thomas
Jon-Erik Hexum	...	Pat Trammell
Steve Greenstein	...	Joe Namath
Michael McGrady	...	Gene Stallings
William Wesley Neighbors Jr.	...	Billy Neighbors
Brett Rice	...	Don Hutson
Buddy Farmer	...	Herman Ball
Owen Orr	...	Ermal Allen (as Owen E. Orr)
Charles Gabrielson	...	Steve Meilinger
D'Urville Martin	...	Billy
Ken Taylor	...	Jimbo / Ball Player

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Valencia, California, USA

Trivia:

Gene Stallings, who played for Bear Bryant at Texas A&M and went on to become head football coach at Alabama, was the technical advisor on the film.

Soundtrack:

I'll Be Home Again

Horror stories about being an extra in this film!

I actually worked on this film briefly as a featured extra. The scenes I did were shot at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. I played one of Bear Bryant's fraternity brothers.

We filmed in December of 1983, just before Christmas. It was freezing cold outside, but the scenes were supposed to be taking place on a warm, late spring evening, so we were all dressed in short sleeves. The director and crew made us sit outside, nearly freezing to death, for hours on end while they -- bundled up in coats and gloves! -- set up the shots for filming. I wound up getting very sick after three days of shooting! Of course, all the principal actors who were in the scenes stayed in their cozy trailers until it was time to film.

Also, my tote bag ... containing my wallet and money; car keys; and the clothes I wore to the set ... was stolen out of the dressing room on my last day of shooting. I was treated VERY badly by the extras casting director, who showed no sympathy whatsoever about the fact that my belongings were stolen. She would not even take the time to drive me home to get a spare set of car keys since mine were stolen! I was literally stranded -- no car keys, no clothes, no money! -- until a wonderful woman, who was also an extra on the film, drove me home.

Gary Bussey was drinking heavily during the filming of this movie and the "buzz" on the set was that he was sometimes so drunk that he wasn't able to do his scenes.

By the way, I was paid a whopping $50 a day for my work on this film ... and when it came time to eat, the extras ate AFTER the principal actors had dined first and picked through the food on the buffet lines.

When I saw the movie, I was greatly disappointed. It was not very good.