The Junction Boys (2002) (TV)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Mike Robe

Writers (WGA):

Jim Dent (book)
Mike Robe (teleplay)

Release Date:

14 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

Story of Bear Bryant's first summer as head football coach at Texas A&M. Bear takes his charges out onto the scorched plains and sees who survives. |

Plot Keywords:

American Football | Broken Nose | Based On True Story

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Tom Berenger	...	Paul 'Bear' Bryant
Fletcher Humphrys	...	Skeet Keeler
Ryan Kwanten	...	Claude Gearheart
Bernard Curry	...	Johnny Haynes
Nick Tate	...	Smokey Harper
Luke Ford	...	Perch
Josef Ber	...	Pine
Ryan Johnson	...	Mike Hess
Warwick Sadler	...	Welch
Mark Lee	...	Gilmore
Andy Anderson	...	Betch
Ewen Leslie	...	Luke Mason
Matt Edgerton	...	Jimmy Nubbs (as Matthew Edgerton)
David Webb	...	Dr. Wiedeman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bianca Biasi	...	Nurse
Saskia Burmeister	...	Joyce
Sandy Gardiner	...	Reunion Wife
Peter Hansen	...	Reunion Survivor #1
Michael Ienna	...	Wide Reciever
Christine McClure	...	Helen

Runtime:

Brazil:93 min | Portugal:89 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

St Marys, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

ESPN Original Entertainment

Trivia:

Gene Stallings, a Junction Boy who later went on to coach at Texas A&M, in the NFL with with the St. Louis (now Arizona) Cardinals and then at Alabama, disputed the way both "The Junction Boys" book and movie portrayed Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. In a September 2006 interview with Tuscaloosa Magazine, Stallings had this to say: "Junction, Texas, was tough, but I didn't like the way the book...and movie portrayed Coach Bryant. He wasn't brutal; he was tough. That's a big difference. He wanted to bring us together, away from distractions, unite the team."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During one of the practice scenes at Junction, a current-day, padded belt designed to protect the ribs can be seen underneath a players' jersey. This piece of football equipment was not available in 1954.

Quotes:

Bear Bryant: [after Skeet has been injured] Ahhh, what now?

Entertaining but....

Junction Boys was an entertaining flick. Character based. Real thin story. Conflict didn't extend beyond some newspaper clippings and photos people held up. Easy way to keep everything on the field yet elicit some ideas. Basically a bunch of kids getting yelled at by a legendary coach and hitting each other. It was fun to see the portrayal of the practices as it really gave a feel for it, and the time, 1953. That was cool. To move forward 25 years to wrap up the emotions was an easy thing to do too. Not much of a stretch in the story or flick, though it was fun.

A better story with far more detail, far more at stake, far more drama, would be the 1951 cheating scandal at West Point, and the 1953 return to their glory.