''Dreamer'' is a 1979 American sports film directed by Noel Nosseck, written by Larry Bischof and James Proctor, and starring

Tim Matheson Tim Matheson (born Timothy Lewis Matthieson; December 31, 1947) is an American actor and director. Some of his best-known acting roles include the title character of the 1960s animated ''Jonny Quest (TV series), Jonny Quest'' TV series, Eric "O ...

Susan Blakely Susan Blakely (born September 7, 1948) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role in the 1976 ABC miniseries '' Rich Man, Poor Man'', for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama a ...

and

Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American actor who worked in film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo (film), Shampoo'' (1975) and '' ...

. It was released theatrically on April 27, 1979, and was released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

through

Magnetic Video Magnetic Video Corporation was a home video/home audio duplication service that operated between 1968 and 1982. History Magnetic Video Corporation was established by the co-founder Andre Blay, an American film producer in 1968 with Leon Nic ...

on home video.

Story

A young man dreams and struggles to become a championship bowler, knowing that determination and sacrifice must come first. Tim Matheson is the Dreamer in this story which many saw as heavily inspired by ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...

''. "Dreamer" is a ten-pin whiz in his small town of

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

, but wants to make it in the big time on the professional tour. Ultimately, he does, with the help of irascible manager Harry (

) and faithful girlfriend Karen (

). As if to underline the resemblances between ''Dreamer'' and its cinematic role model, the musical score is by ''Rockys

Bill Conti William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor. He is best known for his film scores, including ''Rocky'' (1976), '' Rocky II'' (1979), '' Rocky III'' (1982), '' Rocky V'' (1990), '' Rocky Balboa'' (2006), '' The Karat ...

. Bowling legend Dick Weber appears at the movie's beginning and end as Johnny Watkin.

Cast

as Harold "Dreamer" Nuttingham *

as Karen Lee *

as Harry White * Richard B. Shull as George Taylor * Barbara Stuart as Angie *

Owen Bush Owen Bush (November 10, 1921 – June 12, 2001) was an American actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional ...

as The Fan * John Crawford as Riverboat Captain * Marya Small as Elaine * Matt Clark as Spider *

Morgan Farley Francis Morgan Farley (October 3, 1898 – October 11, 1988) was an American actor on the stage and in films and television. Career His theatrical career began in 1917 in the stage adaptation of Booth Tarkington's '' Seventeen''. He recr ...

as Old Timer *

Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez (born Ramiro Gonzalez Gonzalez; May 24, 1925 – February 6, 2006) was an American character actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in a number of John Wayne films. Life and career His father was a trumpet ...

as Too * Speedy Zapata as Juan * JoBe Cerny as Ralph Patterson * Azizi Johari as Lady * Dick Weber as Johnny Watkin *

Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene Schenkel (August 21, 1923 – September 11, 2005) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and b ...

as himself * Nelson Burton Jr. as Color Man * Julian Byrd as Red Harper * Rita Ascot Boyd as Grandma

Production

Tim Matheson had not bowled since the age of 10 when he got the starring role. To prepare for his part he spent four to six hours a day for two weeks bowling with Dick Weber's son Rich and also studied videotapes of top bowlers such as

Mark Roth Mark Stephen Roth (April 10, 1951 – November 26, 2021) was an American professional ten-pin bowling, bowler. He won 34 PBA Tour titles in his career (sixth most all-time), and is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association, PBA and United ...

, Earl Anthony and

Marshall Holman Marshall Holman (born September 29, 1954) is an American sports broadcaster and retired professional ten-pin bowler. He was known for his flamboyant, fiery demeanor and his success on the PBA Tour from the mid-1970s to the end of the 1980s. He ...

. Principal photography took place in

and

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

from July 31 to September 12, 1978. The picture's production budget was reported at $2.9 million plus $3.54 million for marketing.

Reception

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' stated, "I'm not sure I've ever seen a movie that was supposed to tell a story and managed to be as uneventful as 'Dreamer'."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and wrote, "There could no doubt be a good movie made about bowling or about the human elements in any professional sport. But 'Dreamer' doesn't even try to do that. It just takes a routine old formula, one that could apply as well (or as badly) to any sport from soccer to wrestling, and plugs in bowling as the subject matter."

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' also awarded 1.5 stars out of 4 and called it "hopelessly predictable." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "Shamelessly attempting to be a 'Rocky' of the bowling world, 'Dreamer' is a preposterous, colorless down-home fantasy about a youth who makes the jump from unknown bushleaguer to national champion in three easy lessons." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' declared the film "a nice little movie" and "a pleasant piece of Midwestern Americana, refreshing in its lack of gratuitous sex and gore but also likely to be too mild for some tastes." Gary Arnold of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' called it "a pleasant, inconsequential sports melodrama."Arnold, Gary (May 22, 1979). "Fitful 'Dreamer'". ''

''. C7.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dreamer (1979 Film) 1979 films Films set in Illinois Ten-pin bowling films Films scored by Bill Conti Films shot in Illinois 1970s sports drama films Films shot in Missouri 20th Century Fox films American sports drama films 1979 drama films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Noel Nosseck 1970s American films English-language sports drama films