Champions: A Love Story

Champions: A Love Story is a 1979 American television film directed by John A. Alonzo and starring Shirley Knight, Tony Lo Bianco, Jimmy McNichol, Joy LeDuc, and Anne Schedeen. Its plot follows a teenage ex-hockey player (McNichol) who falls in love with a figure skater (LeDuc).[2]

Champions: A Love Story
GenreDrama
Screenplay byJohn Sacret Young
Directed byJohn A. Alonzo
Starring
Theme music composerJohn Rubinstein
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
Production
Executive producer(s)Philip Mandelker
Producer(s)John Sacret Young
CinematographyJohn A. Alonzo
Editor(s)Bernard J. Small
Running time100 minutes
Production company(s)Warner Bros. Television[1]
DistributorWarner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original networkCBS
Original release
  • January 13, 1979 (1979-01-13)

Cast

Production

The film's screenplay was written by television writer and producer John Sacret Young, who himself was a former hockey player.[1] Prior to writing the screenplay, Young had been unsuccessfully working as a novelist in Vermont.[1] Commenting on the setting, Young said: "Skating is filled with stories that are very intense - the romances, the hatreds. I don't think that story's ever been told. Skating is a loose fraternity. They share something, the early morning practice, the rigorous training. It's like war veterans without the pall of death."[3]

Young spent six months frequenting ice skating rinks in Colorado, and based many of the characters in the film real people he met there: "You go to any rink and 6 a.m. and here are these burly women in overcoats. They give their lives to this."[1] Young was partly inspired to write the film after the 1961 Sabena Flight 548 plane crash that killed the entire U.S. Figure Skating team.[1]

Reception

People magazine deemed the film a "surprisingly compelling 1979 TV movie."[4] Jerry Buck of the Associated Press praised the film as "a warm story that bursts at the seams with vitality and life."[5]

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References
  1. "'Champions': A love story on ice". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. January 12, 1979. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Champions: A Love Story". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  3. "Champions: A Love Story". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. January 13, 1979. p. 12.
  4. People Staff (August 3, 1981). "Picks and Pans Review: Champions: a Love Story". People. Archived from the original on February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  5. Buck, Jerry (January 13, 1979). "Skating tale bursts with vitality and life". Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. Associated Press – via Newspapers.com.
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