Local Showtimes
 Based on the true story of Oklahoma basketball coach, Jim Keith, and his team, the Lady Cyclones, Believe In Me follows a losing and disrespected girls' basketball team and the inspirational coach who transforms them into state champions.
Believe In Me was adapted from the novel Brief Garland written by Newbury Award-winning author, Harold Keith, the uncle of Lady Cyclones coach, Jim Keith, and stars Bruce Dern, Jeffrey Donovan and Samantha Mathis.
The story is set in early 1960's Oklahoma, a time of economic distress and small town politics. High-school sports are an integral part of the town's fabric and pride, but girls' sports are an afterthought and warrant little or no attention. A young coach with big dreams, is hired by the local superintendent to coach boy's basketball but is soon crushed to learn that the job of boys' coach has gone to "someone more qualified" and that he will be coaching the girls' team. With his dreams dashed and his future uncertain, the coach begins a journey from despair to acceptance, challenge and finally, destiny.
Supported and inspired at every hurdle by his wife's wisdom and strength, the coach decides to stay and take on the seemingly impossible task of coaching the hapless Lady Cyclones. Lacking confidence, the rag-tag girls are ridiculed by the boys for wearing their oversized hand-me-downs, for even trying to play ball.
Throughout the course of the movie the coach learns as much from "his girls" as he teaches them. The Lady Cyclones develop pride and rally their spirit through the difficult season. They are challenged at every step by a dismissive school board and the ever-present 1960's small-town attitude that girls just shouldn't be playing competitive sports. Through it all, the coach and his wife fight the system, support the girls, work to heal a wound in their own
marriage, and turn around what was a neglected step-child program with a rich history of losing.
The community eventually rallies behind the coach and the girls as they strive to achieve the unbelievable the State Championship. The girls and the coach eventually earn each other's trust, and despite the opposition of the conservative town, learn how to play to win. Believe In Me is an underdog story of triumph, friendship and love. It is a film that proves that the impossible can be achieved if you believe, and is as relevant today as it was forty years ago when the true story took place.
from the Official Site
|
from IFC Films
Directed by
Robert Collector
Starring
Jeffrey Donovan (Clay Driscoll)
Samantha Mathis (Jean Driscoll)
Bruce Dern (Ellis Brawley)
Bob Gunton (Hugh Moreland)
Ryil Adamson (Myerson)
Pamela Atherton (Ruth Selman)
Kristin Brye (Pat Thompson)
Mike Carlucci (Basketball TV Announcer)
Paula Criss (Mrs. Blair)
Camilla DeRamus (Mrs. Johnson)
Jamie Dickerson (Liz Blair)
Chris Ellis (Jim Stovall)
Brandi Engel (Candy Brown)
Chelsea Grear (Melba Johnson)
Hailey Grimes (Susan Grove)
Kit Gwin (Dorothy Thompson)
Doris Hargrave (Miss Rogers)
James E. Holloway (Frank Thompson)
Jim Holloway (Frank Thompson)
Anne Judson-Yager (Ginger Selman)
Jodi Kibbe (Dorothy Crossett)
Alicia Lagano (Frances Bonner)
Anna Christine Lennox (Hannah)
Heather Matarazzo (Cindy Butts)
Marta McGonagle (Sadie York)
Dan Moseley (Sheriff Blessingame)
E.J. Nolan (Finals Announcer)
Michele Nordin (Helen Burnsides)
John Norman (Pastor Ragsdale)
John Norman (Pastor)
Ed Pennybacker (Dr. Coffee)
Diane Perella (Mrs. Grove)
Dorsey Ray (Preacher Bonner)
Robyn Reede (Lucille Shumard)
Chloe Russell (Joyce)
Charles Sanders (Spainhower)
Arron Shiver (Johnny Price)
Kerbey Smith (Portia Stovall)
Richard Stamm (George Brand)
Jennifer Strebeck (Wanda)
Kevin Wiggins (Joe Brody)
Written by
Robert Collector
Harold Keith (book)
Rated: 
(for some mild thematic elements and language) |
Believe In Me (DVD)
Believe In Me [CD]
Original Soundtrack
Brief Garland
by Harold Keith
The Complete Guide to Coaching Girls' Basketball
by Sylvia Hatchell, Jeff Thomas
Movie Posters
Classic
Movie Posters
|