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Skateboard

  • 1978
  • PG
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
410
YOUR RATING
Skateboard (1978)
Extreme SportDramaSport

A Hollywood agent finds himself in debt to a powerful bookie. To make a fast buck, he creates a team of exceptionally talented skateboarders and enters them in a downhill race. If they win, ... Read allA Hollywood agent finds himself in debt to a powerful bookie. To make a fast buck, he creates a team of exceptionally talented skateboarders and enters them in a downhill race. If they win, they will get $20,000.A Hollywood agent finds himself in debt to a powerful bookie. To make a fast buck, he creates a team of exceptionally talented skateboarders and enters them in a downhill race. If they win, they will get $20,000.

  • Director
    • George Gage
  • Writers
    • Dick Wolf
    • George Gage
  • Stars
    • Allen Garfield
    • Kathleen Lloyd
    • Leif Garrett
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.5/10
    410
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • George Gage
    • Writers
      • Dick Wolf
      • George Gage
    • Stars
      • Allen Garfield
      • Kathleen Lloyd
      • Leif Garrett
    • 15User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos16

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    Top cast70

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    Allen Garfield
    Allen Garfield
    • Manny Bloom
    Kathleen Lloyd
    Kathleen Lloyd
    • Millicent Broderick
    Leif Garrett
    Leif Garrett
    • Brad Harris
    Richard Van der Wyk
    • Jason Maddox
    Tony Alva
    Tony Alva
    • Tony Bluetile
    Steve Monahan
    • Peter Steffens
    David Hyde
    • Dennis
    Ellen O'Neal
    Ellen O'Neal
    • Jenny Bradshaw
    Pam Kenneally
    • Randi
    Antony Carbone
    Antony Carbone
    • Sol
    Sylvester Words
    • Sol's Henchman
    Gordon Jump
    Gordon Jump
    • Mr. Harris
    Patricia Hitchcock
    Patricia Hitchcock
    • Mrs. Harris
    • (as Pat Hitchcock)
    Orson Bean
    Orson Bean
    • Self
    Joe Bratcher
    • Vito
    Harvey Levine
    • U.E.O. Clerk
    Thelma Pelish
    Thelma Pelish
    • Woman in Motel
    John Fox
    • Charlie Martin
    • Director
      • George Gage
    • Writers
      • Dick Wolf
      • George Gage
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews15

    5.5410
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    Featured reviews

    5JohnSeal

    Better than you'd think

    Skateboard is the implausible but engaging story of the LA Wheels, a 'professional' team of adolescents traveling the skateboard circuit (who knew there was one?). Allen Garfield plays their mentor and manager, and he is surprisingly effective as the desperate Manny Blum who needs cash to pay off gangster Antony Carbone. Kathleen Lloyd provides a touch of class as his assistant coach and the kids of the skate team seem to be having fun. An excellent family film that goes out of its way to eschew profanity, Skateboard has a happy ending for everyone, including the hoodlum.
    10radsquad-slyder

    Great!

    All that I can say is that the other guy that reviewed this movie knows nothing about the history of skateboarding. In the 1970s skateboarding was one of the greatest spectacles of the time. There were actually skateboard World Championships which drew grand crowds and the invents did include slalom(weaving in and out of cones) and downhill races... I found the other guy to be completely asinine in his reasoning. This movie has a cameo of Tony Alva of Dogtown fame. Who recently was featured in the video game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, and the feature film Lords of Dogtown and the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys. I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves skateboarding and its history because this is clearly a part of it...

    GRADE: A+, excellent
    6pvollan

    If you're into skating then you gotta see this

    This movie is worth watching when there's skating on screen; too bad there's isn't more of it. Most of the screen time is taken up with the stupid, predictable plot, and I, too, found myself thinking that the stupid dialouge must have been improvised, plus I can't figure out how they managed to make 35mm film look so bad. Manny reminds me of the park owner from Kiss meets the Phantom, a fat loser frantically running around trying to figure out what's cool and then cash in on it. Perhaps more beer or bad behavior from the kids would improve this movie, too.

    It's worth watching this just to spot Tony Alva (I can't believe he's in this turkey) and to see what skaters looked like in 1977. This movie was already a curiosity when I taped it off TV in the 80s.
    vchimpanzee

    Pleasant enough but not great; skateboarders had talent

    Manny is in debt to Sol, among others, and he has to come up with an idea to make money quickly. Earlier, he nearly ran into some kids who were skateboarding in the road. When he sees one of them outside his window, he pitches the idea of a skateboarding team to Sol, who reluctantly accepts this chance to get his money back and then some.

    Manny knows nothing about skateboarding. He doesn't even realize there are already teams, and as talented as the kids are, it's hard to believe at first anyone will pay money to see them.

    A number of problems get in the way of the team's success. One is the need for someone to supervise them, like a parent. So Millicent is hired. Of course, as often happens in sports movies, one of the kids thinks he is too good to follow the rules. Later, the events really look like something worth seeing.

    I didn't see anything here approaching good acting, but Manny, Millicent and the kids were all easy enough to like. Manny was certainly funny because he was such a loser. And the kids certainly had talent on skateboards if nothing else. The situation was hard to believe but was executed well enough.

    I seriously question any reference to this being a 'family' movie. The sound went out a number of times, and other times it sounded like words had been substituted, and while tame by today's standards, the sex talk seemed pretty frank.

    If you're not looking to use your brain and if your expectations are not high, I suppose this was a pleasant enough film.
    7stargeek99

    Lowbudget fun

    I have a weird history with this movie. When I was a kid, I came across the book adaptation of the movie in a used book store. As a young skateboarder in the early 80s, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. Then to my amazement I caught the movie played on Saturday afternoon television and also enjoyed it quite a bit.

    Then about 20 years pass and I've long outgrown skateboarding, and what do I come across being played on late night TV? Skateboard! I settle in for a nostalgic return to my youth.

    It's obvious that this film had to be mostly improvised by the cast, but to me that's part of the charm. It definitely feels more like a documentary than feature.

    Yeah, the skateboarding is completely archaic, but sheesh, this movie is 30 years old. Vert ramps hadn't been invented yet.

    If you get a chance to catch it on late-night TV, I definitely suggest a look.

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    Related interests

    Michael Angarano, Melonie Diaz, Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, Nikki Reed, and Don Nguyen in Lords of Dogtown (2005)
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    Drama
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    Sport

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Leif Garrett did all but one of his own stunts.
    • Soundtracks
      Sweet Rider
      Lyrics by Richard Sarstedt

      Music by Mark Snow

      Performed by Dr. John

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    FAQ16

    • How long is Skateboard?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 1978 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Skateboard: The Movie
    • Filming locations
      • N. Cherokee Avenue at Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Manny starts his car and drives around corner)
    • Production company
      • Blum Group
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,318,823
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,318,823
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 37m(97 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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