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Cockfighter
From Governor's Mansions to Cheap Hotels: The Big Money Sport that's Dirty-Violent and Outside the Law!
Aug. 01, 1974
01:23:00
R
6.0
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Your rating: 6.0
Overview:
A trainer of fighting cocks takes a vow of silence and gambles his loves and possessions in a bid to win a championship.
Description
The plot begins in medias res with a mute Frank Mansfield (Warren Oates) locked inside a trailer preparing his best cock for an upcoming fight. He slices the chicken's beak slightly so that it looks cracked in order to obtain higher betting odds in the upcoming fight. He bets his trailer, his girlfriend, and the remainder of his money with fellow cocker Jack (Harry Dean Stanton). Mansfield loses the fight (ironically because of the cracked beak), almost all of his belongings, and is set on a rambling path to win the Cockfighter of the Year award.
Frank visits his home town, his family farm, and his long-time fiancée Mary Elizabeth (Patricia Pearcy). Mary Elizabeth has long grown tired of Mansfield's cockfighter ways and asks him to settle down with her. Frank decides in favor of cockfighting, leaves Mary Elizabeth, sells the family farm for money to reinvest in chickens, and starts a partnership with Omar Baradinsky (Richard B. Shull). The partnership takes them all the way to the cockfighting championships.
Writer:
Charles Willeford
Cast: Jimmy Williams Troy Donahue Steve Railsback Warren Oates Richard B. Shull Patricia Pearcy Warren Finnerty Bob Hannah Harry Dean Stanton Donnie Fritts Ed Begley Jr. Charles Willeford Robert Earl Jones Millie Perkins Tom Spratley Laurie Bird Pete Munro Kermit Echols Ed Smith John Trotter Lois Zeitlin Joe Bentley A.B. Greeson Sara Rickman Meg Brush Oliver Coleman Bobby Dunn Kim Bernard Ank Carleton Billy Abbott Dickey Betts Steven Gaydos