''Code Breakers'' is a 2005 American sports drama television film directed by Rod Holcomb and written by G. Ross Parker, based on the 2000 non-fiction book ''A Return to Glory'' by Bill McWilliams. The film chronicles the real-life 1951 cheating scandal at the United States Military Academy, and the impact on its football team. It stars Zachery Ty Bryan, Jeff Roop, Jake Busey, Corey Sevier, Theo Rossi, Robin Dunne, Adam Grimes, Jude Ciccolella,

Dan Petronijevic Daniel Petronijevic (born March 28, 1981 in Scarborough, Ontario), known professionally as Dan Petronijevic, is a Canadian actor who has appeared in various feature films, including the '' American Pie'' franchise, and in TV shows such as '' 19-2 ...

, Richard Zeppieri, and

Scott Glenn Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26) is an American actor. His roles have included Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in ''Urban Cowboy'' (1980), astronaut Alan Shepard in '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), Emmett in '' Silverado'' ...

as Coach Earl "Red" Blaik. The film aired on ESPN on December 10, 2005.

Synopsis

The film chronicles the 1951 cheating scandal at West Point and its impact on Army's football team, which was forced to dismiss virtually its entire squad. The film begins going into the 1950

Army–Navy Game The Army–Navy Game is an American college football rivalry game between the Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and the Navy Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapo ...

, the Cadets football team was heavily favored, yet went on to lose to a weak Midshipmen squad, 14–2. The Academy and football team were then thrown into a scandal when 90 cadets, including 37 lettering football players, resigned in a cheating scandal which broke the Academy's Honor Code. The film follows Brian Nolan, a cadet who is led to a ring of cheaters when he is need of academic help to pass. A serious piece of the film involves the relationship of Coach Blaik and his son Bob, one of the cadets responsible for cheating.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Toronto. A principal shooting location was Victoria College. Cinematographer Thomas Del Ruth used the 1950 film '' The West Point Story'', directed by his father

Roy Del Ruth Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893, Delaware – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker. Early career Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) ...

, as a template in recreating West Point in the 1950s.

Release

The film aired on December 10, 2005 at 9 pm ET on ESPN and ESPN HD.

References

External links

* 2005 films 2005 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s sports drama films American drama television films American films based on actual events American football films American sports drama films Army Black Knights football Cultural depictions of players of American football Drama films based on actual events ESPN Films films Films about academic scandals Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Rod Holcomb Films scored by Anthony Marinelli Films set in 1950 Films set in 1951 Films set in the United States Military Academy Films shot in Toronto Sports films based on actual events Sports television films Television films based on actual events Television films based on books 2000s American films {{US-tv-film-stub