''Manny's Orphans'' (also known as ''Kick!'') is a 1978 American family comedy film directed by

Sean S. Cunningham Sean Sexton Cunningham (born December 1941) is an American filmmaker, director, producer, and writer. He is best known for directing and producing several horror films, beginning in the early 1970s. Raised in Connecticut, Cunningham graduated fr ...

. The film was also distributed under the title ''Kick!''.

Plot

Manny ( Jim Baker) coaches soccer for the fashionable Creighton Hall school, but is relieved of duty because he is "not a good match" for the school. He finds a job at a Catholic home for orphans, where he forms a new soccer team, with the help of one very good player, Pepe, who turns out to be a girl. Pepe is the sister of one of the orphans, who comes to the all-boy orphanage posing as a boy, because her former foster home was an abusive environment. Along the way, Manny has incurred a gambling debt, his creditors begin to lean on him, and the boys find out. They set up a soccer game and stake the outcome against Manny's debt. If they win, then the debt shall be forgiven.

Cast

* Jim Baker – Manny * Malachy McCourt – Father Arch McCoy *

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– Dr. Berryman *

Sel Skolnick Sel is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Otta. The municipality also includes several notable villages inclu ...

– Mr. Caputo *

Xavier Rodrigo Xavier or Xabier may refer to: Place * Xavier, Spain People * Xavier (surname) * Xavier (given name) * Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Catholic saint ** St. Francis Xavier (disambiguation) * St. Xavier (disambiguation) * Xavier (footballer, born J ...

– Raoul *

Melissa Valentin Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". ''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...

– Pepe * Ari Lehman – Roger

Production

Of the film, writer Victor Miller said: "

Steve Miner Stephen C. Miner (born June 18, 1951) is an American director of film and television, film producer, and a member of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is notable for his work in the horror genre, including ''Friday the 13th Part ...

came up with the idea for it and I wrote the screenplay and we did it, another low-budget film long with ''Here Come the Tigers''">Here_Come_the_Tigers.html" ;"title="long with ''Here Come the Tigers">long with ''Here Come the Tigers'' and shot it around Bridgeport, Connecticut." Director Cunningham said: "We had this notion of a bunch of orphans in a halfway house, they put together a soccer team and the underdog wins. So we raised the money to do what became known as ''Manny's Orphans''. It was a lot of fun to make, and again I loved working with the kids. I really thought it was going to be a breakthrough film for me." Cunningham also maintains that the reaction was "lukewarm", and although United Artists optioned it as a pilot for a TV series, they did not buy it.

References

External links

* * {{Sean S. Cunningham 1978 films 1970s sports comedy films American sports comedy films American association football films Films about orphans Films scored by Harry Manfredini Films directed by Sean S. Cunningham Films shot in Connecticut Films with screenplays by Victor Miller (writer) 1978 comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films