MovieChat Forums > Bang the Drum Slowly (1978) Discussion > Why all the nosiness from Coach? (spoile...

Why all the nosiness from Coach? (spoilers)



It didn't make sense - if two players want to hang out and travel around during the off-season then what business is it of the Coach? He started out by interrogating at length, in two different scenes, and then had the damned cheek to hire a private detective??!!

It's possible I missed the justification for this in the script, but it spoiled the film for me as it was an obvious plot device to try and create suspense (e.g. 'will Coach find out?').


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I think it because of Author's contract demand to be a "package" deal with Bruce. Dutch's concern seems, largely, to be the possibility of scandal/blackmail that might trip up Author.

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This always bothered me it just seemed so unreal.

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Yeah, it was unnatural. And if he was that nosey, Author could've just told him it
was none of his ________ business and that would've been that. It just comes across as something to fill out the script. Mark Harris wrote the novel and the screenplay so it doesn't seem like something that was forced into the script. I didn't read the book so I don't know if there were other scenes that could have filled out the script. It's still a good movie with lots of fine scenes, but I wish those other scenes weren't such a big plot point.

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I'm not sure if I'm right, but I believe the Manager is concerned that what ever caused the binding of the contracts might lead to some scandal and bring dissension to the Team and locker room. He mentions something about a scandal with women in one of the scenes.

But the thread is correct in pointing out the weakness of this plot point.

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I think its because he didn't want two "ferrys" on his team. and he wanted to know why he had to keep pearson on his team when he didn't like him much

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What, he had something against boats?

"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?"

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He had everyone pegged and what drove him crazy was that it made NO sense to him what was going on and with a 'coach's nose' he NEEDED to know what was going on. A player with a terminal illness is a vital piece of info. The coach (both in the book and the movie) knows something is being pulled over on him - personally and must know.

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poetcomic1 says > He had everyone pegged and what drove him crazy was that it made NO sense to him what was going on and with a 'coach's nose' he NEEDED to know what was going on.
Other characters knew of the clause; some shrugged it off and others taunted Bruce and Arthur for being fairies, but the coach really wanted some answers. That desire to know is called curiosity. I didn't really like the way he kept questioning Arthur then trying to verify his answers with Bruce but as a curious person myself I couldn't blame the man for wanting to know what was going on.

While curiosity would have been reason enough to probe, in this case, as you say, the coach had a need to know. As the coach, he had every right to know why he was being forced to keep a player he didn't really like and didn't want on the team. Those were his decisions to make, not another player's; especially since his team wasn't performing well and the reason for the clause could potentially interfere with him doing his job.

As coach he had a right to know if one of his players was injured, sick, or otherwise unable to play. If there was a potential scandal looming, like if the players were gay, he had a right to know that as well. At the very least, knowing in advance would have given him time to prepare and be able to deal with the crisis when it arose.

Let's not forget that his 'team' was just a bunch of guys who happened to be employed by the same club. They were fragmented and at odds with each other and it was adversely affecting how they got along and played together. It was his job as the coach to address those issues. Like it or not, Bruce was at the center of a lot of the problems.

Bruce wasn't respected, he was dumb, he was the target of many taunts, and he was possibly involved in some shady activity with Arthur. Arthur was performing and not as easy to replace but the coach knew if he could get to the bottom of what was behind the clause, there was a chance he could use what he knew to get rid of Bruce. Arthur suspected as much so he scrambled to keep the coach from finding out.

Ironically, once everyone knew Bruce was dying, he was treated differently, the team came together, and they started playing up to their potential. That probably wouldn't have happened if the coach wasn't digging for the truth. It's not like he was the one to discover it, but his digging led to the secrecy and that caused the news ooze out gradually.

Some claimed the coach's digging was an unnecessary part of the story; thrown in only for dramatic effect, but obviously that wasn't the case. It did add some suspense to the movie but it was a necessary and, I thought, interesting way of telling the story.


Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

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At first I thought you asked "Why all the noisiness from Coach?"......Man that guy was LOUD....His "normal" tone of voice was shouting......Could not stand that guy.

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I felt the same way during those scenes. He should have said “It’s none of your business”

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