Gus (1976 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Vincent McEveety |
| Produced by | Ron Miller |
| Screenplay by | Arthur Alsberg Don Nelson |
| Story by | Ted Key |
| Starring |
Don Knotts Edward Asner Gary Grimes Tim Conway Harold Gould Tom Bosley Louise Williams Dick Butkus |
| Music by | Robert F. Brunner |
| Cinematography | Frank Phillips |
| Edited by | Robert Stafford |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $21,873,000 |
Gus is a 1976 American family comedy film by Walt Disney Productions, directed by Vincent McEveety and starring Edward Asner, Don Knotts and Gary Grimes. Its center character is Gus, a football-playing mule. The film did well at the box office and was released on home video in 1981. The movie is remembered for two sequences involving a hotel and a supermarket.
The film opens in Yugoslavia with the Petrovic family watching their son Stepjan winning a soccer game. Their other son Andy works on his farm, and can't play soccer at all. One day, Andy discovers Gus can kick a soccer ball long distances when Andy shouts, "Oyage!". [Note: there is fierce debate in the Gus fan community re the spelling of "Oyage." Some spell it "Oyatch!," while others give it a more Yugoslavian-sounding "Ojigdz!"]
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the California Atoms are a professional football team owned by Hank Cooper (Ed Asner) and coached by the inept Coach Venner (Don Knotts). They are the worst team in the league and have not won a game in years. Cooper also owes a lot of money to two mobster bookmakers named Charles Gwynn (Harold Gould) and Cal Wilson (Dick Van Patten). When Cooper tells them he cannot pay his debts, the bookies give him a last chance bet: if the Atoms win the upcoming Super Bowl, all gambling debts will be forgiven, but if they do not win, Gwynn and Wilson will take ownership of the team.
Desperate to draw in fans, Cooper looks for a great half time show. His secretary, Debbie (Louise 'Liberty' Williams), sees a story in her parents' Yugoslavian newspaper about Gus. Debbie flies to Yugoslavia and hires Gus and Andy. After Gus is a hit in his first halftime show, Cooper and Venner decide to put him in the game as a place kicker. The other team protests, but as the rule book does not require a player to be human, Cooper allow Gus to kick With Gus able to kick a field goal from anywhere in the field, the Atoms win. The Atoms go on to win their next few games thanks to Gus, and move to first place in their division. The only catch is that that Gus will only kick when Andy holds the ball and shouts the command. Debbie is assigned to watch over Andy and Gus, since she can speak Serbian. A romance begins between them, aided by Gus.
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