King of the Hill

- Donald Brittain, & William Canning,
- 1974,
- 56 min 50 s

- 6,582 views
- 65 Like
- Share it

Synopsis
Point Of View
Education

This feature documentary follows one of the greatest Canadian baseball player of all time, Ferguson Jenkins, through the 1972-1973 seasons. From the hope and innocence of spring training to the dog days of an August slump, the camera gets up close and personal at the home plate and records the intimate chatter on the mound, in the dugout and in the locker room. It provides a glimpse into the rewards and pressures of sports stardom and the easy camaraderie of the quintessential summer sport.

Adam Symansky

Marrin Canell was a great friend of Don's and worked with him on several films. The problem when you become really good friends is that you tend to become less and less critical of your friend. You know the guy's going to pull it off and you don't want to be brutal. Marrin felt he was too close to Donald to be an effective editor or producer for him, but one thing they shared was a love of baseball.

Donald loved the game so much he invented a solitaire card game based on baseball. When he was near death, that's what he would do a lot of the time. He loved the world of baseball; he loved the Expos.

For King of the Hill, they filmed two seasons. But they couldn't get access to the team for the second season, so they had to make the first season work for both. It's an interesting story, as a lot of that film is faked.

From the playlist : Donald Brittain: Writer, filmmaker, storyteller.

Grade 11 - 12

Physical Education / Outdoor Education

Heath/Personal Development / Fitness/Physical Activities

Diversity/Pluralism / African-Canadian Studies

Educational purpose:

Have students compare the star quality of Ferguson Jenkins with modern-day athletes like Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby. Did the personal nature of this film alter your perceptions about professional athletes? Discuss Jenkins’ comment regarding equal treatment as opposed to fair treatment. To learn more about Ferguson Jenkins’ award-winning career since this film was made, go to Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Discuss this film
Please sign in to add your comment
Not a member ? Click here

Comments

King of the Hill

BigCaddyJC

“FERGIE JENKINS ,PLAYING IN A LEAGIUE FULL OF REAL LIFE SUPERSTARS, WAS ,FOR A BRIEF TIME, AS GOOD AS THERE WAS IN MLB. THIS FILM COMES IN ON A CAREER OF A FULL-FLEDGED AFRICAN-CANADIAN SUPERSTAR! IN A SECOND CITY AND A VERY GOOD BUT UNNOTICED CHICAGO CUBS FRANCHISE FERGIE WAS THE TEAMS VERY BEST PLAYER. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT ONE OF YOUR SONS OF CANADA AND BE TRANSFIXED.”

29 Sep 2010