Another Robert Conrad Film

Coach of the Year (1980) and Hard Knox (1984): Conrad becomes a teacher.
During the 1980s, Robert Conrad attempted to diversify his roles and kick start another television series with a number of television films that failed to be picked up as a series. What’s interesting about Coach of the Year and Hard Knox is that they share various similarities yet offer their own distinct stories and tone. Both films see Conrad play men at a crossroads in their lives who start working in unconventional educational institutions. In Coach of the Year, Conrad plays a bitter disabled Vietnam veteran (Jim Brandon) who signs up to become the coach at a juvenile reform school after his nephew is arrested. Likewise, a few years later we saw Conrad play Col. Joe Knox, a celebrated fighter pilot who, having been told he is too old to fly, suddenly finds himself back at his former military school. Seeing his alma mater in disarray, Knox agrees to temporarily run the military school as a favour to his old principle. Both films end with Conrad’s characters agree to take on their roles permanently, setting the narrative up for a series. They work well as television films, however, they also highlight character arches that would have been developed further had the shows been picked up.

Coach of the Year is an interesting film, as it plays with Conrad’s tough guy persona. Despite being as hard as nails, there are moments when you genuinely fear for Jim as the boys physically threaten him. His disability presents him as a once powerful man who has become forgotten by society. Over the course of the film, Jim is transformed from an angry and bitter man to a healthy father figure to the boys, offering them both an outlet for their energy and eventually something that they can be proud of. This is not a light-hearted film, the narrative and script emphasis that many of these boys have experienced incredible difficult upbringings and have committed very serious crimes (including attempted murder).

While Jim’s relationship with his nephew remains tense throughout, he slowly builds a bond with one of the toughest boys, Munroe (played brilliantly by David Raynr). As Jim builds a football team, Munroe is transformed from an antagonist to a genuine leader as he and Jim guides the team to their eventual victory against the snotty private school team. The film doesn’t sugar-coat the situation, despite their victories we are aware that these boys have a long way before they will be able to re-join society. However, slowly the film intimately demonstrates their potential, with Jim and Munroe both representing damaged figures who have been left behind.

Throughout the film, we hear what would have been the theme song play. And, I have to say, it’s a great tune that reflects the multicultural makeup of the team. There is also a hint at possible romance for Jim, something that isn’t confirm – suggesting it would have been a plot point in the series. Overall, this is an excellent television film that plays with, yet doesn’t entirely reject, the typical Robert Conrad role. As for the Robert Conrad rubric? Well, he doesn’t wear tight trousers, spending most of the film in tracksuit bottoms. But he does show off his upper body strength during a workout scene that does actually work for the narrative. We get the impression that, having found his calling, Jim is determined not to be a victim. While a great film, I can see why this wasn’t picked up. It is a very dark television film, and I am not sure if audiences would want to engage with such heavy material on a weekly basis

Plot: 5
Script: 5
Intentional laughs: 2
Unintentional laughs: 0
Conrad’s performance: 5
Co-stars performance: 5
Macho rating: 2
Shirtless: 2
Tight trousers: 0
Fighting Conrad: 1
Total: 27/50

Made a few years later, Hard Knox sees Conrad as the authority Joe Knox. Again, playing with the Robert Conrad tough guy persona, Knox is a tough yet sympathetic figure who struggles to adapt to the educational environment. Engaging with students who, like him, are from poor backgrounds, Knox has to navigate around military etiquette and teenagers who, overall, don’t want to be soldiers. Unlike Coach of the Year, the tone and focus of Hard Knox lends itself well to being made into a potential series. It reminds me a lot of Black Sheep Squadron, in that it is about misfits navigating the rules and regulations of the military.

Like Coach of the Year, the film also emphasis class through a rivalry with a private military school. Considering Conrad’s own background, I can see why he was attracted to this theme throughout his career. Because Hard Knox is a lot more light-hearted, with slightly more comical characters, it does feel more like a failed pilot. It works as a television film, but you are left wanting more. Like Coach of the Year, the film also hints at a possible romance. It would be a few more years before a television film of Conrad’s would be picked up for a series, and many of the hallmarks in Coach of the Year and Hard Knox would appear again.

However, both these television films highlight how, by the 1980s, Conrad was intentionally trying to shape his image into something more than just the guy who punches people and wears tight trousers. These are not complete rejections of the typical Robert Conrad role, but they are evolutions. While I would have liked to have seen a series made from Hard Knox, I have to say that Coach of the Year is my favourite. It has a depth that was, frankly, surprising. And the relationship and parallel journeys of Jim and Munroe depicts two seemingly opposing figures at similar junctures in their life.

Plot: 4
Script: 4
Intentional laughs: 4
Unintentional laughs: 0
Conrad’s performance: 4
Co-stars performance: 4
Macho rating: 3
Shirtless: 0
Tight trousers: 3
Fighting Conrad: 1
Total: 27/50