by Democrat reporter
It was one of the most improbable match-ups in movie history.
Robert Duvall – star of The Godfather – fell in love with Scottish football and wanted to make a film about it.
It resulted in the Hollywood legend, who died this week, popping up at football grounds across the country from Boghead in Dumbarton to Hampden Park in Glasgow.
The resulting film – A Shot at Glory – is not considered one of his finest works, but it is still recalled fondly by Scottish fans who turned out in their thousands to watch it being filmed.
The man who played the Consigliere in The Godfather drove up Miller Street in a car with blacked out windows and shared a few minutes with surprised spectators
He was in Dumbarton to have a look at Boghead to see if it would fit the bill for a film project he had in the pipeline.
The following year thousands turned out to watch him film at the grounds of Dumbarton and Queen of the South in Dumfries.
Excerpts from that footage were included in the BBC Scotland lunchtime programme today (Tuesday).
It showed some of the action from the story of fictional team Kilnockie FC who wore the Dumbarton strip and its run to the Scottish Cup final.
It was also probably the only time an Oscar-winner has graced the playing surface of the old football club, which has now moved to the Rock stadium at Dumbarton Castle.
The film was also shot at Hampden Park and in the village of Crail in Fife.
It told the story of a football manager trying to take his little team to cup glory against a problematic background.
His star player – McCoist – is not easy to manage and is married to his daughter, played by Kirsty Mitchell.
Meanwhile, the owner of the club, played by Michael Keaton, has threatened to move the team to Ireland.
Just as in real life a former owner of the club Robert A Robertson theatened to move the club to Cumbernauld and make them The Third Force in Scottish Football.