''The Basketball Fix'' is a 1951 noir

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Felix E. Feist Felix Ellison Feist (; February 28, 1910 – September 2, 1965) was an American film and television director and writer born in New York City. He is probably best remembered for ''Deluge (film), Deluge'' (1933), for writing and directing the fi ...

and starring

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian-American actor and film director. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in New York City, he came to prominence with film audiences for his supporting roles i ...

Marshall Thompson James Marshall Thompson (November 27, 1925Ancestry.com. ''U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Social Security Applications and Cla ...

and

Vanessa Brown Vanessa Brown (born Smylla Brind, March 24, 1928 – May 21, 1999) was an Austrian-born American actress who worked in radio, film, theater, and television. Early life Born in Vienna, Austria, to Jewish parents (Nah Brind, a language teacher, a ...

. The film is also known by the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the ...

''The Big Decision'' in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is based on the

CCNY point shaving scandal The CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1951 was a college basketball Point shaving, point-shaving match fixing, gambling scandal which revealed widespread bribery and match fixing involving major colleges and universities both in and around New York ...

Plot

Sports journalist Peter Ferredey tries to prevent promising college basketball player Johnny Long from becoming involved with a betting ring, but is unable to stop him from shaving points during games for gambler Mike Taft.

Production

Basketball betting had existed for many years but grew during the 1940s. Since the start of college doubleheaders (two games in a row) at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in 1934 and the invention of

spread betting Spread betting is any of various types of wagering on the outcome of an event where the pay-off is based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple "win or lose" outcome, such as fixed-odds (or money-line) betting or parimutuel betting. ...

by Charles K. McNeil circa 1940, gamblers "embraced the excitement of college basketball and the financial possibilities of betting the spread". Still, the general public considered amateur college basketball "pure", and it was not until 1951, after multiple trials resulting from the

, when awareness of college basketball gambling centered in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

became widespread. Based on this scandal, Realart Pictures released ''The Basketball Fix'' in 1951. Edward Leven produced it; Peter R. Brooke and Charles Peck Jr. wrote the screenplay. The book ''Basketball in America'' states, "This movie exploited the fascination people had with the daily media reports of the actual investigation and the subsequent trials." The film had to do with both "society and basketball".

Release

The film was shown nationwide beginning in 1951, including at the Palace Theatre in New York City, the Majestic Theatre in

Shamokin, Pennsylvania Shamokin - (; Saponi Algonquian languages, Algonquian ''Schahamokink'', meaning "place of eels") (Unami language, Lenape Indian language: Shahëmokink) is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Surrounded by Coal Township ...

, and the Roxy Theatre in

Decatur, Alabama Decatur () is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County, Alabama, Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County, Alabama, Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City," it is located in North Alabam ...

Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company founded in 1985 as New Age Video, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alp ...

, Digiview Entertainment, and St. Clair Entertainment Group released it on DVD.

Reception

A review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said, "While ''The Basketball Fix'' is on the timid side, it is worth the effort put into it, and points the way to better and more constructive social comments." ''

The Decatur Daily ''The Decatur Daily'' is a daily (five days a week) newspaper serving Decatur, Alabama and the Tennessee Valley in the North Alabama area of the United States. As of September 30, 2006, it had an average daily circulation of 20,824 and a Sund ...

'' wrote, "When Hollywood unlimbers its big cameras and turns the heat of a spotlight on a dramatic situation like ''The Basketball Fix''...you can generally count on plenty of fireworks – and you won't be disappointed this time." A ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' review said, "Surprisingly, the scandal in ''The Basketball Fix'' was small potatoes compared to the one that rocked the real basketball world in 1951."

References

External links