''The Final Test'' is a 1953 British

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the sp ...

written by

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wa ...

, directed by Anthony Asquith, and starring Jack Warner,

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

, George Relph and Ray Jackson. A number of leading cricketers also appear including Denis Compton,

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

and

Cyril Washbrook Cyril Washbrook (6 December 1914 – 27 April 1999) was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the bat ...

. The film was produced by

R.J. Minney Rubeigh James "R.J." Minney (29 August 1895 – 5 January 1979) was a British film producer, journalist, playwright, editor and author. He was author of over 40 books including novels and biographies. As a film-maker and film producer, he worked w ...

for Act Films Ltd.

Plot

The film is a light drama, set around elderly leading cricketer Sam Palmer's last appearance for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Action jumps between various elements: an Englishman ( Richard Wattis) explaining to an American the rules and terminologies of the game from the audience; Sam's home life; the pub listening to cricket on the radio; Sam's interactions with players and family; and Reggie's attempts to meet his theatrical hero Alexander Whitehead (

). This is interspersed with documentary footage of real cricket games. Sam desperately wants his son Reggie to be there at

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

to witness his last match, but Reggie has a developing passion for poetry and instead of attending the game has a ‘once in a lifetime’ chance of meeting a leading

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

, Alexander Whitehead. But when Reggie meets Whitehead, it turns out he is a huge fan of cricket. Whitehead takes Reggie along to the match, in time to see Sam's innings, and persuades Reggie that there is more to cricket than he had previously thought. In Sam's final appearance he is dismissed

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was inste ...

. As he walks back to the pavilion the other players line his route and the spectators give him a standing ovation.

Cast

* Jack Warner as Sam Palmer *

as Alexander Whitehead * George Relph as Syd Thompson * Adrianne Allen as Aunt Ethel * Ray Jackson as Reggie Palmer * Brenda Bruce as Cora the barmaid * Stanley Maxted as Senator * Joan Swinstead as Miss Fanshawe * John Glyn-Jones as Mr. Willis * Richard Wattis as the spectator explaining cricket to the American The England cricketers

, Denis Compton,

Alec Bedser Sir Alec Victor Bedser (4 July 1918 – 4 April 2010) was a professional English cricketer, primarily a medium-fast bowler. He is widely regarded as one of the best English cricketers of the 20th century. Bedser played first-class cricket fo ...

Godfrey Evans Thomas Godfrey Evans (18 August 1920 – 3 May 1999) was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by ''Wisden'' as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test matc ...

, Jim Laker and

appear as themselves with

John Arlott Leslie Thomas John Arlott, OBE (25 February 1914 – 14 December 1991) was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's '' Test Match Special''. He was also a poet and wine connoisseur. With his poetic phraseology, he be ...

providing the match commentary.

Genesis

The writer

was an excellent cricketer in his school days. He was opening batsman for the

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England ** Harrow, London, a town in London ** Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) ...

Eleven, often in partnership with Victor Rothschild, and in 1929 he represented Harrow at Lord's in the annual match against

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. He originally wrote ''The Final Test'' - his first play for television - in 1951, partly as a tribute to Sir

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test cricket, Test batting average (c ...

, who was out for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a fo ...

in his final test in 1948. That production was directed by Royston Morley and starred Patrick Barr as Sam Palmer. As with almost all of Rattigan's plays, the theme of the relationship between father and son, and the tension between parental expectations and the son's driving force leading him in different directions, is explored. The play was filmed in 1953, directed by Anthony Asquith.

Critical reception

In ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'', Virginia Graham wrote, "Often witty, always undeviatingly amiable, this is a delightful film, a simple friendly film full of national jokes which, as no other country could possibly share them, give one the comfortable relaxed feeling of being at home and liking it there"; ''

Sky Cinema Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

'' wrote, "It's difficult to imagine that this little film packed London's huge Odeon, Leicester Square, in its day, but it did";

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of f ...

called it a "Droll, minor comedy"; ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "Perhaps the cognoscenti will not call "The Final Test" cricket, but it definitely adds up to fun"; and more recently, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' called it "Britain's only significant cricket picture." The film ran for six months in New York and became one of

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

's favorite movies.

Media releases

The film was released on Region 2 DVD on 6 August 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Final Test, The 1953 films 1950s sports comedy-drama films British sports comedy-drama films Cricket films Films directed by Anthony Asquith Films scored by Benjamin Frankel Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films with screenplays by Terence Rattigan Films set in London 1953 comedy films 1953 drama films British black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films