''The Great Game'' is a 1953 British sports comedy-drama directed by

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

and starring James Hayter,

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution. Hird w ...

and

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a Bombshell (slang), blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van ...

. It was written by Wolfgang Wilhelm based on the play ''Shooting Star'' by Basil Thomas. Many of the scenes were shot at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

, the home of

Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club is a professional association football club based in Brentford, England. The team competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Nicknamed "The Bees", the club was founded in 1889 and played home matc ...

Several professional football players made appearances in the film including

Tommy Lawton Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager. Born in Farnworth and raised in Bolton, he played amateur football at Rossendale United, before he turned professional at Burnley on his 17t ...

Plot

Joe Lawson is the chairman of a relegation zone English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club and he makes makes an illegal approach to a rising star of a rival club. The manager of the rival club makes an accusation which is picked up by the press. When Lawson is questioned by his board and his account of events is doubted, he impulsively offers his resignation, but is shocked when it is accepted and he is quickly replaced. He decides he will turn his attentions to cricket instead.

Cast

* James Hayter as Joe Lawson *

as Miss Rawlings *

as Lulu Smith *

John Laurie John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish stage, film, and television actor. He appeared in scores of feature films with directors including Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier, generally p ...

as 'Mac' Wells * Meredith Edwards as Skid Evans * Jack Lambert as Ralph Blake * Sheila Shand-Gibbs as Mavis Pink *

Glyn Houston Glyndwr Desmond Houston (23 October 1925 – 30 June 2019) was a Welsh actor best known for his television work. He was the younger brother of film actor Donald Houston. Early life Houston was born at 10 Thomas Street, Tonypandy, Glamorgan, W ...

as Ned Rutter *

Geoffrey Toone Geoffrey Toone (15 November 1910 – 1 June 2005) was an English actor and former matinee idol. He was born in Ireland to English parents. Most of his film roles after the 1930s were in supporting parts, usually as authority figures, though he ...

as Jack Bannerman *

Alexander Gauge Alexander Gauge (29 July 1914 – 28 August 1960) was a British character actor best known for playing Friar Tuck in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' from 1955 to 1959. Biography Gauge was born in a Methodist Mission station in Wenzhou, China ...

as Ben Woodhall *

Frank Pettingell Frank Edmund George Pettingell (1 January 1891 – 17 February 1966) was an English actor. Pettingell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Manchester University. During the First World War he served with the King's Liverpool R ...

as Sir Julius *

as himself (cameo)

Original play

The film was based on a play "Shooting Star" by Basil Thomas which premiered in 1949. Thomas was a football fan who decided to write a play about the transfer system. He says managers and directors were keen to co operate. Among the people Thomas interviewed were

Ted Vizard Edward Vizard (7 June 1889 – 25 December 1973) was a Welsh international Association football, footballer who became a manager. He spent almost all his playing career at Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers. Playing career Born in Cogan, V ...

Stan Cullis Stanley Cullis (25 October 1916 – 28 February 2001) was an English professional footballer and manager, primarily for Wolverhampton Wanderers. During his term as manager between 1948 and 1964, Wolves became one of the strongest teams in the En ...

and Claude Jephcott.

Production

Film rights were bought by Adelphi who made a number of low budget comedies. They also made '' Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?'' with Dors.

Critical reception

'' Picture Show'' called it an "unpretentious but most enjoyable comedy." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "This film falls between two stools. Those patrons who think they will see a fine display of football will be disappointed – there are only about three minutes of play in the whole film – while others expecting a sincere attempt to investigate the evils of transfer procedure will be bored by the film's stupidity. The humour is stale, and the only convincing acting comes from James Hayter and Thora Hird." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "Straight-shooting soccer comedy drama, artfully approached from the woman's angle. It gets right behind the scenes of the nation's most popular game and exposes the evils of the transfer system through its leading characters, faultlessly portrayed, yet displays a keen sense of humour. Atmosphere is authentic, but director Maurice Elvey never gets offside by putting ball-play before human interest." ''The Digital Fix'' found the film "largely insignificant and admittedly musters up little interest, but then it is offset with a gentle humour and plenty of broad comedy characterisation from its supporting cast; nobody could ogle Dors’ sexpot secretary quite like John Laurie does in the opening scene."

1949 TV adaptation

The play was filmed for TV in 1949.Shooting Star
at British Universities

Cast

* Derek Blomfield as Ned Rutter * Colin Douglas as Jack Bannerman * Charmian Eyre as Mavis Pink * Raymond Francis as Mr Blake * Heather Gratrix as Lulu Smith * James Hayter as Joe Lawson * Avice Landone as Miss Rawlings * Cameron Miller as Wells * Robert Perceval as Ben Woodhall * Frank Pettitt as Skid Evans * Ann Titheradge as Beryl Armstrong

References

External links

The Great Game
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

The Great Gam
at BFI
The Great Game
at Letterbox DVD {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Game (1953 film), The 1953 films British sports comedy-drama films British association football films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Maurice Elvey 1950s sports comedy-drama films British black-and-white films 1950s British films Films scored by William Trytel English-language sports comedy-drama films

Plot

Cast

Original play

Production

Critical reception

1949 TV adaptation

Cast

See also

References

External links