''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 and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

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 blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...

. It was based on a play by Basil Thomas. Many of the scenes were shot at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a 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 is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

the home of

Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club is a professional football club in Brentford, West London, England, which competes in the Premier League, the highest tier of English football, having gained promotion via the playoffs at the end of the 2020–21 Champi ...

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. A strong centre-forward with excellent all-round attacking skills, he was able to head the ball with tremendous power and accuracy. Born in Fa ...

Plot

The chairman of a relegation zone English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club makes an illegal approach to a rising star of a rival club. This is discovered by the football authorities and the Chairman is ultimately suspended from the game following the ensuing scandal.

Cast

* James Hayter – Joe Lawson *

– Miss Rawlings *

– Lulu Smith *

John Laurie John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish actor. In the course of his career, Laurie performed on the stage and in films as well as television. He is perhaps best remembered for his role in the sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (196 ...

– 'Mac' Wells * Meredith Edwards – Skid Evans * Jack Lambert – Ralph Blake *

Glyn Houston Glyn 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 Glyndwr Desmond Houston was born at 10 Thomas Street, Tonypandy, Glamorgan ...

– Ned Rutter *

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

– Jack Bannerman *

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

– Sir Julius *

– Cameo * Sheila Shand-Gibbs – Mavis Pink

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 footballer who became a manager. He spent almost all his playing career at Bolton Wanderers. Playing career Born in Cogan, Wales Vizard joined Bolton Wanderers in Sep ...

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 Allan Claud Jephcott (31 October 1890 – 5 October 1950) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside right. Career Born in Smethwick, Jephcott moved from Brierley Hill Alliance to West Bromwich Albion in April 1911, sign ...

1949 TV adaptation

The play was filmed for TV in 1949.

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

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'' said "the humour is stale". ''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."

References

External links

The Great Game
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

The Great Gam
at BFI
The Great Game
at Letterbox DVD {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Game 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