This Sporting Life (1963)

Director:

Lindsay Anderson

Writers:

David Storey (novel)
David Storey (screenplay)

Release Date:

January 1963 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an...

Plot Keywords:

Nonlinear Timeline | Rags To Riches | Coal Miner | Yorkshire | Bentley

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. May 20

3:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Richard Harris	...	Frank Machin
Rachel Roberts	...	Mrs. Margaret Hammond
Alan Badel	...	Gerald Weaver
William Hartnell	...	'Dad' Johnson
Colin Blakely	...	Maurice Braithwaite
Vanda Godsell	...	Mrs. Anne Weaver
Anne Cunningham	...	Judith
Jack Watson	...	Len Miller
Arthur Lowe	...	Charles Slomer
Harry Markham	...	Wade
George Sewell	...	Jeff
Leonard Rossiter	...	Phillips, Sports writer
Katherine Parr	...	Mrs. Farrer
Bernadette Benson	...	Lynda Hammond
Andrew Nolan	...	Ian Hammond
Peter Duguid	...	Doctor
Wallas Eaton	...	Waiter
Anthony Woodruff	...	Tom, Headwaiter
Michael Logan	...	Riley
Murray Evans	...	Hooker
Tom Clegg	...	Gower
Ken Traill	...	Trainer
Frank Windsor	...	Dentist
John Gill	...	Cameron
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edward Fox	...	Restaurant Barman (uncredited)
Glenda Jackson	...	Singer At Party (uncredited)
Graham Roberts	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
David Storey	...	Rugby Player (uncredited)

Directed by
Lindsay Anderson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Storey		novel
David Storey		screenplay

Produced by
Karel Reisz	....	producer

Original Music by
Roberto Gerhard

Cinematography by
Denys N. Coop		(photographed by) (as Denys Coop)

Film Editing by
Peter Taylor

Art Direction by
Alan Withy

Costume Design by
Sophie Devine		(dresses)

Makeup Department
Ivy Emmerton	....	hairdresser
Bob Lawrance	....	makeup artist (as Bob Lawrence)

Production Management
Albert Fennell	....	in charge of production
Geoffrey Haine	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ted Sturgis	....	assistant director
Ken Softley	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Claude Watson	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Peter Lamont	....	set dresser
Ernie Quick	....	propertyman

Sound Department
Chris Greenham	....	sound editor
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound recordist
John W. Mitchell	....	sound recordist
Ken Cameron	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Harris	....	camera operator
Neil Binney	....	focus puller (uncredited)
George Courtney Ward	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Miriam Brickman	....	casting

Editorial Department
Tom Priestley	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jacques-Louis Monod	....	conductor
Gary Hughes	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Pamela Mann	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Independent Artists
• Julian Wintle/Leslie Parkyn Productions

Distributors

• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1963) (UK) (theatrical)
• Continental Distributing (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Carlton Video (2000) (UK) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Parvisfilmi (1963) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Pickwick Video (1990) (UK) (VHS)
• Rank Video Library Ltd. (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1974) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Management and players of Wakefield Trinity Rugby League Football Club, The  the producers wish to thank for their generous co-operation

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) | UK:AA (re-rating) (1970) | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16 (bw)

Filming Locations:

Bolton Priory, Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

Independent Artists

Trivia:

Because the budget would not stretch to the thousands needed for the rugby league match scenes at Belle Vue, director Lindsay Anderson deployed hundreds of wooden dummies to stand amongst the human extras for the crowd scenes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 50 Films to See Before You Die (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Here In My Heart

the great British movie

Lindsay Anderson's first film of consequence also provided Irish actor Richard Harris with his first leading movie role – following his scene-stealing appearance alongside Brando in ‘Mutiny on the Bounty'.

Frank Machin is a rough-and-ready rugby player, and although the film does centre on that aspect of his life, it isn't just a film about the sport. It is a study of someone charging through life and never quite getting there. There's a strong cast including Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel, Colin Blakely, and William Hartnell (as lonely 'Dad' Johnson). There are startling images – one involving an insect which seems to stick in the memory. There's an atmosphere so thick and authentic that we're in the midst of the barroom or the rugby field.

‘This Sporting Life' is an important landmark in the culture of British ‘kitchen sink' dramas. Few movies have been so memorably grubby and close to reality. And it put Harris firmly on the map as a gifted and versatile new name to watch.