| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Richard Harris | ... | ||
| Rachel Roberts | ... | ||
| Alan Badel | ... |
Gerald Weaver
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| William Hartnell | ... |
'Dad' Johnson
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| Colin Blakely | ... |
Maurice Braithwaite
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Vanda Godsell | ... |
Mrs. Anne Weaver
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Anne Cunningham | ... |
Judith
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Jack Watson | ... |
Len Miller
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| Arthur Lowe | ... |
Charles Slomer
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Harry Markham | ... |
Wade
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George Sewell | ... |
Jeff
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| Leonard Rossiter | ... |
Phillips, Sports writer
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Katherine Parr | ... |
Mrs. Farrer
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Bernadette Benson | ... |
Lynda Hammond
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Andrew Nolan | ... |
Ian Hammond
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In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an immediate star in the rugby league team run by local employer Weaver. Machin lodges with Mrs Hammond, whose husband was killed in an accident at Weaver's, but his impulsive and angry nature stop him from being able to reach her as he would like. He becomes increasingly frustrated with his situation, and this is not helped by the more straightforward enticements of Mrs Weaver. Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Richard Harris and Lindsay Anderson spent sometime in the West Yorkshire coalfield prior to the filming of This Sporting Life. To call the film gritty and realistic is a truism measured up by the nature of the stark narrative. Harris is profoundly convincing as the miner turned Rugby League player who pursues the arctic charms of his widowed landlady played with sublime restraint by the late Rachel Roberts. For those of us familiar with the Northern man, Wakefield and with Rugby league the stories verisimilitude is almost painful. Watch particularly Harris's trial match (during which the actor broke his leg), his 'singing debut' in the nightclub and the interlude at Kirkstall Abbey. Note too the participation of Wakefield Trinity stars Ken Rollin and Neil Fox, men who were local legends in the 1960's.