This Sporting Life (1963): Cast, Box Office & Plot
This Sporting Life is a 1963 drama directed by Lindsay Anderson, starring Richard Harris as Frank Machin, Vanda Godsell and Alan Badel. It runs 2 hours 14 minutes and earned $813 worldwide.
- Released
- Runtime
- 2h 14m (134 min)
- Director
- Lindsay Anderson
- Genre
- Drama
- Original language
-
English - After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is This Sporting Life About?
The premise of This Sporting Life without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
Frank Machin lives by brute strength, unable to say the word love, in early‑1960s northern England. Rough, ambitious, he quickly becomes a star on Weaver’s rugby league team, embodying the era’s hard‑nosed drive. His ruthless pursuit of glory clashes with the softer world around him in the town’s industrial backdrop.
This Sporting Life Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- british new wave
- male female relationship
- kitchen sink realism
- yorkshire england
- coal miner
- male rear nudity
- homoerotic fight
- homoeroticism
- bare chested male
- male nudity
- tank top
- drinking from a bottle
+38 more Show fewer
- angry young man
- self destructiveness
- sportsman
- rugby sport
- sex scene
- success
- brief male frontal nudity
- male frontal nudity
- rugby
- rugby league
- screenplay adapted by author
- orphan
- loss
- pain
- suffering
- grief
- breaking open a door
- machismo
- bravado
- punching one's fist into a wall
- killing a spider
- death
- lodger
- hospital bed
- nurse
- doctor
- hospital
- heart attack
- neighbor
- bed
- slow motion scene
- spitting in someone's face
- man slaps a woman
- unhappiness
- dead husband
- class differences
- breakup
- kissing the bride
This Sporting Life Cast & Characters
Richard Harris leads the cast as Frank Machin, with Vanda Godsell as Mrs Anne Weaver and Alan Badel as Gerald Weaver. Directed by Lindsay Anderson; 29 actors are credited in all.
- Director Lindsay Anderson
-
Richard Harris as Frank Machin - Vanda Godsell as Mrs Anne Weaver
-
Alan Badel as Gerald Weaver -
Rachel Roberts as Mrs. Margaret Hammond
Also Starring in This Sporting Life
· 25 more- Bernadette Benson Lynda Hammond
- Arthur Lowe Charles Slomer
- Colin Blakely Maurice Braithwaite
- William Hartnell 'Dad' Johnson
- Edward Fox Restaurant Barman (uncredited)
- Leonard Rossiter Phillips, Sports Writer
- Glenda Jackson Singer at Party (uncredited)
- Tom Clegg Gower
- Jack Watson Len Miller
- Anton Rodgers Restaurant Customer (uncredited)
- Frank Windsor Dentist
- Wallas Eaton Waiter
- George Sewell Jeff
- John Gill Cameron
- Roy Lansford Man in Pub (Uncredited)
- Bryan Mosley Man in Bar (uncredited)
Show all 29 cast members Show fewer cast members
- Anthony Woodruff Tom, Head Waiter
- Michael Logan Riley
- Anne Cunningham Judith
- Harry Markham Wade
- Murray Evans Hooker
- Katherine Parr Mrs Farrer
- Peter Duguid Doctor
- Andrew Nolan Ian Hammond
- Ken Traill Trainer
This Sporting Life Plot Summary
What happens in This Sporting Life from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 13 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 5-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
Frank Machin, Richard Harris, is a bitter young coal miner from the West Riding of Yorkshire, living in the fictional city of City. Set up in a two-part structure, the film opens with a series of flashbacks shown while he’s anaesthetised in a dentist’s chair after a rugby league match leaves him with broken front teeth, then shifts to a present-day narrative that moves forward without further flashbacks. The contrast between the rawness of his day-to-day grind and the vulnerable vulnerability beneath his rough exterior becomes a throughline that threads the entire story.
Full summary
The whole story of This Sporting Life, scene by scene
This Sporting Life Box Office
This Sporting Life grossed $813 worldwide.
Worldwide gross
$813
- International
- $813
This Sporting Life Trailers & Videos
The trailer of This Sporting Life.
How Well Do You Know This Sporting Life?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
What is the profession of Frank Machin before he becomes a professional rugby player?
Cars in This Sporting Life
10 cars on screen, including the 1962 Bentley S2 and the 1952 Jaguar Mk.VII.
-
1962 Bentley S2 Important role -
1952 Jaguar Mk.VII Important role -
1960 AEC Regent V Minor role -
Austin FX3 Taxi Minor role
This Sporting Life Also Known As
18 alternative titles, including “El ingenuo salvaje” and “Io sono un campione”.
- Also known as
-
- El ingenuo salvaje
- Io sono un campione
- Le prix d'un homme
- Lockender Lorbeer
- 如此运动生涯
- Idolen
- Sportowe życie
- Sporcunun Hayatı
- Livets pris
- 욕망의 끝
- Jogador Profissional
- Такова спортивная жизнь
+6 more Show fewer
- O Pranto de um Ídolo
- Ten sportovní život
- Viața sportivă
- 孤独の報酬
- Egy ember ára
- 如此運動生涯
Seen This Sporting Life?
Movies Like This Sporting Life
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including When Saturday Comes, In from the Side and A Classic, Two Home Matches, No Away Game.
This Sporting Life FAQ: Cast, Box Office & Runtime
Runtime, release date, director, cast, box office and post-credit scenes of This Sporting Life, each answered in a sentence.
How long is This Sporting Life?
This Sporting Life runs 2 hours 14 minutes (134 minutes).
When was This Sporting Life released?
This Sporting Life was released on February 7, 1963.
Who directed This Sporting Life?
This Sporting Life was directed by Lindsay Anderson.
More films by Lindsay Anderson Who is in the cast of This Sporting Life?
This Sporting Life stars Richard Harris as Frank Machin, Vanda Godsell as Mrs Anne Weaver and Alan Badel as Gerald Weaver, among 29 credited actors.
How much did This Sporting Life make at the box office?
This Sporting Life grossed $813 worldwide.
Does This Sporting Life have a post-credit scene?
No. This Sporting Life has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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