Cup Fever is a 1965 British family sports film directed by David Bracknell and starring Bernard Cribbins and David Lodge.[1] It was produced for the Children's Film Foundation. The film includes early appearances from Susan George and Olivia Hussey.[2][3]

Cup Fever
Opening titles
Directed byDavid Bracknell
Screenplay byDavid Bracknell
Story byDavid Bracknell
Produced byRoy Simpson
StarringBernard Cribbins
David Lodge
Sonia Graham
CinematographyJohn Coquillon
Edited byJohn Bloom
Music byBill McGuffie
Production
company
Century Film Productions
Distributed byChildren's Film Foundation (UK)
Release date
  • July 1965 (1965-07) (UK)
Running time
63 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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A youth football team are ejected from their playing field on a waste ground, and struggle to find another place to train for a cup semi-final. Thanks to a friendly policeman, they spend a day training with professionals at Manchester United, including George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law. Despite sabotage from the opposing team, they go on to win the final and are presented with their cup by Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann.

Cast

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Reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Filmed on location in Manchester, this is a genial, lively and quite inventively scripted comedy, put over with considerable verve. Among the highlights are Bernard Cribbins as the policeman ineffectually trying to catch up with the youngsters in their latest back-street pitch; the rescue activities of numerous milkmen in their mobile milk floats; the Cup match sequence which forms the climax; and – what juvenile audiences may well remember with most pleasure – the training session with Denis Law and other famous players. David Lodge is appropriately dastardly as the town councillor, and the young players are a spirited lot."[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Cup Fever". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Cup Fever (1965)". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Cup Fever (1965) - David Bracknell | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  4. ^ "Cup Fever". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 32 (372): 149. 1 January 1965. ProQuest 1305826593 – via ProQuest.
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