We have discussed lots of films over the years: The Touchables, the Seven Ages of Nakedness, the Cuckoo Patrol, the Night and the City, A Kid For Two Farthings, and others. I was looking for the main thread.
I've just discovered another and this one is Academy Award nominated. Lots of posters of Wimbledon Palais and Guildford and a wrestling bout in the middle of the picture.
Morgan - A Suitable Case for Treatment. 1966.
It's doing the rounds on Talking Pictures at the moment.
Just goes to underline the mainstream importance of wrestling in the mid-sixties that a psychological film would use wrestling as one of its backdrops.
I wrote to tptv a couple of years back asking about showing wrestling, back then they said nothing was planned, maybe we should try again.
The Two i's coffee bar was talked about on The Footage Detectives on Talking Pictures today (Sunday 1st June).
Peter, you commented on the Rex Strong post, didn't you? Now the whole thing has disappeared. Weird.
In 1977 the BBC OTD series dedicated an episode to the Pallos at home in Barnet.
I had to laugh as Pallo chased a speedy rabbit around and quipped: "Mick McManus used to move that fast - but not any more."
Teeeest
TEST
The BBC
The BBC OTD series
In 1977 the BBC dedicated an edition of the OTD series to the Pallo family at home in Barnet. I had to laugh as Pallo chased a speedy rabbit around and said: "Mick McManus used to be that fast; but not any more."
The BBC's OTD in 1977 dedicated an episode to the Pallo family in their Barnet home. I had to chuckle when Pallo sees a rabbit darting around the place and quips: "Mick McManus used to move fast like that; but he doesn't now."
Eurovision is upon us, but who can remember a time when the Song Contest played second fiddle to an even more popular Eurovision contest?
3rd September 1969 saw the Grand Final of Jeux Sans Frontières. I enjoyed it but my brother became a patriotic beast to see the GB teams to do well.
The Grand Final only took place every two years and this 1969 final made front page news with its spectacularly controversial dead heat between Shrewsbury (UK) and Wolfsburg (D).
In the run up to the final, it emerged that the Germans had a hammer thrower in their team, and he seemed like a shoe-in for all the strength events.
As befits any town that cannot agree even internally how the team name should be pronounced, Shrowsbury stooped to underhanded skulduggery in recruiting a non-Salopian heavyweight team member from Blackpool.
None other than Heritage favourite Rex Strong!
Eurovision is upon us, but who can remember a time when the Song Contest played second fiddle to an even more popular Eurovision contest?
3rd September 1969 saw the Grand Final of Jeux Sans Frontières. I enjoyed it but my brother became a patriotic beast to see the GB teams to do well.
The Grand Final only took place every two years and this 1969 final made front page news with its spectacularly controversial dead heat between Shrewsbury (UK) and Wolfsburg (D).
In the run up to the final, it had emerged that the Germans had a hammer thrower in their team, and he seemed like a shoe-in for all the strength events. As befits any town that cannot agree even internally how the team name should be pronounced, Shrowsbury stooped to underhanded skulduggery in recruiting a non-Salopian heavyweight team member from Blackpool.
None other than Heritage favourite Rex Strong!
The Eurovision Song Contest is upon us. But who remembers a time when it was the secondary Eurovision event behind the staggeringly popular Jeux Sans Frontières?
I vividly recall 3rd September 1969. I enjoyed it but my brother was madly patriotic about the whole thing. Anyway, this day saw the Grand International final, it only occurred every two years.
It goes down in the annals as the most controversial and exciting event, with a dead-heat between Germany and UK.
Where is all this leading in our context?
Shrewsbury trained hard but were fearful of a German hammer thrower in the strength events. Befitting any town that is in internal turmoil as to how to pronounce its own name, Shrowsbury sank to underhanded skulduggery and drafted in a non-Salopian heavyweight from Blackpool.
Rex Strong.
No words from me are necessary:
Andy adds: "............the first episode of Kenny Everett Video Show on C5 Sunday night? Not my thing really but there was a sketch involving Bruno Elrington, Brian Maxine, a masked man and another heavyweight, not sure who he was, maybe Prince Kumali? It was a sketch about 'the power of the finger!' The wrestlers seemed to enjoy themselves anyway." And the masked man turned out to be Steve Viedor.
Peter comments are so right, the terms heel and face would never be used ,Les Kellet was reprimanded by joint for using the phrase blue eye in an article in Yorkshire and that was 1972. In the 60s and 70s most workers considered them selves sports men this especially in the lancs and Yorks areas.Bert Royals number in the phone book was listed as Herbert Faulkner professional athlete,we all had pride in our work.
The episode has anachronisms. When interviewed by Endeavor the character played by Grado states wrestling is show business full of faces and heals.
In 1970 no wrestler would have used the expression faces and heals and would not publicly have admitted it was anything other than a legit sport.
Aaaah, now I see you wrote "set in 1970."
Does he have an opponent?
Anglo Italian
42m
"A 1970 show has a 2025 wrestler in it?"
Acting in professional wrestling. Who would have thought that?
Just an instant reaction to the figures, Peter.
A 1970 show has a 2025 wrestler in it?
A recent episode of Endeavour set in June 1970 features Professional Wrestling supposedly taking place at Oxford Town Hall.
The wrestlers on the bill are fictitious but the lead is present day wrestler Grado from ICW based in Glasgow
Milton Reid was also in the original Casino Royale film. As was Dazzler Joe Cornelius, below supported by Woody Allen:
1965 to 1970 were THE years for wrestlers in the movies.
The Goodies episode 'Kitten Kong' had Milton Reid in a tobacco send up advert
I am rather chuffed with this find.
This is not merely our perhaps first international inclusion and in such a prestigious film as Chariots of Fire:
The colours of the typically French poster blend in perfectly with the setting.
On closer inspection we have our first and whopping ANACHRONISM. By over 40 years! Walter Bordes wasn't even born in 1924; and the midget wrestlers certainly weren't around at the time of those Paris Olympics.
It would also have been a very very early tag match.
I hope the people at the Academy Awards are seeing this. Such mangling and misappropriation of wrestling history warrants the rescindment of any Oscars that may have been awarded.
Great to see a new series of Hancock's Half Hour airing on the "national broadcaster."
We know that Hancock embraced Our wrestling from the entire episode he would devote to it, But it's still good to see from some months prior that wrestling was mainstream in 1956:
Another Til Death do us part episode tonight and Alf and Bert talking with a number of wrestling posters behind them . Pete Roberts, Bert Royal, Les Kellett, Mike Marino and more, all Joint Promotions.
An episode of Till Death us do Part from the early seventies had a pub scene with a Pallo/Logan poster in the background
An episode of Z cars from half a century ago had a wrestling poster in the background with the Borg Twins topping the bill
Just to reiterate @Powerlock I found several episodes of The Losers on youtube. The very first episode has a quite a lot of old wrestling posters dotted throughout.
Kiwi Kingston the New Zealand wrestler as the creature the Evil of Frankenstein, he also appeared in very minor roles in a couple of other films
It Always Rains On Sunday. A very good and gritty movie, featuring a host of great character actors of the day in the undercard. Bert, Charlie Green, Chic Rolfe and a Fisher on the bill as well. I posted the film name, the first time around we did this, this time I thought I’d include the attached. (I think maybe there was a sighting of a different bill, but I’m don’t remember.
I have just come across the World Middleweight Champion in the 1971 film "A Couple of Beauties." Poor us who grew up at that time, it's dire.
Still thinking about the 1950s and the big name was Bert Assirati: does anyone know of any show or film in which he appeared?
In the 1950 film Soho Conspiracy, Francis P. Blake has a feature role and punches a Catholic priest.
In the 1966 film Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD starring Peter Cushing (a movie adaption of the 1964 William Hartnell era Doctor Who story "The Dalek Invasion Of Earth") there were some retro wrestling posters (along with various other retro posters) up on the wall of a tube station being used as a base by humans rebelling against Dalek rule.
'The Leather Boys', 1964. In a scene filmed in the Ace Cafe, there is a poster advertising a November 1963 show featuring Pedro Bengochea vs Steve Veidor, Danny Lynch vs Spencer Churchill, Cliff Beaumont vs Peter Szakacs, and Ajit Singh vs Ray Fury. The venue is unseen.
Tiger Joe next Tuesday on tv for the first showing of Fighting Mad from 1957.
Milton Reid on the Legend Channel tonight in Blood on Satan's claw.
I am pleased just to have discovered on line something I haven't seen for 51 years. Robbie (sic.) Baron v Mick McManus on the Generation Game.
You'd think they could have invested in some ropes ....
Watched Doctor Who invasion earth 2150AD and Ray Brooks walks past a poster with Tony Mancelli v Johnny Yearsly as top of the bill, other wrestlers on the poster inlcude Dick Conlon, Harry Kendall and Tug Holton. Its nice to know that these gentlemen will still be gracing the squared circle in a 127 years from now.
Funnily enough, I was just reading a load of 1930's Merseyside results, yesterday, and all of those four, from the film "All-In" have a lot of mentions.
We can push back the earliest date another couple of years courtesy of Rough House King Curtis appearing in the 1933 film 'Pride of the Force' here are the details:
The Pride of the Force (1933) - IMDb
It was actually released in 1936 so it's even older here's a little more info and a couple of reviews .
All In (1936) - All In (1936) - User Reviews - IMDb
Ron today posted a 1937 Morecambe bill in which Jack Pye was billed as having starred in the 1937 film "All-in." Promising title from our angle; but the write-up mentions only horse racing.
Anyway, looks like there were four wrestlers featured:
It also appears that Jack Pye was in two other films at that time.
This must be the earliest entry on our list!
Today's episode of Heartbeat titled 'Thanks to Alfred' centres around a wrestling promotion visiting the village and features Pat Roach, Steve Casey and Mal Sanders amongst the wrestlers featured.
I have just come across a corker. Alf Garnett is a wrestling fan.
Intriguing group of non-ITV wrestlers, too. Ironic really, considering Alf was insisting he watched only ITV, and therefore didn't have to have a tv licence!
Sorry about the pre-pixel times quality from Till Death Us Do Part in 1974:
We have just started to watch a modern film and I am surprised to be able to list perhaps the most recent film here featuring one of our Heritage Years wrestlers, Peter Szakacs.
He's there ten minutes in turning sausages in the 2000 film, Snatch.
Unmistakably him, and he speaks.
Great to see the enormous drape or poster with the match details on. Never seen that in GB.
The World by Night is available in full on You Tube.It is an Italian Documentary from 1960 and has some wrestling at 1:41:21.It is from the iconic Elysee Montmartre in Paris and includes amongst others Jacky Corn and Cheri Bibi
Here's another one, "The World By Night", looks like French wrestlers:
A tv programme I don't think we have mentioned before is 'The Losers' starring Leonard Rossitter and Alfred Molina . Its about Molina as an absolutely hopeless but strong and very green wrestler and Rossitter as his manager/promoter, Paul Luty and MIlton Reid were names I recognised in the cast amongst others and they had a few stuntmen also in as wrestlers.
Evidently it is going to be getting a dvd release, there was only 6 episodes made and its rumoured only 5 survive. All I have found so far is a 90 second compilation of clips on youtube . Ignore the blurb about boxing, it was about wrestling.
Now the big question, Can anyone remember it?
this northern monkey is confused by new format,but we will get there,Robert Beatty,the guy and is think he kinda looked like him was of course old golden b*****ks Mike Marino incidentally the nickname was a turn of affection smashing guy was
I can't think of anyone who resembles Robert Beatty but I'll take a stab at George Kidd?
Never credited but a certain household name doubled for the actor Robert Beatty on a regular basis and he
actually looked like him,any ideas
Jim Breaks for sure, I'd say.
Could the headless one be Alan Colbeck?
at the end of the flm the sandwich man starring michael benetine the end credits has wrestling scene not sure wh the wrestlers are
I debated whether to place the following items in the "Odds N Sods" thread as all but one are television plays but what the heck:
From a March 1978 edition of the TVTimes the first episode of Send In The Girls "The Wild Bunch." The series itself was a different tale each week. The front page of the TVTimes that week depicted the cast of the series but no wrestlers i'm afraid, and instead of perhaps taking an in depth look at the first episode the magazine featured a 4-5 page fictional story about the female characters, disappointing to say the least. The Wild Bunch wasn't an episode that your maiden aunt would enjoy so i was gobsmacked to see it repeated a year or so later, unedited, on a weekday afternoon.
Next is a play from October 1959 again featured in the TVTimes called "The Blood Fight."
Finally an item i've already placed in a Big Daddy thread, a film from 1970 called "No Blade Of Grass."
Just spotted a Talking Pictures film called Woman Times Seven, featuring Robert Duranton, The Orchid Man.
The Fourth Protocol shown 4 January 2022 shows Pierce Brosnan watching the 1987 Crabtree/Kwik Ki Lee match versus Crusher Brannigan/Tony Walsh
Kwango v Kincaid? Love it when tag partners clash!
However, looking also at Barnes v Maurice, I suspect it was actually Kwango & Kincaid vs Barnes & Maurice.
I have just watched the pilot episode of 'Citizen Smith' from April 1977 on Forces T.V. In the pub, there are posters advertising wrestling shows. Matches advertised are Mick McManus Vs Tony St Clair, Johnny Kwango Vs Johnny Kincaid and Bobby Barnes Vs Magnificent Maurice. The venues are unclear though.
Brett Hart was mentioned earlier in the thread, he appeared in Lonesome Dove and let's not forget he appeared in the Simpsons when he bought Mr Burns mansion. He has a film due out this year.
Paradise Alley, has many of the States best wrestlers, great action, a good storyline, good soundtrack and is very atmospheric. It would be for me the best modern wrestling film. Another one ‘Grunt’ has, apart from a lousy title and a silly concept, some very good wrestling action. ‘Raging Bull” with Alex Karass is a good flick.
a newish film which myself and my better half watched on Netflix is the Peanut Butter Falcon it features Jake Roberts, Mick Foley, Shia Laboef and Dakota Fanning amongst others, it's well worth a watch and is about a young man with Down's syndrome who worships a wrestler and wants to emulate him. A proper feelgood film.
Talking Pictures has Blood of the Vampire on at the moment and Milton Reid is cast as the executioner .
Another Programme we haven't mentioned is Heartbeat, in the episode 'Thanks to Alfred' the wrestler 'The Masked Marvel come to town to face all comers, Pat Roach, Mal Sanders, Steve Casey, Dave Hipkiss and Steve Green all credited as wrestlers.
one film we haven't mentioned on this thread although I think it's been discussed before is Quest for Fire which has Danny Lynch, Crusher Mason, Haystacks and Adrian Street in it.
Prince Kumali is a London Underground worker, in a 1972 Horror film called, "Death Line", which is on Talking Pictures TV right now (Friday night, 21st of May 2021).
Prince Kumali was also an uncredited stunt worker in the Bond film, You Only Live Twice.
He also appeared in some of Dara Singh's Indian films.
Adrian Street appears as The Miller in the 1972 Pasolini film "The Canterbury Tales" and wrestles Al Hayes in one scene. It is not the sort of film that a Methodist Minister like myself should be watching, so I must add that I only viewed it for wrestling research purposes.
Ricki Starr and Roy Bull Davies get a decent few minutes in the 1968 movie "The Touchables"
Dazzler Joe Cornelius features in Carry on Loving.
I have a large poster of ‘The California Dolls’ movie which was used in video shops to advertise the (pretty good) movie. Peter Falk as the manager and two attractive young ladies who learnt their ‘stuff’ well for the movie.
I think imdb will be correct, Glover and Borienko in that film.
Three Wrestling films which haven't been mentioned yet are:
California Dolls (aka All the Marbles)
Paradise alley
Fighting with My Family
Also a film which is about football rather than wrestling, but stars everyone's favourite commentator Kent Walton:
Small Town Story
imdb.com is a pretty reliable site, I read another bio for Brian on another site that stated that Kes was his first main role. It didn't say it was his first role, I wonder just how many times he was an uncredited extra?
Is IMDB wrong?
I know what you mean John, I read that Brian wrote over 20 plays/dramas/screenplays, how many come to fruition I haven't clue. Brian also appeared on stage in a number of productions, I am wondering whether they came before the films and TV.
I'm sure the picture is of Yuri. Terry Funk was in movies and several t.v. series, Brett Hart also. I remember a long time ago I posted that I had seen a couple of posters (at least one, with Bert A's name on it in the 1947 film, It Always Rains on Sunday, a very good, dark and edgy thriller with husband and wife team Googy Withers and John McCallum. If we tried to name every wrestler who appeared in film or t.v. as well as name the productions they were in, the thread would run and run.
Not that there's anything wrong with that!
Yuri Borienko was also in the film, Brian had been trying to get into film and TV as it is known that he submitted a script to Doctor Who as far back as 1963, so they may be extras roles etc that we are yet to find out about.
Here's a new one.
Even Leon Arras's wiki page says he made his screen debut in Kes in 1970.
I have spotted him two years earlier in a film, also with plenty of wrestling posters, where he plays a gangster. Should be our earliest footage of him?
Admittedly he looks more like Yuri Borienko or Noël Coward, but it does seem to be Leon Arras.
The film is doing the rounds on Talking Pictures: Smashing Time.
Apart from being another point for anoraks' corner, it just makes me wonder how he got the gig, which connections this wrestler who didn't apear on tv actually had? Mildly intriguing.
At least the Micky Rourke film was mainstream in that he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a leading role
This topic coming back up brought something semi-related to the front of my mind. On the opening night of Channel 4 back in 1982, they had a film called "Walter". I recall seeing in the end credits the name "John Czeslaw" and wondering if it was the "Polish Eagle" himself?
Remember it now Powerlock , would need to get in the mood to sit through it again , can't really remember it although lots of wrestling action.
I think you mean the Micky Rourke one Anglo.
I watched it but my own opinion is that I would not watch it again.
Maybe loosely based on Randy Savage some said.
Billy Robinson and Lord Jan Blears in "The Wrestler" film, along with lots of American wrestlers.
I had never heard of this film before discovering it today.
Has anyone seen it?
In case you are interested, the famous Jackie Pallo episode of The Avengers is showing on the True Movies channel on Friday 2nd August at 4.00 am. Well worth videoing.
The clip in Revulsion seems to show an evening broadcast and there was a belief that the matches shown in the evening were were rougher,tougher and more legitimate.The finall evening broadcast in 1977 and the rise of Crabtree marked a transition to a period were Professional Wrestling was seen as childrens entertainment and closed it off off to a whole section of its original fan base
There was an episode of "Last of the Summer Wine" with a poster featuring a top of the bill clash between Pat Roach and The Iron Greek.
Thanks Graham. I wikied Repulsion and it sounds like my type of film - I'll look forward to seeing it one day.
It's interesting to make and extend the list like this: but, for me, this thread isn't just about these films and the wrestlers in them.
For me, all these films, in a very concise date range, just go to show the importance of professional wrestling in the period we describe and strive to keep alive. The last few entries alone have us rubbing shoulders with Dame Vanessa Redgrave and Roman Polanski - and The Reckoning is apparently a classic for some (I must confess I was on FFwd).
Just ten years later and the thought of Big Daddy appearing in The Godfather III would be absurd. Wrestling had shot its bolt by then.
But in the sixties it, or rather "we", were mainstream. When I get around to doing my doctorate on sixties wrestling, this thread will provide an empirical basis on which to prove its importance.
We've already pinpointed radio references (Hancok's Half Hour "The Grappling Game") and tv (Coronation Street for example): film is a very varied source, too.
Keep'em coming!
The 1960’s Roman Polanski film Repulsion, starring Catherine Deneuve. The film, features a great tag wrestling bout with Aussie Rebel Ray Hunter dishing out the punishment. Classic..
Thanks Peter, I caught The Reckoning. Joe D'Orazio, too!
Docker Don was very hard-hitting.
Re "Highlander": It was indeed AWA with the original three-man Freebirds team going against the HIgh Flyers (Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell).
the original Highlander film had a wrestling bout featured near the start of the movie, the wrestling was American I think AWA and if my memory hasn't failed me the Fabulous Freebirds were one of the teams
Slightly off the subject but posters got everywhere. I remember Anglo chuckling at this one a good few years back.
It was in a comic.....Roy of the Rovers
The Reckoning [1969] is also on Talking Pictures 18 June 2019 with short clips of bouts including Don Stedman/Spencer Churchill/Tony Charles and Jackie Pallo