Once a Jolly Swagman
A speedway rider's rise and fall, torn between love and danger.
The film stars Dirk Bogarde, Bonar Colleano, Bill Owen, Thora Hird, and Sid James. Its title derives from the first line of the Australian song "Waltzing Matilda."
Quick Facts
- Director
- Jack Lee
- Producer
- Ian Dalrymple
- Writer
- William Rose
- Jack Lee
- Cliff Gordon (additional dialogue)
- Based on
- Once a Jolly Swagman, Montagu Slater
- Starring
- Dirk Bogarde
- Bonar Colleano
- Bill Owen
- Music
- Bernard Stevens
- Cinematography
- H.E. Fowle
- Editing
- Jack Harris; John Ferris
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Factory worker Bill Fox leaves his job to become a speedway rider, aided by colleagues Tommy Possey and Lag Gibbon. His family and girlfriend Pat, Lag's sister, oppose the sport's danger and false glamour. Fox becomes the top rider, but after marrying Pat, she leaves him when he refuses to retire. He eventually quits riding for her.
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin described the film as an authentic story of speedway life, praising the track photography and Dirk Bogarde's acting, while noting superfluous scenes and irrelevant plot elements. Variety found the first half brisk but the later reels meandering, calling the script indecisive and the story unnecessarily complicated; it commended Bogarde and Bonar Colleano's performances but felt Bill Owen was miscast and Renee Asherson underused. Kine Weekly reported that the Speedway Riders' Association disapproved of the film, objecting to its general tone and the implication that riders were spivvish, stating it did not give a true interpretation of the sport and cast a slur on it.
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