School For Scoundrels (1960)
Players: Raymond (Terry-Thomas) and Henry (Ian Carmichael) square off to win the affection of Alice (Janette Scott).
The men are so proper, they don’t even need to change for tennis – they’re already dressed in white casual clothes.
Who wins? The rotter Raymond thrashes Henry quite spectacularly using a combination of unfair shots, the sun (he has his back to it and it’s in Henry’s eyes) and slimy, smug satisfaction.
Fault! We’re pretty sure the “uneven court” excuse is against official rules and Raymond’s constant exclamation of “hard cheese” every time Henry screws up is surely unsportsmanlike.
Beats the grunting of today’s players, though.
Random racquet trivia: The movie was remade in 2006 by Todd Philips, this time starring Jon Heder and Billy Bob Thornton.
There’s a tennis scene in that movie, too – though we’re not sure Terry-Thomas would approve of the tennis-ball-to-nuts hit that wraps it up.
Or would he? Hard cheese!
Next: Wimbledon
Comments
Rasputin
Jul 1st 2009, 23:25
Good stuff, but can't believe you missed Strangers On A Train. Farley Granger's tennis pro must win in double-quick time so he can leave to prove he's innocent of murdering his wife. Or he could just lose equally quickly, which he dismisses, saying "it would look suspicious" - but when he starts losing anyway, he ups his game to win, thereby making the match take even longer. Anyway, a tennis pro rushing through a tournament match to go to a fairground to catch a murderer and prove his own innocence? Really? Can't see Tim Henman being embroiled in anything so sordid
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Desperation
Jul 3rd 2009, 9:31
NO man dressed as a woman has ever won? What about Mauresmo?
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