| Cup Fever | |
| Director: | David Bracknell |
| Producer: | Roy Simpson |
| Screenplay: | David Bracknell |
| Story: | David Bracknell |
| Starring: | Bernard Cribbins David Lodge Sonia Graham |
| Cinematography: | John Coquillon |
| Music: | Bill McGuffie |
| Editing: | John Bloom |
| Studio: | Century Film Productions |
| Runtime: | 63 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
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]
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.
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]