Grand National Night (1953) [DVD]

Product Information

The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. The ‘train’ seems to be that which appeared in A Run For Your Money and Stop Press Girl (both 1949) showing what is thought to be a GWR ‘Castle’ but it turns into a model! Nigel Patrick stars as Gerald Coates; a racehorse owner/trainer/breeder, whose wife, Babs (Moira Lister), is a drunken party-loving "hellcat". After race horse trainer Gerald Coates' horse wins the Grand National, his wife come home drunk, and the two of them have a violent argument, and she is accidentally killed.

After race horse trainer Gerald Coates' (Nigel Patrick) horse wins the Grand National, his wife comes home drunk, and the two of them have a violent argument, and she is accidentally killed. It is not known where exactly this scene was filmed, and it seems rather out of sync with the rest of the film, which is set in Liverpool. The horse gives birth to a foal on a tempestuous, stormy Grand National day, just when one of Gerald's other horses wins - for the first time ever. Maybe not his "latest and greatest screen role" as it said in the publicity blurb, but it's not a bad vehicle for a star who does enough here to keep it interesting, if not exactly intriguing with what must have been a fairly limited budget.noel purcell and beatrice campbell do some sterling support and colin gordon is the wonderfully name buns darling. It is also rather confusing in the fact that the train that comes to a halt is a Southern Region 4 SUB EMU, yet Nigel Patrick then jumps down to track level from a GWR coach! In 1953 it was made into a British film of the same title starring Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister and Beatrice Campbell. Nigel Patrick gives a good performance in his role as Gerald Coates, the owner who is thrilled about winning the greatest steeplechase in the world, but then does something he really shouldn’t have. But then he has a violent argument with his wife (Moira Lister), which results in her accidental murder.

It skips along nicely and engagingly for eighty minutes with a solid contribution from the usually reliable Noel Purcell and a soupçon of glamour from the underused Beatrice Campbell too. Lister features but sparingly, but her characterisation of "Babs" does rather get under your fingernails, so as the police work proceeded I did start to feel just a bit of sympathy for her rather idiotic, but good natured, husband - and Patrick is on decent form in that role here. By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.The film was based on Campbell and Dorothy Christie’s 1945 play, which was also presented as a BBC Radio serial in 1946. Other members of the supporting cast include Noel Purcell as the vet, Betty Ann Davis as 'Pinkie' (a posh version of Dora Bryan) and Colin Gordon as Patrick's scrounging friend, 'Buns'. Coates insists that she didn't come home after the big race, but the police begin to suspect him, after a train ticket is found in his coat. The black and white print is mostly good, but to my eyes some of the scenes had a slightly bleached quality, with vertical lines occasionally appearing on the right-hand side of the screen. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

Babs has already been banned from driving for 10 years, because she killed a man whilst she was driving under the influence.A racehorse owner (Nigel Patrick) who accidentally killed his wife (Moira Lister) matches wits with a detective. He drives her to Liverpool to try and get her medical attention, but he discovers that she had died and leaves her in the car which belongs to a friend of hers. Nigel Patrick is assured and convincing in the central role of a gentlemen horse trainer who becomes involved in a game of cat-and-mouse with a Scotland Yard inspector who suspects him of murder.

The horses are splendid, and there are quite a few 'hold-your-breath' moments when various characters take some pretty scary fences. It premiered at the New Theatre, Oxford before transferring to the Apollo Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 268 performances between 12 June 1946 and 1 February 1947. Despite part of the plot of this thriller making use of a journey by train, all this appears as studio sets and model work. Nigel and his staff and friends are sad at the tragedy, which was caused by his thoughtless wife's cruel behaviour. Racehorse trainer Gerald Coates argues with his alcoholic wife Babs on the evening after his horse has won the Grand National.The viewer understands that Nigel, whilst not happy, has tried to make his marriage work, but his wife's alcoholism and reckless behaviour has left him exasperated with her. Read all After race horse trainer Gerald Coates' (Nigel Patrick) horse wins the Grand National, his wife comes home drunk, and the two of them have a violent argument, and she is accidentally killed. I hope the foregoing will give you sufficient, but not too much, information to form your own opinion. What ought to have been night of celebration turns sour for Grand National winning owner "Coates" (Nigel Patrick) when a contretemps with his drunken wife "Babs" (Moira Lister) leaves him the subject of a police investigation.