

This Sporting Life
He only believed in strength - love was a word he hadn't the power to say.
In early 1960s Northern England, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an immediate star in the rugby league team run by local employer Weaver.
TMDB
7.0/10
127 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $286.3K
- Box office
- —
- Language
- English
- northern england
- based on novel or book
- sports
- widow
- rugby
- yorkshire
- black and white
- bitterness
- kitchen sink realism
- coal miner
- landlady tenant relationship
Top billed cast










Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- Theatrical16 Jul 1963
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical12Originally X7 Feb 1963
DenmarkDK
- Theatrical10 Sept 1963
NetherlandsNL
- Physical12DVD28 Mar 2008
RussiaSU
- Theatrical12 Oct 1964
Frequently asked questions
This Sporting Life was released on 7 February 1963.
Audience reviews
2- J9/10
John Chard
9/26/2014
It's about time you took that rock of weight off your shoulders. This Sporting Life is directed by Lindsay Anderson and written by David Storey. It stars Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel, William Hartnell, Colin Blakely, Vanda Godsell and Anne Cunningham. Music is by Roberto Gerhard and cinematography by Denys Coop. Frank Machin (Harris) gets the opportunity to utilise his brute strength and angry nat…
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
1/7/2025
Richard Harris is on great form here as the aspiring rugby league player "Frank" in a northern English town who is about to hit the big time. An enormous payment of £1,000 is offered and that's going to change not just his life, but possibly that of his landlady "Mrs. Hammond" (Rachel Roberts). She's quite a distant widow who keeps a low profile but he's interested in her, despite her dour exterior. Yes, in a physica…
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