The Games (1970)

Isn’t that a great poster? Indeed, The Games has a great premise, the inside track if you will on British, American, Australian and Czechoslovakian marathon runners competing in the Olympic Games, with a starry cast that includes Michael Crawford, Ryan O’Neal, Stanley Baker, Charles Aznavour and Jeremy Kemp. Unfortunately it’s directed by Michael Winner, which means that much of its promise is ultimately squandered. As someone else points out here on LB, it really is quite remarkable that Winner had a globetrotting production at his disposal here and yet he makes everywhere look exactly the same. That said, this is one of the more enjoyable productions from the old hack and ought to take its place alongside some of the…