The Final Test

Interesting oddity centring on Jack Warner as a professional cricketer who is past his prime and is playing in his final test match.

So the core of the story is Warner, his relationship with his very different son (not very convincing) who wants to be a poet, his angst about retirement and getting a last big score and his relationship with barmaid Brenda Bruce - a bit odd this and somewhat uncomfortable to watch. All this is so so, what makes the film worth catching though is Rattigan's script and how the comedic elements are performed. This includes an American trying to understand the English and Cricket, which fellow test match enthusiast Richard Wattis tries to explain. Front and centre though are the scenes with Robert Morley playing a playwright hero of Warner's son. His performance perfectly suited to Rattigan's witty writing is hilarious - the main reason for watching this frankly.