Harold Abrahams, one of the subjects of the Real Chariots of Fire.
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 4th 2012.
L.S. Media Rating ****
With the countdown to the Olympic Games well and truly running ever downward, the amount of television space that is going to be dedicated to all things Olympiad over the next few weeks will be hard to avoid.
One of the finest films about the Olympic Games is arguably the British cinematic classic Chariots of Fire which highlighted the two of the men who ran for Great Britain in the Paris Olympics of 1924, the Jewish and driven runner Harold Abrahams and the deeply devout Scotsman Eric Liddell. Whether you’re a cynic or a fan of the spirit of the Olympic Games it would have taken a stony heart not to be moved by I.T.V.’s television programme The Real Chariots of Fire presented by one of the stars of the film, Nigel Havers.
The film showed the rivalry between the two men, their first meeting at an athletics event at Stamford Bridge, the anti-Semitism that Harold Abrahams faced at Cambridge University and the strong willed and dogged determination that Eric Liddell displayed in the face of great pressure to stick to his religious principles not to run on a Sunday. The programme followed all these paths of the film and showed a deeper understanding of what drove these two men to Olympic glory, the hardship they both faced and crucially what happened after the games had finished and the two men went their own way.
The hour long programme which showed Nigel Havers at his most charming best succeeded in parting the fiction in screenwriter’s Colin Welland’s script and the fact. The stark black and white film that showed Harold Abrahams being trained by Sam Mussabini , the utter pride in his voice as he was interviewed in 1968 and the complex thoughts that went through his brain as he went to the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany to commentate on the games were nothing short of amazing television. This was further enhanced by the sad tale of Eric Liddell who after the games went back to China, where he was born, and his missionary work. The devout Christian, who was portrayed in the film by the great and much missed Ian Charleson, died in a prisoner of war camp due to a brain tumour.
The programme was neatly framed by interviews with the daughters of both men, a standing and overwhelming tribute to two men who overcame prejudice in one form or another. It also asks the question on whether there will be another British athlete who will deserve such an honour again.
Ian D. Hall