Didn't he also have a world record for swinging some sort of club ?

It does this brilliantly for me with Harris perfectly suited with the brooding intensity he brings to the part he plays.

[sizeGobbledygook post of the day![/size

And this is where it falls down for me. Machin doesn't have to be likeable, you don't need to empathise with him either, but Harris' portrayal is just too one-dimensional for me. I've read the critics' comments about the tension in every scene and that, but it lost its effect for me half way through the film, and I just ended up stifling the yawns.

I understand why people don't like it.
It’s ok not to like it; it’s an opinion after all.
My nephew thinks Field of Dreams is rubbish...it would be in my top 10...that's just how it is.

The black kitchen sink dramas of the time are not easy watching.
Wasn't that easy back then never mind now.

The difference for this argument is when you judge the film, are you judging the type of film, or the quality of it against others of its type.
It obviously has qualities, otherwise it wouldn't have won any awards, but is it better than the likes of Saturday Night Sunday Morning or Look Back in Anger, or even How Green Was My Valley? In my opinion no, but equally with the exception of HGWMV, I'm not that keen on any of them.

What it is to me however, is a monument.
It is firstly an indication of what the times were like in that era for working class in the north. Life's changed since then of course but you can look back without looking down on it.
The important monument for me though is seeing my father's heroes (and mine of course) and seeing Wakefield Trinity players and Belle Vue in its pomp of 1963. That surpasses the quality of the film and will make it a monument worth visiting every now and again.

What I notice about films of that period is that the main stars neve seem t get the regional northern accents right.I t was only the bit part players who got the west riding accent correct