Grand National Night (1953) [DVD]

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A racehorse owner (Nigel Patrick) who accidentally killed his wife (Moira Lister) matches wits with a detective. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. The black and white print is mostly good, but to my eyes some of the scenes had a slightly bleached quality, with vertical lines occasionally appearing on the right-hand side of the screen. Maybe not his "latest and greatest screen role" as it said in the publicity blurb, but it's not a bad vehicle for a star who does enough here to keep it interesting, if not exactly intriguing with what must have been a fairly limited budget. By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Despite part of the plot of this thriller making use of a journey by train, all this appears as studio sets and model work. After race horse trainer Gerald Coates' (Nigel Patrick) horse wins the Grand National, his wife comes home drunk, and the two of them have a violent argument, and she is accidentally killed. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Coates insists that she didn't come home after the big race, but the police begin to suspect him, after a train ticket is found in his coat. Racehorse trainer Gerald Coates argues with his alcoholic wife Babs on the evening after his horse has won the Grand National.The viewer understands that Nigel, whilst not happy, has tried to make his marriage work, but his wife's alcoholism and reckless behaviour has left him exasperated with her. Nigel Patrick gives a good performance in his role as Gerald Coates, the owner who is thrilled about winning the greatest steeplechase in the world, but then does something he really shouldn’t have. The ‘train’ seems to be that which appeared in A Run For Your Money and Stop Press Girl (both 1949) showing what is thought to be a GWR ‘Castle’ but it turns into a model! In this British crime thriller directed by Bob McNaught, adapted from the play by Dorothy and Campbell Christie, a British racehorse owner (Nigel Patrick) manages to win the Grand National with his horse.

It is also rather confusing in the fact that the train that comes to a halt is a Southern Region 4 SUB EMU, yet Nigel Patrick then jumps down to track level from a GWR coach! I hope the foregoing will give you sufficient, but not too much, information to form your own opinion.In 1953 it was made into a British film of the same title starring Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister and Beatrice Campbell. After race horse trainer Gerald Coates' horse wins the Grand National, his wife come home drunk, and the two of them have a violent argument, and she is accidentally killed. Previous to this film version Grand National Night had been presented as a BBC Radio serial as well as the original stage play, which was produced in 1945 and 1946. The horses are splendid, and there are quite a few 'hold-your-breath' moments when various characters take some pretty scary fences. He drives her to Liverpool to try and get her medical attention, but he discovers that she had died and leaves her in the car which belongs to a friend of hers.

Nigel Patrick stars as Gerald Coates; a racehorse owner/trainer/breeder, whose wife, Babs (Moira Lister), is a drunken party-loving "hellcat". The original West End cast included Leslie Banks, Hermione Baddeley, Frederick Lloyd, Olga Edwardes, Campbell Copelin and Vincent Holman. she insists on taking his pregnant mare out for a ride, which eventually causes the horse to go into labour prematurely.It is not known where exactly this scene was filmed, and it seems rather out of sync with the rest of the film, which is set in Liverpool. What ought to have been night of celebration turns sour for Grand National winning owner "Coates" (Nigel Patrick) when a contretemps with his drunken wife "Babs" (Moira Lister) leaves him the subject of a police investigation.