Small Town Story

Small Town Story is a 1953 British thriller, directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Donald Houston and Susan Shaw (in a rare bad-girl role). The film is set in the world of association football and features appearances from sporting legend Denis Compton and commentator Raymond Glendenning, as well as players from the Arsenal, Millwall and Hayes football teams. It also features the only screen acting credit of Kent Walton, later to himself become a famous sports commentator. The film soon disappeared from cinemas and its fate was unknown for several decades. The British Film Institute included it on its "75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films due to its perceived interest as a sporting period piece, the involvement of stars of the sporting world at the time, its curiosity value as the only known British black-and-white football-set thriller apart from The Arsenal Stadium Mystery, and increasing interest by film historians in Tully as a director. It has now been found, restored and released on DVD. Plot Canadian ex-serviceman Bob Regan (Walton) returns to Oldchester, the English town where he was stationed during the war, hoping to find Pat Lane (Shaw), the girl he fell in love with. He meets up with Mike Collins (George Merritt), an old acquaintance who now manages Oldchester United, the local football club. He also renews his friendship with Collins' daughter Jackie (Margaret Harrison). Mike tells Bob of an odd proviso surrounding the allocation of £25,000 from the estate of a recently deceased businessman and supporter of the football club – if Oldchester United win promotion to the next division of the Football League that season the money is theirs, if not it goes to the man's nephew. He remembers Bob as a skilful footballer, and asks him to sign up for the team to boost the promotion quest. Bob agrees.