Harold Abrahams (Cross) begins his freshman year at Caius College at Cambridge, determined to overcome the subtle anti-Semitic bias he has felt all his life in England. A talented athlete, he uses his extraordinary athletic talent to prove that he is the equal of any man. As he wins the college challenge to run the perimeter of the courtyard in less than a minute, one of the college masters is heard to say, "I doubt there is a faster man in the realm," as the picture segues to the Scottish hills where Eric Liddell (Charleson) delivers a sermon to parishioners. A missionary, he is known as Scotland's finest rugby player and runner. He, too, is driven to run, but because, "When I run, I feel His pleasure."
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These are two outsiders in British society because of their religious and ethnic backgrounds who find themselves teammates on the 1924 Olympic track team for Great Britain. When Liddell discovers that his qualifying heat is to be run on a Sunday, he withdraws from that race because of his conviction to "honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy." Another teammate gave up his own spot in a different race to give Liddell a chance to win a gold medal for his country.
The review of this Movie prepared by Jean Power
