Geordie

This movie is truly a classic... It is a classic story of a small boy who is tired of being small and rather than having sand kicked in his face, sends off for a "HE-MAN" mail order course... He then trains and dedicates himself to strength training and eventually grows to become an Olympic champion in the Hammer Throw, one of the Olympic strong man events... This movie is great and reminds us of days when Olympic champions were built from desire and hard work rather than todays steroids and other controversial techniques... A must see...

I watched Wee Geordie out of curiosity but found so much more than that. The story centres around a small rural Scottish boy who was teased and ridiculed at school because of his small stature and who took growth tablets to aid his physical development. He grows into a fine specimen of a man, tall and strong. His strength ultimately leads to him becoming a hammer thrower and representing Britain at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

The film is entertaining throughout. Bill Travers (of Born Free fame) is convincing and engaging as the grown Geordie Mac Taggart and Alastair Sims is a fine laird.

I thought that the movie might be based on fact (a la Chariots of Fire) but a review of the Hammer Throw results at the Melbourne Olympics reveals it as a work of fiction. No matter! It does not change the fact that the movie is a delight to watch.

The scenes of the final throw of the competition are captivating. Some competitors thrive on crowd support, others wilt under it. Geordie was a crowd favourite, thanks to his involvement in saving a man trapped under a car, but his nerves betray him under that pressure. When he shuts out the crowd and imagines his sweetheart back in the hills of Scotland - at the same time that she whispers into her wireless back home - a little piece of cinema magic is created.

There was some licence taken with the location. When Geordie is shown arriving in Melbourne by ship, there are 2 scenes of Sydney Harbour. But that is immaterial to the enjoyment of the film.

It is definitely worth the investment of your time and attention.

It's hardly "Local Hero" but this Scottish-set comedy from the Launder and Gilliat team is still a charmer. Bill Travers is the game-keeper's son who is entered for the Melbourne Olympics as a hammer-thrower but insists on wearing his kilt. It's a very simple little picture with characters that are easy to like. Travers may not have been much of an actor but he was certainly personable and Alastair Sim is wonderful as the local laird while the Scottish locations are lovely and like "Local Hero" it's funny but in a very gentle kind of way. This is British humour at its most restrained and its supporting cast of of character actors is first-rate. Popular at the time, it has disappeared over the years but is worth reviving.

It is time that this movie was released on DVD. It has been at least ten years since I last saw it on PBS. The values extolled in this film are never ending, and perhaps even timely in this period of heightened violence in the world. Geordie has been a favourite for many years and, notwithstanding my like for all of the classic and modern hard-hitting western, war and other action films, the scene where Geordie tosses the hammer for a Gold Medal while he envisions his sweetheart coming over a hill through the heather is only one that remains stuck in my mind, even to this day.

saw this movie as a child in scotland and loved it. it popped up on tv a few years ago and i taped it but the quality was not great. if it ever came available as a vhs or dvd i would buy it in a heartbeat. a simpler time told in a simpler way. "come away ma wee geordie" was a classic line that reverberated in my head ...nostalgia...