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Description
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Puny Scottish boy Geordie is the son of the Laird's gamekeeper. Geordie writes off for Henry Samson's correspondence body-building course and grows into a brawny young man, who in time takes over his father's job. He becomes a good hammer-thrower, and, urged on by the local minister, Rev. McNab, he enters a contest akin to the Highland Games. He is then selected to represent Britain in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Homesick on the voyage to Australia, Geordie becomes friendly with Scandinavian shot-putter Helga, who is disappointed to learn he has a sweetheart, Jean, in Scotland. Geordie has promised his mother that he will wear his father's kilt when he competes, but even when he is forbidden to do so by the committee, he remains determined. Geordie's heart is not in the competition and he throws badly until his final throw, when he is inspired as he thinks of Jean. All does not go well though, and Geordie has some explaining to do to Jean when he returns home. Opening caption note: The opening caption reads: 'THE PLACE: Scotland[.] THE TIME: Yesterday and Today - with a wee peep at Tomorrow.' Character names note: The main character's surname is spelt MacTaggart in the source novel. In the film it is seen only in a scrawled note written by the Laird, where it is spelt McTaggart. (The Laird's spelling need not be taken as accccurate, of course.) The Laird himself goes unnamed in the film, though he signs this note 'M.B.', which we can take as his initials. (It is possible to speculate that the source of these initials may be an on-set reference, M.B. being the initials of the only other person in the scenes with the note, apart from the two leads: Margaret Boyd, playing the Laird's maid, Betty.(BFI)
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