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Comedy

The Sporting Club

- The trout season begins in May. The deer season begins in September. Today it's open season for people!

The wealthy members of an exclusive backwoods retreat face an existential threat from both a disgruntled former manager as well as a subversive, anarchistic current member.

Release Date : 1971-02-28

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Lorimar Productions

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Robert Fields

Character Name : Vernur Stanton

Original Name : Robert Fields

Gender : Male

Nicolas Coster

Character Name : James Quinn

Original Name : Nicolas Coster

Gender : Male

Margaret Blye

Character Name : Janey

Original Name : Margaret Blye

Gender : Female

Jack Warden

Character Name : Earl Olive

Original Name : Jack Warden

Gender : Male

Richard Dysart

Character Name : Spengler

Original Name : Richard Dysart

Gender : Male

James Noble

Character Name : Canon Pritchard

Original Name : James Noble

Gender : Male

Ralph Waite

Character Name : Olson

Original Name : Ralph Waite

Gender : Male

Jo Ann Harris

Character Name : Lu

Original Name : Jo Ann Harris

Gender : Female

Linda Blair

Character Name : Barby

Original Name : Linda Blair

Gender : Female

Anne Ramsey

Character Name : Scott's Wife

Original Name : Anne Ramsey

Gender : Female

Helen Craig

Character Name : Mrs. Olds

Original Name : Helen Craig

Gender : Female

Lois Markle

Character Name : Sheilah

Original Name : Lois Markle

Gender : Male

John Seymour

Character Name : Newcombe

Original Name : John Seymour

Gender : Male

Logan Ramsey

Character Name : Scott

Original Name : Logan Ramsey

Gender : Male

Leon B. Stevens

Character Name : Senator Olds

Original Name : Leon B. Stevens

Gender : Male

Ralph Purdom

Character Name : Murray

Original Name : Ralph Purdom

Gender : Male

William Roerick

Character Name : Fortesque

Original Name : William Roerick

Gender : Male

Reviews

A

adorablepanic

@adorablepanic

2021-06-23

THE SPORTING CLUB (1971) - Businessman James Quinn (Nicolas Coster) sets out for a peaceful getaway of hunting, fishing, and drinking at the Centennial Club, a backwoods retreat whose wealthy members all value insularity and tradition. All, that is, except for Vernur Stanton (Robert Fields), a simmering provocateur and anarchist whose favorite pastime is engaging in Alexander Hamilton/Aaron Burr-style gun duels. When Earl Olive (Jack Warden), the Club's new manager, is injured in one of these wax-bullet showdowns, the perpetually stoned Olive - with assistance from his rowdy biker buddies - declares literal class warfare on the Club and its members. Since its satiric concerns revolve around issues which are so prevalent in American politics today - namely hyper-partisanship and the privileged versus the proletariat - you would think that this would resonate more powerfully today than when initially released by a clueless AVCO Embassy (who actually promoted this in some markets as a MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932)-style human-hunting tale). Unfortunately, the story starts to gradually lose focus; the approach becomes heavy-handed and obvious; and interest starts to wane before the big orgy finale. (Yes, you read that right.) With an interesting, folksy score by Michael Small; a source novel by Thomas McGuane; and a cast full of fine character players who would become familiar faces on television over the next decade, this is one instance where the whole is quite a bit less than the sum of its parts.