Stan Mortensen and "the Game of Their Lives"

Discussion in 'Soccer History' started by Excape Goat, Oct 13, 2010.

  1. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    I just saw "The Game of Their Lives". In the movie, Stan Mortensen travelled to the US for a series of friendly matches. After one match against the USMNT, he insulted the entire American team for the upcoming match in the 1950 WC Finals during a banquet organized by the USSF. He sounded liked an insensitive snob from the English gentry. Of course, the American players were pissed and Mortensen became the loathsome opponent from the typical Hollywood sport movies. In reality, Mortsensen played in the 1950 WC match against the US, but was not part of the team that went to the USA for the friendly matches. It was Stanley Matthews, not Mortensen, who went to the USA. Hollywood just needed a villain and Mortensen became the victim. Why can't Hollywood create a fake charactor so that a real person was not portrayed in a negative way?
     
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  2. glennaldo_sf

    glennaldo_sf Member+

    Houston Dynamo, Penang FC, Al Duhail
    United States
    Nov 25, 2004
    Doha, Qatar
    Club:
    FL Fart Vang Hedmark
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    yeah and next you're going to try telling us that Gavin Rossdale didn't even play at WC 1950. :cool:
     
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  3. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    At least, I did not say Jthat they failed to mention John Harkes screwed with his teammate's wife. :)
     
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  4. Roger Allaway

    Roger Allaway Member+

    Apr 22, 2009
    Warminster, Pa.
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's only one of many historical inaccuracies in that movie.
     
  5. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    I can accept historical inaccurancies in a movie for the sake of entertainment. All historical movies were liked that. I do have a problem if they put a negative light on a real person when that person was not even there.
     
  6. Roger Allaway

    Roger Allaway Member+

    Apr 22, 2009
    Warminster, Pa.
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed. I watch a lot of historical movies and am not as bothered by historical inaccuracies as I once was, but what they did to Mortensen was terrible.

    Of course, they did do a little of the reverse, with the scenes in which a man who died in 1976 is shown giving profound quotes to an interviewer at an MLS game.
     
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  7. RoyOfTheRovers

    Jul 24, 2009
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    The way that "Morty" was portrayed in "The Game..." was a pure travesty IMO. "Morty" was always a gentleman & the very ideal of the Corinthian sportsman. Here are some links about Mortensen:

    This is the Spartacus Educational profile of "Morty", make sure that you scroll all the way down on this pg.:

    http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BLACKPmortensen.htm

    This is the National Football HoF profile on Mortensen:

    http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/pages/fame/Inductees/stanmortensen.htm

    This is the soccerhistory.org profile of "Morty":

    http://www.soccerhistory.org.uk/Stan Mortensen.htm

    This is a detailed profile fr. football-england.com:

    http://www.football-england.com/Stanley_Mortensen.html

    Another profile on Mortensen fr. the Blackpool official site; you have to scroll way down again:

    http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/page/SeasideLegends/0,,10432~140692,00.html

    Btw, I was lucky enough to see "Morty" play quite a few times for Blackpool, Arsenal (he made guest appearances for them during the war), Hull City & England. If anyone wants to hear an eyewitness account of watching him play just lmk.
     
  8. RoyOfTheRovers

    Jul 24, 2009
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Since posters here seemed to like my first group of links on "Morty": here's some more for you:

    This is a profile of Mortensen fr. clicklancashire.com & an interview w/his nephew, Gordon Carpenter:

    http://www.clicklancashire.com/spor...pool-fc-legend-stan-mortensen-remembered.html

    This is a profile of "Morty" along w/some rare photos fr. The Mirror:

    http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/archive/Stan-Mortensen-article2887.html

    There's also links to eight Mirror back pg. articles on Mortensen when he was still playing via the link above.

    This is an excellent profile of Mortensen fr. englandcaps.co.uk:

    http://www.englandcaps.co.uk/StanMortensen.html

    Mortensen's profile fr. givemefootball.com, which is also the official site of the PFA:

    http://www.givemefootball.com/player-profiles/stan-mortensen

    Here are some excellent photos of "Morty"; the 6th photo is "Morty" in action during the '53 FA Cup Final. The Bolton player right behind Mortensen in the photo was England centre-half Malcomn Barrass:

    http://www.canvasstorehouse.com/pictures_4215543/stan-mortensen.html

    This is about the one match where Mortensen played for the Toon during wartime football v. Leeds Utd. in Jan. of '43 as the goal-scoring I-R alongside Albert Stubbins as the No.9 (W-M term.):

    http://www.newcastleutd-mad.co.uk/n..._mortensen_has_a_toon_past_558062/index.shtml
     
  9. Seaside Mafia

    Seaside Mafia New Member

    May 29, 2005
    London
    I'm a Blackpool fan and to us Stan Mortensen was not only a hero but also reputedly a real gentleman. It's appalling that a great player can be slandered in this way. I hope that his family sue the ass off whoever has made the film.

    I'm really fed up about this.
     
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  10. comme

    comme Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 21, 2003
    It came out 5 years ago.
     
  11. Seaside Mafia

    Seaside Mafia New Member

    May 29, 2005
    London
    In that case I hope his family sued the ass off whoever made that film.
     
  12. RoyOfTheRovers

    Jul 24, 2009
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
  13. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't think whoever made that film had any ass left to sue after they lost it actually producing the film.
     
  14. RoyOfTheRovers

    Jul 24, 2009
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
  15. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    Do you like Amadeus?
     
  16. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid

    I watched that movie when I was in High School, nearly 30 years ago. I did not have an opinion back then, but ypu were talking about the other composer, right? I recalled that he confessed many times that he killed Mozart when he was in a mental aslyum amny years after the events depicted in the movie.
     
  17. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    Yep right, my point is that historical inaccuracies are ok if it's clear that the movies is not intended to be a biography or a historical dramas that attempts to accurately portray a historical even of any kind.
    I haven't seen 'The Game of our Lifes' so I can't comment on that though. And going through the reviews I don't think this will change anytime soon. :confused:
     
  18. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wait, so Abe Lincoln didn't hunt vampires?
     
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  19. RoyOfTheRovers

    Jul 24, 2009
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England




    [Didn't he play left-half for Rapid Vienna back in the '40s? ;)]
     
  20. RoyOfTheRovers

    Jul 24, 2009
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England



    [Sorry to disappoint you here, mate... ;)]
     
  21. Alex_K

    Alex_K Member+

    Mar 23, 2002
    Braunschweig, Germany
    Club:
    Eintracht Braunschweig
    Nat'l Team:
    Bhutan
    That's completely fictional, though.
     
  22. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Said Christopher Sullivan: "He was a classic number 41."
     
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  23. RoyOfTheRovers

    Jul 24, 2009
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England



    [Maybe he lined-up as a "false nein"?? ;)]
     
  24. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    Yeah stop the mockery I understand your complains now even though I haven't seen the movie. :D
     
  25. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid

    But Amadeus or Abe Lincoln the vampire killer does not justify Stan Mortensen's portrayal. They could easily create a fake player as I have stated.
     

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