That perennial British concern, the deadman's grip of the boys' boarding school, is the subject of Good and Bad at Games (8 December 1983), the third of four films directed by Jack Gold for Film on Four.

William Boyd's story, interleaving past and present, is triangular: Cox, who was bullied at school, becomes an investigative journalist;he plans revenge on Mount, his persecutor, now an Army officer serving in Northern Ireland; between them is Niles, a weak willed salesman of motorparts who was only saved from ostracism at school (or worse) by being good at games.

At the climax, an old boys' cricket match, Niles cannot prevent himself saving the supercilious Mount by hurling a ball at the head of Cox, who is preparing to despatch Mount with his own pistol. Moral: Nothing changes. ... and Good and Bad at Games are pent by its script.

The secondary characters are agents of clear literal stories and are governed by what (not who) they are... and Niles (Martyn Stanbridge) is little more than shirking, contemptible cowardice.
Starring Martyn Stainbridge, Anton Lesser, Laura Davenport, Dominic Jephcott, Graham Seed, Ewan Stewart, and Rupert Graves.

©1983 Portman Quintet Films Productions.