Banning (1967)

Banning is a 1967 American drama sports film directed by Ron Winston and starring Robert Wagner, Jill St. John, Gene Hackman, Guy Stockwell and James Farentino.

Plot

Mike McDermot is a rising golf star on the PGA Tour until he is accused of cheating. He supposedly has offered to split a winner's purse with a competitor, Jonathan Linus, if his opponent deliberately misses a final putt. In fact, the competitor is the one who approached him. McDermot refuses, so Jonathan Linus goes to another pro, Tommy Del Gaddo, whose glory days were behind him. Then they turn in McDermot, accusing him of their crime.

Linus retires from the PGA Tour and marries into a rich family. His wife is the daughter of a wealthy businessman in Arizona; through their money, they are now principals (President and General Manager) of an exclusive golf club, the El Presidente. Del Gaddo becomes the head pro at the club as reward for supporting Linus in winning the Eastern Open.

McDermot, now calling himself Mike Banning, arrives and threatens to expose them, so he is given the assistant pro's job to quiet him. Banning proceeds to lure the club's high rollers to stage a high-wager golf tournament, a Calcutta, in which two-man teams are auctioned off. All money is then put in a pot and split three ways between the teammates and their bidder.

Banning must win this tournament to make enough money, $21,000, to pay off the mob, which had bankrolled his trial on the PGA Tour. He is literally playing for his life (and that of his dentist who actually took out the loan).

Banning knows the President cheats; he plays high-stakes poker, appearing drunk on whiskey while actually drinking iced tea. Another local aristocrat, Angela Barr, wins the highly competitive bidding for Banning's team over the President's daughter. The president knew of Banning's background and had his daughter bid for him for what he was sure would be the winning team.

Before play proceeds, Chris Patton tells the organizing committee that Banning is a former pro. Banning ends up giving up his handicap of 5 to play at scratch. He is informed that Patton provided this information and gets into a fight with him, almost killing him. Patton withdraws from the tournament and is replaced by Linus, now playing with his father-in-law, J. Pallister Young.

The tournament comes down to a sudden-death playoff, just as had happened in the ill-fated attempt to bribe Banning on the tour. On the 17th hole, with a life-saving shot, Banning makes a near impossible shot over a tall stand of trees.

Cast

Robert Wagner as Mike Banning

Anjanette Comer as Carol Lindquist

Jill St. John as Angela Barr

Guy Stockwell as Jonathan Linus

James Farentino as Chris Patton

Susan Clark as Cynthia Linus

Howard St. John as J. Pallister Young

Mike Kellin as Harry Kalielle

Gene Hackman as Tommy Del Gaddo

Sean Garrison as Richard Tyson

Logan Ramsey as Doc Brewer

Edmon Ryan as Stuart Warren

Oliver McGowan as Senator Brady

Lucille Meredith as Maggi Andrews

William Cort as Tony (as Bill Cort)

Reception

Howard Thompson of The New York Times called it "unusual, but noticeably unimpressive".

Legacy

Quincy Jones became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song from the film "The Eyes of Love."

Home media

BANNING was released via a region-free Blu-ray on August 28, 2024, by Australian label 'IMPRINT Films/ViaVision', in association with Universal Pictures. The disc utilized a 2k scan of an interpositive. Imprint advertised "Banning" as one of their limited edition releases with 1500 copies for sale.

See also

List of American films of 1967

References

External links

Banning at IMDb

Banning at Rotten Tomatoes