"Hup, hup, I should have stayed on the set of Beneath The Planet Of The Apes!"
Number One had all the makings of a character-study classic but unfortunately came out as a misfire from start to finish. It's a film that really if you were to remove the backdrop has very little to do with the game of football. It's misguided, at times aimless and suffers from a lackluster supporting cast that leaves Heston to fend for himself and help us connect the dots with his character flaws. His being an alcoholic and womanizer should normally be interesting stuff in contrast to a sports hero but all that stuff just doesn't connect here.
The movie's one saving grace is the fact that the real New Orleans Saints at the time gave their full blessing and the players and the facilities are used nicely throughout. Still, given the year, subject matter and a superstar leading man, this is a huge disappointment. Had all those things gone the other way it really could have been an Easy Rider of football. Not only does it not work as a character study, there's no action either. Heston once said that Call Of The Wild was the one film he should never had made and knowing the story behind that West German atrocity I can dig it but he should have added this to the list as well.
Currently streaming free on Tubi. 1.75 stars/5
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