Number One

Number One (1969)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Charlton Heston plays Ron Catlan, an aging quarterback in the NFL who is entering his fourteenth season. Catlan goes through a disastrous pre-season and injures his knee so in the week leading up to the regular season he must decide if he wants to hang it up or try for one more shot of glory. This film has gotten several very negative reviews including one in Leonard Maltin's guide but I think they were a little too hard on the thing. Yes, it's nothing ground breaking and it's certainly not too deep but I thought it made for an entertaining little movie. There's nothing overly special to be found here but there's an interesting story here of the elderly quarterback trying to weigh his options. These include the retirement but also a friend (Bruce Dern) is trying to get him into a car business that would probably lead to more money and he wouldn't have to take a beating. He's also dealing with his wife (Jessica Walker) as well as a woman (Diana Muldaur) he starts an affair with. I think the film does a decent job at showing the struggle that a NFL player might go through and its this aspect that works the best here. All the personal drama with the wife and girlfriend is pretty melodramatic but none of it is soapy enough to where it kills the film. Another benefit for viewers of today is seeing the old fashioned football gear (New Orleans Saints is the team), stadiums and fans. The performances are all pretty good with Heston doing a very good job in the lead. There were a few times that I had a hard time buying him as a football player but he fit into the drama very well. Heston really appeared to know what it was like struggling getting old but he handles everything fine. Walter, a few years from PLAY MISTY FOR ME, is also good as the wife. Her and Heston really come across like a real couple, which was a plus. I thought Muldaur stole the film as the girlfriend as she really brought across some "60s swing" to the role. Dern doesn't have too much to do but he's certainly a shot of energy at least. I think the film does rely on flashbacks a bit too much and I'd argue that the thing moves at a predictable pace. With that said, the film is certainly innocent enough and I'm sure fans of Heston will enjoy seeing him here.

Some have argued that Heston is not convincing as an NFL quarterback. I disagree. He was six feet three and 200-odd pounds, which is more than large enough, especially during the 1960s. Moreover, Heston worked out with the NFL players on set and even suffered a cracked rib, courtesy of Doug Atkins. AND CH was in his mid-40s.

No, I believe the problem with "Number One" is the screenplay. Catlan (have also seen it spelled as "Catlin") isn't an especially sympathetic character; in fact, he's rather a jerk. He leaves a lot to be desired regarding education and culture. His LIFE has been the NFL.

Now, Heston gets all those qualities, but doesn't suggest anything more admirable. Although in one of the late scenes, after Cat has committed adultery with Diana Muldaur (many men WOULD have done so with DM at her sexiest, as here; but I digress:)), he talks about his life and career with his long-suffering spouse (the excellent Jessica Walter). Here he is vulnerable, and sympathetic. Would that there were more such moments in the film.

But "Number One" remains worth watching. If you need a reason, well, it is the first film to depict at least adequately what professional American football is truly like. "Brian's Song," "North Dallas Forty," "Semi-Tough," etc. came later--

Chuck Heston is not a football star, but an actor playing one. I laugh at the comments made by the other comments here; expecting Chuck to play like a pro. That's why they call it acting.

Truthfully, football is only a backdrop for a story about a faded legend trying to hold on to his career by the skin of his teeth. It's an interesting tale of all of us; facing the reality of old age.

Being that this was filmed in the late 1960s, it has a real 60s flair to it, which to me makes it kind of neat. I liked the "surprise" ending.

Number One is not the greatest movie ever made, but it is a decent entertaining flick.

Mr. Heston and director Tom Gries teamed up in the late 60s and early 70s to make three woefully under-appreciated movies. One of those is Number One.

This one happens to be the lowest rated of the three here on IMDb. I'm shocked that its rating is a lowly 5.6. I believe this gem deserves greater recognition.

The movie is about a once great quarterback who's a few years past his prime. The movie itself isn't really about football. As in Will Penny with the Western setting, football is the backdrop for a character study which goes much deeper.

I believe this movie is especially potent today in the aftermath of the recession which saw a lot of older people in this country lose their jobs through no fault of their own. They have to ask themselves, what was it all for? And... what do I do now? Mr. Heston plays Ron "Cat" Catlan, the aforementioned quarterback. His status with the New Orleans Saints seems to be in question. His wife is too busy for him. An exotic new woman isn't the answer but at least she listens to him.

This movie explores the questions we'll all ask ourselves one day if we haven't already, and does so admirably.

Charlton Heston is the star quarterback for the New Orleans Saints..... and he's forty and thinking about retiring. The people around him are all younger than he, admiring and envious, management, who don't really care, and wife Jessica Harper, who has been listening to him talking about retiring for half a decade.

It's a well done rather melancholy portrait of a man who doesn't want to give up what makes him special. Bruce Dern, unlikable as always, gave up the game a decade earlier and now is the biggest car dealer in the state. He doesn't know why Heston won't quit and come make money with him. Only one, old, non-star player, now working in the oil fields, seems to have any idea of what Heston is going through.

Heston gives one of his mostly-stoic-then-cursing roles, and he's very good.

This movie didn't do well at the box office; they never distributed it overseas, figuring that no one cares about American football except Americans. I think A.E. Housman would have liked this movie.