The problems partly rest with the casting. Jack Warner who plays the ageing English cricketer is far too old for the part. He looks and moves as if he's the umpire! Then we witness Warner's romantic scene with a barmaid, who's frankly young enough to be his granddaughter! Then we have his son, Reg, who plays the part of a young man in his early teens, when in reality, he looks like a man in his early 20's! The dialogue between father and son made me wince and squirm, since it's more like the relationship between a public school master and a wayward student. Also, the incredible deference that the son displays to his father smacks of fear not respect. I'm almost expecting Warner to get the cane out to punish him for his son showing a lack of duty. The film intends to show the tension between parental loyalty and youthful ideas. However, it falls down badly as Warner comes across as a boring patriarchal figure, without any sense of humour! The film shows no emotional depth to the characters and as a result the characters are all one dimensional. I suspect the film was regarded as dated even before it was released in the early 1950's. The plot and the dialogue leaves little room for the audience to engage in a rather tiresome and stodgy film.
Review of The Final Test
