Danny, the Champion of the World is a 1989 film starring British Oscar winning actor
Jeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English film, television, and stage actor. He has won the Academy Award, the Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to many other awards and honors....
, with his son, Samuel Irons, in the title role. It is based on the 1975
bookDanny, the Champion of the World is a 1975 children's book by Roald Dahl. As in many of Dahl's books, the main character is a child protagonist who is imaginative and intelligent...
by
Roald DahlRoald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.Born in Llandaff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent...
, and tells of a father and son who conspire to thwart a local businessman's plans to buy their land by
poachingPoaching is the illegal hunting, fishing, trapping, or eating of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws...
his
game pheasantsThe Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Asia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
.
William Smith (Jeremy Irons) lives with his nine-year-old son Danny (Samuel Irons) in a
VardoA vardo is a traditional horse-drawn wagon used by English Romani people .The design of the vardo included large wheels running outside the body of the van, which slopes outwards considerably towards the eaves...
behind the garage where he works.
Danny, the Champion of the World is a 1989 film starring British Oscar winning actor
Jeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English film, television, and stage actor. He has won the Academy Award, the Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to many other awards and honors....
, with his son, Samuel Irons, in the title role. It is based on the 1975
bookDanny, the Champion of the World is a 1975 children's book by Roald Dahl. As in many of Dahl's books, the main character is a child protagonist who is imaginative and intelligent...
by
Roald DahlRoald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.Born in Llandaff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent...
, and tells of a father and son who conspire to thwart a local businessman's plans to buy their land by
poachingPoaching is the illegal hunting, fishing, trapping, or eating of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws...
his
game pheasantsThe Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Asia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
.
Synopsis
William Smith (Jeremy Irons) lives with his nine-year-old son Danny (Samuel Irons) in a
VardoA vardo is a traditional horse-drawn wagon used by English Romani people .The design of the vardo included large wheels running outside the body of the van, which slopes outwards considerably towards the eaves...
behind the garage where he works. The land that the garage is built upon is coveted by businessman Victor Hazell (
Robbie ColtraneRobbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is most widely known for his role as Dr Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald in the British TV series Cracker...
), who owns the surrounding land and lives in a large mansion. Hazell attempts to buy the Smith's land, but William turns him down. Used to getting his own way, Hazell begins a campaign of harassment, trying to force them off their land. William decides to poach Hazell's prized game pheasants in retribution, using raisins to lure the birds out, but comes home empty handed. A few nights later, he tries again, but falls into a pit and breaks his ankle. Danny, who had worried about William going out late at night, takes his father's car and rescues him from Hazell's groundskeepers.
Meanwhile, Danny begins a new term at school, with a new schoolmaster: Captain Lancaster (
Ronald Pickup-Biography:Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer. Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.His television work began with an episode during...
), a strict disciplinarian who practices corporal punishment and detests lateness and cheating. When the headmaster, Mr Snoddy (
Lionel JeffriesLionel Charles Jeffries is a British actor, screenwriter and film director.- Biography :Jeffries attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wimborne and then trained at RADA after his World War II service, for which he was awarded the Burma Star...
), catches him caning Danny, he is given a severe reprimand.
Hazell announces a shooting event and invites several lords and other wealthy businessmen to come and hunt his pheasants. William and Danny decide to put a grand plan into action to poach all of Hazell's pheasants before the event, embarrassing Hazell in front of the people he wanted to impress. Danny hits upon the idea of using
sleeping pillsA sedative is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement.At higher doses it may result in slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes...
, given to William by Dr. Spencer (
Cyril CusackCyril James Cusack was an Irish actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.-Early life:Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet , an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant in the Natal mounted police. His parents separated when he was young and his mother took...
) for his broken ankle, to put the pheasants to sleep. They fill hundreds of raisins with ground-up pills in preparation. The next day, Captain Lancaster catches Danny sleeping in class; he makes Danny run around the school field as a punishment. Danny escapes by climbing a wall, and Lancaster resigns out of sheer frustration.
Danny's plan goes off without a hitch; soon, the garage is filled with sleeping pheasants. Hazell loses the respect of his peers, and one lord reveals that Hazell's real plan was to build a new town on the land he owns. Without the Smith's land, his plan cannot go ahead, and Hazell storms off while the Smiths and the rest of the village celebrate.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|
Jeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English film, television, and stage actor. He has won the Academy Award, the Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to many other awards and honors....
|
William |
Robbie ColtraneRobbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is most widely known for his role as Dr Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald in the British TV series Cracker...
|
Victor Hazell |
| Samuel Irons |
Danny |
| Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack was an Irish actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.-Early life:Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet , an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant in the Natal mounted police. His parents separated when he was young and his mother took...
|
Dr. Spencer |
| Michael Horden |
Lord Claybury |
| Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries is a British actor, screenwriter and film director.- Biography :Jeffries attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wimborne and then trained at RADA after his World War II service, for which he was awarded the Burma Star...
|
Mr. Snoddy (Headmaster) |
| Jean Marsh Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh is an English actress, occasional screenwriter, and co-creator of the television series Upstairs, Downstairs and The House of Eliott....
|
Miss Hunter (Social Worker) |
| Jimmy Nail Jimmy Nail is an English actor and singer.He has starred in numerous roles on television since 1983. He is 6'3" tall and is an avid Newcastle United supporter...
|
Rabbetts (Head Gamekeeper) |
| Ronald Pickup -Biography:Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer. Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.His television work began with an episode during...
|
Captain Lancaster |
Changes from the book
The film is extremely faithful to the book for the most part, and all of the changes which were made to the story were relatively minor. For example, in the book, Hazell has no plans to build a town, and is simply humiliated in front of the assembled lords. Additionally, in the book, a
pramBaby transport consists of devices for transporting and carrying infants. A "child carrier" or "baby carrier" is a device used to carry an infant or small child on the body of an adult...
is used to carry the pheasants to the Smith's land, whereas in the film, they are transported simply in bags. Also, in the book, the pheasants fly away almost immediately after waking up, rather than remaining on Smith's land for a while, as they do in the film.
DVD Release
A Region 2 DVD was released in 2005 by Warner Bros. It includes a documentary feature called "Danny and the Dirty Dog" (referring to Victor Hazell, who is described as a "dirty dog" by Roald Dahl), which features interviews with Dahl, Irons, and Coltrane - the last-named remains in character as Hazell throughout.
External links