The Games is a 1970 film

1970 in film

The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....

 based on the Hugh Atkinson novel and adapted to the screen by Erich Segal

Erich Segal

Erich Wolf Segal was an American author, screenwriter, and educator. He was best-known for writing the novel Love Story , a best-seller, and writing the motion picture of the same name, which was a major hit....

. It was directed

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 by Michael Winner

Michael Winner

Michael Robert Winner is a British film director and producer, active in both Europe and the United States, also known as a food critic for the Sunday Times.-Early life and early career :...

.

The plot concerned four marathon competitors at a fictitious Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, played by Michael Crawford

Michael Crawford

Michael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...

, Ryan O'Neal

Ryan O'Neal

Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...

, Charles Aznavour

Charles Aznavour

Charles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...

, and Athol Compton. Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

 recorded one song ('From Denver To L.A.') for the soundtrack.

To simulate vast crowds of people, thousands of life-sized dummies were placed in the stadium's seats.

Cast

• Michael Crawford
  Michael Crawford
  Michael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...
  
   as Harry Hayes, British competitor
• Ryan O'Neal
  Ryan O'Neal
  Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
  
   as Scott Reynolds, American competitor
• Charles Aznavour
  Charles Aznavour
  Charles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...
  
   as Pavel Vendek, Czech competitor
• Jeremy Kemp
  Jeremy Kemp
  Jeremy Kemp is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the miniseries The Winds of War, The Blue Max and Z-Cars....
  
   as Jim Harcourt
• Elaine Taylor
  Elaine Taylor (actress)
  Elaine Regina Taylor is an English-born actress, best known as a leading lady in comedy films of the late 1960s and early 70s. She is married to the Canadian actor Christopher Plummer.-Early life:...
  
   as Christine
• Stanley Baker
  Stanley Baker
  Sir Stanley Baker was a Welsh actor and film producer.-Early career:William Stanley Baker was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Valley, Wales. In the mid-1930s his parents moved to London, where Baker spent most of his formative years...
  
   as Bill Oliver
• Athol Compton as Sunny Pintubi, Australian competitor
• Rafer Johnson
  Rafer Johnson
  Rafer Lewis Johnson is an American former decathlete and film actor.-Biography:Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family moved to Kingsburg, California, when he was nine. For a while, they were the only black family in the town. A versatile athlete, he played on Kingsburg High School's...
  
   as Commentator
• Kent Smith
  Kent Smith
  Kent Smith was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theater, and television.Born Frank Kent Smith in New York, New York, Smith made his acting debut on Broadway in 1932 in and, after spending a few years there, moved to Hollywood, California, where he made his film debut in The...
  
   as Kaverley
• Sam Elliott
  Sam Elliott
  Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...
  
   as Richie Robinson
• Mona Washbourne
  Mona Washbourne
  Mona Washbourne was an English actress of stage, film and television.Mona Washbourne began her entertaining career training as a concert pianist. While performing on stage in the early 1920s, she found that she liked acting and became an actress...
  
   as Mrs. Hayes
• Reg Lye as Gilmour
• June Jago
  June Jago
  June Jago was an Australian actress.She made her stage debut in Australia and came to Britain in the 1950s with a touring production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll...
  
   as Mae Harcourt
• Don Newsome as Cal Wood