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Banning
Banning
	Film poster
Directed by	Ron Winston
Screenplay by	James Lee
Story by	Hamilton Maule
Produced by	Dick Berg
Starring	Robert Wagner; Anjanette Comer; Jill St. John; Guy Stockwell; James Farentino
Cinematography	Loyal Griggs
Edited by	J. Terry Williams
Music by	Quincy Jones
Production; company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	June 30, 1967 (Nashville, Tennessee); December 13, 1967 (United States);
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Banning is a 1967 American Technicolor drama film directed by Ron Winston and starring Robert Wagner, Jill St. John, Gene Hackman, Guy Stockwell and James Farentino.^[1]

Plot

Mike McDermot is a rising golf star on the PGA Tour until he is accused of cheating. He supposedly has offered to split a winner's purse with a competitor, Jonathan Linus, if his opponent deliberately misses a final putt. In fact, the competitor is the one who approached him. McDermot refuses, so Jonathan Linus goes to another pro, Tommy Del Gaddo, whose glory days were behind him. Then they turn in McDermot, accusing him of their crime.

Linus retires from the PGA Tour and marries into a rich family. His wife is the daughter of a wealthy businessman in Arizona; through their money, they are now principals (President and General Manager) of an exclusive golf club, the El Presidente. Del Gaddo becomes the head pro at the club as reward for supporting Linus in winning the Eastern Open.

McDermot, now calling himself Mike Banning, arrives and threatens to expose them, so he is given the assistant pro's job to quiet him. Banning proceeds to lure the club's high rollers to stage a high-wager golf tournament, a Calcutta, in which two-man teams are auctioned off. All money is then put in a pot and split three ways between the teammates and their bidder.

Banning must win this tournament to make enough money, $21,000, to pay off the mob, which had bankrolled his trial on the PGA Tour. He is literally playing for his life (and that of his dentist who actually took out the loan).

Banning knows the President cheats; he plays high-stakes poker, appearing drunk on whiskey while actually drinking iced tea. Another local aristocrat, Angela Barr, wins the highly competitive bidding for Banning's team over the President's daughter. The president knew of Banning's background and had his daughter bid for him for what he was sure would be the winning team.

Before play proceeds, Chris Patton tells the organizing committee that Banning is a former pro. Banning ends up giving up his handicap of 5 to play at scratch. He is informed that Patton provided this information and gets into a fight with him, almost killing him. Patton withdraws from the tournament and is replaced by Linus, now playing with his father-in-law, J. Pallister Young.

The tournament comes down to a sudden-death playoff, just as had happened in the ill-fated attempt to bribe Banning on the tour. On the 17th hole, with a life-saving shot, Banning makes a near impossible shot over a tall stand of trees.

Cast

Robert Wagner as Mike Banning
Anjanette Comer as Carol Lindquist
Jill St. John as Angela Barr
Guy Stockwell as Jonathan Linus
James Farentino as Chris Patton
Susan Clark as Cynthia Linus
Howard St. John as J. Pallister Young
Mike Kellin as Harry Kalielle
Gene Hackman as Tommy Del Gaddo
Sean Garrison as Richard Tyson
Logan Ramsey as Doc Brewer
Edmon Ryan as Stuart Warren
Oliver McGowan as Senator Brady
Lucille Meredith as Maggi Andrews
William Cort as Tony (as Bill Cort)

Reception

Howard Thompson of The New York Times called it "unusual, but noticeably unimpressive".^[2]

Legacy

Quincy Jones became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song from the film "The Eyes of Love."

Home Media

BANNING was released on a region-free Blu-ray in mid-2024 by the Australian label 'IMPRINT Films/ViaVision', in association with Universal Pictures films. The disc utilized a 2k scan of an interpositive.

References

^ Levy, Emanuel (2012-05-24). "Banning (1967)". EmanualLevy.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2014-09-05.
^ Thompson, Howard (1967-12-14). "Golfer in the Rough". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2014-09-05.