Private Potter
Private Potter is a 1962 British drama film directed by Caspar Wrede and starring Tom Courtenay, Mogens Wieth, Ronald Fraser, and James Maxwell.
| Private Potter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Casper Wrede |
| Produced by | Ben Arbeid |
| Written by | Casper Wrede, Ronald Harwood |
| Starring | Tom Courtenay Mogens Wieth Ronald Fraser James Maxwell Frank Finlay |
| Music by | George Hall |
| Cinematography | Arthur Lavis |
| Edited by | John Pomeroy |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
During the Cyprus Emergency (1955-1959), the eponymous Private Potter is a soldier who claims that the reason he cried out leading to the death of a comrade was that he saw a vision of God. There is then a debate over whether he should be court-martialled.
Cast
- Tom Courtenay as Private Potter
- Mogens Wieth as Yannis
- Ronald Fraser as Doctor
- James Maxwell as Lieutenant Colonel Harry Gunyon
- Ralph Michael as Padre
- Brewster Mason as Brigadier
- Eric Thompson as Captain John Knowles
- John Graham as Major Sims
- Frank Finlay as Captain Patterson
- Harry Landis as Lance Corporal Lamb
- Michael Coles as Private Robertson
- Jeremy Geidt as Major Reid
- Fulton Mackay as Soldier
Production
The screenplay was written by Ronald Harwood for a television play that was broadcast on ITV in 1961 as an ITV Television Playhouse production and featured the same main cast. Finnish-born director Caspar Wrede first spotted Tom Courtenay while he was still at RADA and the leading role of the fragile young soldier who wilts under pressure was his first film appearance.