The Arsenal Stadium Mystery is a largely forgotten black and whiter from the thirties. It covers the murder of a football player in the magnificent Highbury stadium in North London. The twist is that the murder is of a player who collapses during a match therefore making it difficult to work out whodunnit. Interesting for English football fans aswell as it stars some of the Arsenal players of the time; Arsenal being England's greatest football team of all time.
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery
1939
Comedy / Crime / Sport / Thriller

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery
1939
Comedy / Crime / Sport / Thriller
Synopsis
During a charity soccer match between top professional side Arsenal and touring amateur side Trojans, the Trojan's new star player collapses. When he dies, Inspector Slade of Scotland Yard ...
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One to look out for from the old school.
Unassuming yet fascinating
I probably agree with most comments here: a good not great film but still interesting in so many ways, mainly from the historical perspective. The world depicted was on another planet - even though Britain was at war the lunatics would not start to take over the asylum for another 30 years or so. Professional Arsenal take on the amateur Trojans in special football match attended by millions of blue-chins in macs and hats live on BBC radio, and even commentated by legendary voice E.V.H. Emmett borrowed from Gaumont. One of the Trojans, a bit of a womaniser with a lot of enemies falls down dead at the beginning of the second half and the game is abandoned and is simultaneously on to find out whodunit. Slade of Scotland Yard is on the case, an inspector with eccentric and disconcerting habits played fantastically by Leslie Banks in a variety of appropriate hats. Although thousands of the Arsenal fans who saw todays game at the Emirates probably live in houses built before 1940 the "beautiful game" seems to have changed almost beyond recognition - capitalist business pressures seem to have atrophied everything that was once decent about it. The footballers played and the hordes watched as though it was only a game and didn't matter - the rich thugs who go to work on the pitch today present a completely different picture! Anyone fancy going back and practising heading those leather footballs? Surely they would miss the legalised GBH and sliding about in each others phlegm and spit! The mystery itself was simple but well padded out and entertaining, and the acting abilities veered from adequately professional to woodenly amateur. I never bothered taping or buying this because it's on UK Channel 4 every few years I assume it's always been bought so regularly mainly as a laugh for hooligans by the schedulers and not just for film fans. Use the chance when they provide it to watch this enjoyable and decent film non-cynically instead.
Amusing For Dubious Reasons
The dialogue at the start of THE ARSENAL STADIUM MYSTERY had me lost: " Inside left..wing backs ... five forwards " it wasn't until the manager of the home team said " The Trojans don't play like us , they have an attacking team " that I realised the plot involved Arsenal football club . It's strange watching this movie nowadays since the game has changed so much . In 1940 all footballers were A ) White B) Spoke Queen's English C) Smoked a pipe . While all supporters A ) Engaged in cheeky banter with the ref B ) Didn't sing foul mouthed songs C ) Were members of British Equity . But it's when a Trojan team member dies that the amusement really kicks off because the man leading the murder investigation is none other that Harry Enfield's Grayson character . No seriously he is , watch an edition of HARRY ENFIELD AND CHUMS and you'll see where the idea came from . There's even a subplot involving a Swedish blond which just goes to show that Sven Goran Erickson is much older than he looks .