When I locked the front doors to the old Dawn Theatre in Hillsdale on March 29, 1982, I hoped I had remembered to do all my usher responsibilities. I was in a rush. I wanted to watch on TV the end of the Academy Awards; I wanted to see if “Chariots of Fire,” my favorite movie, would win the Oscar for Best Picture.
The movie tells the true story of two runners who prepare for and compete in the 1924 Summer Olympics. One of the runners, Eric Liddell, is a Christian who runs for the glory of God.
“ I believe that God made me for a purpose. For China [to serve as a missionary],” Liddell says to his sister, Jennie, in one scene. “ But he also made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.”
I was fortunate. I turned on the TV right before the award for Best Picture was announced.
I knew “Chariots of Fire” deserved to win, but I was unsure if it would do so. It faced tough competition, such as “Atlantic City,” “On Golden Pond,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “Reds.”
A scene in “Chariots of Fire” shows Liddell running in a race. As he draws even with the lead runner, that runner elbows Liddell, causing him to stumble on the grass and fall down. He gets up immediately, starts running again, and remarkably wins the race.
If “Chariots of Fire” was going to win, I thought, it would have to be a come-from-behind victory, too.
The 54th Academy Awards showed a clip of each nominee. I was surprised that the filmmakers of “Chariots of Fire” did not show what I thought was the best scene: the scene in which the British Olympic Committee tries to convince Liddell that he should violate his conscience by running in the 100-meter trials on Sunday, though Liddell thought it was wrong to run on Sunday.
Instead, the filmmakers showed various scenes of the movie, especially the running scenes, while Vangelis’ beautiful theme song was playing. Using this kind of clip was different and effective.
When it was announced that “Chariots of Fire” won the award for Best Picture, I was overjoyed. I might have been just as happy as Liddell was when he won the 400 meters in the 1924 Olympics, the race he ran instead of the 100 meters.
“Chariots of Fire” lost its next and last race. Many Christians, including me, thought that the movie would inspire Hollywood to make more films about Christian heroes. That failed to happen. I had continued to work at the Dawn until it closed down in December 1996. I cannot remember one movie that showed a Christian in a positive light. Apparently, Hollywood regarded “Chariots of Fire” as a fluke.
Still, the film won the hearts of many moviegoers. A lot of us had never heard of Liddell until we saw the movie.
After I saw “Chariots of Fire,” I read three books: The Flying Scotsman, a biography about Liddell; The Disciplines of the Christian Life, by Liddell; and Chariots of Fire: A True Story. These books are still in my library.
I also had the privilege of working at the Dawn when we showed “Chariots of Fire.” I was grateful to the manager when she gave me the movie’s poster.
The night “Chariots of Fire” won the Oscar for Best Picture will remain one of the happiest moments in my life.
