Ron "Cat" Catlan once led the New Orleans Saints to a championship. After fifteen years in pro football, he tries to compensate for his failing skills with booze and an extramarital affair. Friend and teammate Richie Fowler offers Cat a job with his auto-leasing company, and a management position in the computer industry is also on the table, but Catlan hesitates, insisting he can still lead the squad to future glory. The associate with the computer firm warns him not to put off making a decision: "There are a lot of kids coming out of college, Cat, and they're smart kids. A year from now, I might not be able to offer you a job driving the company truck." Things are no better at home for Catlan: his long-suffering wife, Julie, threatens to leave him after too many booze-fueled outrages and late nights with other women. She begins to drift away into her own life, leading Cat to an abortive affair with Ann. Cat finally begs Julie to stay, saying everything will be alright after he leads the Saints to another title. In the end, though, Catlan is crushed in a violent sack by a Dallas Cowboys player, seemingly ending his football career. Julie can be seen leaving the stadium, apparently unconcerned with her husband's condition.
Filming
Despite having All-Pro signal-caller Billy Kilmer as an instructor, Charlton Heston did not make a very convincing pro quarterback. "I marveled at how skinny he was in a Saints uniform", said local DJ Bob Walker, who was an extra in the movie. "It hung on him like a cheap suit three sizestoo big. When the cameras weren't rolling we watched him try to throw some passes. His receiver was 10-20 yards away and his alleged passes didn't come close." Joe Wendryhoski, who basically played himself in the film as the Saints center, called Heston "a great guy, very sociable" who unfortunately "didn't have an athletic bone in his body. As a quarterback, he left a lot to be desired." In the final scene when Catlan is crushed by the Dallas defense, neither Heston nor the producer felt the hit on him was realistic enough, so Heston asked them to cut loose to really make it look authentic. On the second take, the trio slammed the actor to the ground, breaking three of his ribs.
Reaction
Number One was a commercial failure, but critical reaction was mixed. The film, and particularly Heston's performance, did earn a rave review from Howard Thompson of The New York Times, who called the "consistently engrossing" film, "...a succinct, stinging and often strong gridiron drama...." Thompson described Heston's performance as "a brooding, scorching and beautifully disciplined tour de force for the actor....If Heston could have been better, we don't know how."
Production
Plans for the film were announced in 1966 to be made by the same team as The War Lover. The National Football League permitted the New Orleans Saints' name and jerseys to be used, as opposed to many football films featuring professional teams with fictional names. A championship in the team's past is alluded to, but likely would not have been a Super Bowl, since the film was shot in 1968 and the NFL's title game did not become the Super Bowl until 1971.. Number One had never been issued on DVD for many years, but old copies on VHS existed. On November 12, 2015 however, MGM released the film on DVD for the first time.
