‘HALLOWED GROUND’ SLY CHARMER FROM BRITAIN

A fine, endearing sense of British fair play lights up “Arthur’s Hallowed Ground” (at the Beverly Center Cineplex) and brings dimension to what is essentially a slight, gently humorous vignette.

Arthur (Jimmy Jewel) is 70ish, a crusty old boy, and his “hallowed ground” is a cricket field he has tended for 45 years. This film is the fourth in producer David Puttnam’s “First Love” series--and clearly that piece of land is Arthur’s first and enduring passion, something that Arthur’s sensible, patient wife (Jean Boht) has learned to accept long ago.

After so many years dedicated to maintaining the field at a level of perfection, Arthur has long since come to think of it as his ground. Even the club’s directors tread on it with great peril. But not all of them, especially a newcomer (Michael Elphick), an aggressive building contractor, are so enchanted with either the stubborn Arthur or his field.

Not unreasonably, Elphick maintains that the club’s board should be concerned with providing more comfortable facilities for the spectators. Arthur, however, stands for values higher than mere profits, and the board of directors’ compassionate president (David Swift) defends and protects him against increasingly difficult odds.

Indeed, if Arthur weren’t so funny in his hardheadedness he’d be pretty unsympathetic, even though we discover that he’s capable of decency through the relationship that develops between him and his new assistant. His young helpers have never survived his exacting demands, but his latest (Vas Blackwood), a black youth, seems determined to hang in--he’s bright, and also, no doubt, can’t afford to lose the job. He begins to earn Arthur’s seldom-given respect, and as a result, starts to acquire Arthur’s techniques and values.

As ingratiating as “Arthur’s Hallowed Ground” is, it runs on a bit, even with its brief 74 minutes. One wishes that writer Peter Gibbs had squarely confronted Arthur with the question: What does it matter if your turf is perfect but the club goes under, most likely to be succeeded by 100 or more of Elphick’s houses, “all bunched up, side by side?”

But Jimmy Jewel and “Arthur’s Hallowed Ground” (Times-rated Family) are both sly charmers, and the film marks a delightful directorial debut at the age of 80 for Freddie Young, one of the movies’ most distinguished cinematographers, a three-time Oscar winner for three films--”Lawrence of Arabia,” “Dr. Zhivago” and “Ryan’s Daughter.”

‘ARTHUR’S HALLOWED GROUND’

A Cinecom International release. Executive producer David Puttnam. Producer Chris Griffin. Director Freddie Young. Screenplay Peter Gibbs. “First Love” series script editor Jack Rosenthal. Camera Chick Antsiss. Associate producer David Bill. Costumes Tudor George. Film editor Chris Risdale. With Jimmy Jewel, Jean Boht, David Swift, Michael Elphick, Derek Benfield, Vas Blackwood, John Flanagan, Bernard Gallagher, Sam Kelly, Al Ashton, Mark Drewry.

Running time: 1 hour, 14 minutes.

Times-rated: Family.