The Keeper

A look at how a German POW and a young English woman overcame prejudice, personal tragedy and public hostility as World War II came to an end.

While visiting a PoW camp near Manchester at the end of WWII, Margaret and her father, the manager of the local football team, notice a young German soldier Bert Trautmann. Margaret’s father is so taken by Bert’s prowess as a goal-keeper that he gets him out of the camp to play for his team. While Margaret’s and Bert’s love slowly blossoms despite local hostility, Bert’s heroics in goal are noticed by Man City. Rather than going back to Germany, Bert marries Margaret and signs for Man City. His signing causes outrage to thousands of Man City fans, many of them Jewish. But Bert and Margaret receive support from an unexpected direction: Rabbi Alexander Altmann, a Man City supporter who fled the Nazis. Thus Bert’s path to acceptance begins. At the 1956 FA Cup Final he achieves ultimate reconciliation, when he secures victory for Man City by playing on despite breaking his neck. Yet fate twists the knife for both Margaret and Bert and their loyalty to each other will be put to the test once more.

Critic Reviews:

• " A delightful slab of Hovis-commercial filmmaking that efficiently orders the vital elements in Trautmann's story. " – Donald Clarke

• " A solidly built, if hardly world-changing, drama about a story that really is quite remarkable. " – Mark Kermode

• " The Keeper is an engaging and warm journey through the career of one of football's finest " – Tom Beasley