Using newsreel footage, this Sportscope entry chronicles the race toward running's four-minute mile, highlighting several important contests. It starts in the 1920's, when Finland's Paavo Nurmi set the record for the distance at 4 minutes 10.4 seconds. It continues through Roger Bannister's first run under 4 minutes in 1954, and ends in spring 1956, when Australia's Joe Bailey became the first to break 4 minutes on US soil.
Harry Wismer
Narrator
Paavo Nurmi
Himself (archive footage)
Harry Wismer
Narrator (voice)
Fiorello LaGuardia
Himself (archive footage)
Arne Andersson
Himself (archive footage)
Jules Ladoumegue
Himself (archive footage)
Bill Bonthron
Himself (archive footage)
John Lovelock
Himself (archive footage)
Glenn Cunningham
Himself (archive footage)
Gene Venzke
Himself (archive footage)
Sidney Wooderson
Himself (archive footage)
Gunder Hägg
Himself (archive footage)
