 Producer David Puttnam (qv) was looking for a story in the mold of  _Man for All Seasons, A (1966)_ (qv), regarding someone who follows  their conscience; he felt sports provided clear situations in this  sense, and happened upon the story by accident while thumbing  through an Olympic reference book in a rented house in Los Angeles.  Screenwriter Colin Welland (qv) took out advertisements in London  newspapers seeking memories of the 1924 Olympics. Many athletes were  still living, and Aubrey Montagues son sent him copies of the  letters his father had sent home 