Coping poorly with the death of his father and the disruptive mood it creates around the house when his mother takes up with her lover before the old man has even reached room temperature Colin Smith chooses to rebel rather than take up the offer of the same job that hastened dad's early demise. Along with a mate he robs a bakery after hours but the two prove to be inept crooks and he is quickly brought to justice and sent off to Ruxton Towers, a reformatory. The warden or Governor (Michael Redgrave) as he's called lives by the credo of "You play ball with us and we'll play ball with you" and when he sees that Colin has natural athletic abilities as a runner he begins to give him privileges. On the day of Ruxton's big race against a private school all hopes are pinned on Smith. The question is what will he do with the ball now that he has as he puts it "the whip hand".
Runner should be viewed in two phases. Once before turning twenty -one and the other after forty. As a teen I admired and applauded Colin's defiance, as an adult faced with responsibilities I wanted to whack him on the back of the head and say "wise up". Either way the film remains one of the best examples of the British kitchen sink form from the angry young man era with Tom Courtnay as Colin giving a standout performance. Bereft of movie star looks Courtnay's snare and curt responses speaks volumes to the hypocrisy that's heaped on him as he refuses to give an inch to a system that he sees as wanting to chew him up.
Tony Richardson's direction is well paced and audacious as he throws in a little slapstick to liven up the glum setting of row house existence as well as deliver some devastating flashback imagery that haunts Colin's jaunts of bucolic freedom. Redgrave's Governor is a perfect symbol of well bred authority that motivates Colin and gives rational to his actions.
As we age we better understand that if you are going to get along you've got to go along. As our mountain of idealized principle in our youth erodes to a grassy knoll through life's experience and realities we see Colin as a victim of his age as well as his environment. Frustrated as I may be at this age with this "failure to communicate" , a grudging respect remains however for Colin's attempt to be true to himself which Richardson powerfully sums up in the films climax.
Runner should be viewed in two phases. Once before turning twenty -one and the other after forty. As a teen I admired and applauded Colin's defiance, as an adult faced with responsibilities I wanted to whack him on the back of the head and say "wise up". Either way the film remains one of the best examples of the British kitchen sink form from the angry young man era with Tom Courtnay as Colin giving a standout performance. Bereft of movie star looks Courtnay's snare and curt responses speaks volumes to the hypocrisy that's heaped on him as he refuses to give an inch to a system that he sees as wanting to chew him up.
Tony Richardson's direction is well paced and audacious as he throws in a little slapstick to liven up the glum setting of row house existence as well as deliver some devastating flashback imagery that haunts Colin's jaunts of bucolic freedom. Redgrave's Governor is a perfect symbol of well bred authority that motivates Colin and gives rational to his actions.
As we age we better understand that if you are going to get along you've got to go along. As our mountain of idealized principle in our youth erodes to a grassy knoll through life's experience and realities we see Colin as a victim of his age as well as his environment. Frustrated as I may be at this age with this "failure to communicate" , a grudging respect remains however for Colin's attempt to be true to himself which Richardson powerfully sums up in the films climax.