The Running Man (1963)

Excellent but underrated film

best movie i've ever seen.

A Masterpiece!

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Watchable but somehow unmemorable suspense thriller from a major British director. The plot, cleverly written by John Mortimer, has some quite subtle twists and turns; the acting good. Laurence Harvey as a dislikeable insurance fraudster, Lee Merick is particularly fetchi9ng as his increasingly uncertain wife, Alan Bates gives his usual sensitive performance as investigator who might be on to them, all convince. But Carol Reed (director of such classics as The third Man, Odd Man Out, Oliver) never manages to give it quite enough urgency or edge. It all comes across as something of a pot-boiler in his career. The scenery in Spain and Gibraltar is atmospheric, but it's one of those films that relies just a bit too heavily on pleasing sunny locations.

This was shown recently on Channel 4.I always liked Lee Remick so i thought that i would give it a go.What a clinker.A ridiculous script full of coincidences and perhaps one of the worst performances ever by a leading man in a British film by Laurence Harvey.Just listen to his supposed Aussie accent when he is impersonating the sheep farmer.It goes from oz to Mayfair and back again in a trice.He looks like he has just come out of an ad for suntan lotion.He obviously fancied himself!Alan Bates turns up in Malaga.Why most people at the time had never heard of the place let alone been there.I would suggest that you give this one a miss.

A bitter airline pilot fakes his own death and gets his wife to collect the money. They escape to sunny Europe after committing a perfect crime. But, of course, there's always the dogged investigator to make things difficult. This movie is a good afternoon's diversion. It's bright, flashy and pacey. With John Mortimer writing and Carol Reed directing, it has a certain touch of class. It's not an A list movie by any means, but a quick look in any reference book will tell you that it's well respected. Good performances, bright locations and a decent pace make this well worth a look.

About as bad as any British movie can ever get -- and that's saying something -- 'The Running Man' is a 1933 opus with the wrong production date attached.Formulaic, pedestrian, and so Britishly twee, it's also notable for the screen's first display of acute anorexia (when Harvey strips off to go swimming in the sea.)But there is a reason to go to the trouble of seeing this movie, and it's this: 'The Running Man' is a perfect illustration of why the vogue for attributing everything in a movie to the director is, was, and always will be fallacious (blame the French: they're responsible for starting it all).Reed demonstrated his brilliance -- or so we are led to believe -- with The Third Man. Here, he demonstrates what an utter klutz he could be behind the camera.The fact is, when you have a superb Director of Photography, brilliant script, Grade A actors and a wonderful music score (as in The Third Man) then chances are, the film will a success.When you have none of that, and only the director to fall back on, chances are the film will be 'The Running Man'.Another IMDb entry meriting minus 10 out of 10, but for scoring purposes, an overly generous. . . 1.