He Ran All the Way

Last updated
He Ran All the Way
He Ran All the Way poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Berry
Screenplay by Hugo Butler
Dalton Trumbo
Based onHe Ran All the Way
1947 novel
by Sam Ross
Produced byBob Roberts
Starring John Garfield
Shelley Winters
Wallace Ford
Selena Royle
Bobby Hyatt
Cinematography James Wong Howe
Edited by Francis D. Lyon
Music by Franz Waxman
Production
company
Roberts Pictures
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • June 19, 1951 (1951-06-19)(United States)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1 million [1]

He Ran All the Way is a 1951 American crime drama and film noir directed by John Berry and starring John Garfield and Shelley Winters. [2] Distributed by United Artists, it was produced independently by Roberts Pictures, a company named for Garfield's manager and business partner, Bob Roberts, and bankrolled by Garfield. [3]

Contents

The film was Garfield's last. He was "greylisted" following accusations of his involvement with the Communist Party USA. Testifying before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (aka HUAC), he repudiated communism, denied party membership, and claimed that he did not know any members of the Communist Party during his entire time in Hollywood, "because I was not a party member or associated in any shape, way, or form." [3] [4] He testified on April 23, 1951, just two months before He Ran All the Way was scheduled to open, on June 19. Garfield died less than a year later, on May 21, 1952, at age 39.

Dalton Trumbo had signed to write the screen adaptation of Sam Ross's novel just weeks from starting the jail term resulting from his own testimony to HUAC, in 1947. According to Trumbo's son, Christopher, Guy Endore did some revisions to Trumbo's script, as did director Berry. In a 1997 letter to the Writers Guild of America West, which was determining the restoration of credits to blacklisted members, Trumbo's widow Cleo stated that their friend and fellow writer Hugo Butler had been asked by Trumbo to ensure that the script not be altered while he was incarcerated, and Butler restored much of the original material, adding some of his own. [3] The film opened in June 1951, the screenplay credited to Endore and Butler, and John Berry credited as the director. [5] [6] Just prior to the premiere, Berry and Butler were subpoenaed by HUAC, and producer Bob Roberts removed their names from advertising, first in the trade press, and then in the general press as the film circulated. [7] [8]

Trumbo was paid $5,000 and five percent of the producers' profits on condition that the picture would cost no more than $400,000, with the possibility that it might cost $100,000 less than that, but he complained to Roberts that the costs had grown to about $650,000, adding, "and that came right out of my pocket." [3] Variety reviewer "Bron." observed, "Production budget seems limited to insure safe returns," and predicted, "pic should do biz." [5] At the end of the year, the trade paper estimated that He Ran All the Way would gross $1 million in the domestic market (i.e., USA and Canada), its threshold for reporting the "top grossers" of the year. [9] Less than a month after Garfield's death in May 1952, United Artists announced it would rerelease the title, among three others, in summer of that year. [10]

Plot

Petty thief Nick Robey botches a robbery, shooting and killing a policeman, and leaving his partner Al severely wounded. Nick escapes with over $10,000 and goes to a local swimming pool. At the pool, he meets bakery worker Peg Dobbs, and accompanies her home to her family's apartment. Peg's mother, father and young brother leave to see a movie. When they return, Robey takes the family hostage until he can escape.

As a manhunt for Nick begins outside, he becomes increasingly paranoid. Peg's initial attraction to Nick is replaced by fear. Her mother and father plead with Nick to leave, to no avail. Nick permits Mr. Dobbs to leave for work, warning him of the consequences should the police be contacted. Peg continues to go to work. Her father tells her to stay away, but she returns later that night. Peg phones Nick's mother, asking her to meet Nick to give her some money, but she refuses. Peg agrees to go away with Nick and he gives her $1,500 to buy a new car.

The next day, Nick gets into a confrontation with Mr. Dobbs, but lets him leave when Peg returns. Poisoned by Dobbs' insistence that Peg will not buy the car, Nick refuses to believe Peg who insists that the car will be delivered to the front door because the headlights needed repair. As he leaves, Dobbs meets Mrs. Dobbs and tells her to take their son and not return and they go to the police. In the meantime, Nick notices how quiet the neighbourhood is and is scared that the police are outside. Nick violently takes Peg down the stairs toward the exit, terrifying her. Mr. Dobbs, who had been waiting outside, shoots at Nick when they reach the door. When Nick's gun drops beyond his reach and he orders Peg to hand it to him, she shoots him instead. A mortally wounded Nick crawls outside to the curb, in time to see his new car arrive. The police arrive shortly after Nick is dead.

Cast

Reception

When the film was released, New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther praised Garfield's work, writing:

John Garfield's stark performance of the fugitive who desperately contrives to save himself briefly from capture is full of startling glints from start to end. He makes a most odd and troubled creature, unused to the normal flow of life, unable to perceive the moral standards of decent people or the tentative advance of a good girl's love. And in Mr. Garfield's performance, vis-a-vis the rest of the cast, is conveyed a small measure of the irony and the pity that was in the book. [6]

Variety called the film "a taut gangster pic," adding, "Good production values keep a routine yarn fresh and appealing. Film is scripted, played and directed all the way with little waste motion, so that the suspense is steady and interest constantly sustained." Reviewer "Bron." commended both Garfield's and Winters's performances, as well as an "unusually good" supporting cast, and, among other personnel, singled out composer Franz Waxman ("Pull of pic is further hyped by a strong music score...") and director of photography James Wong Howe, for "some markedly effective camera shots...." [5]

More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz has also written positively of Garfield's performance:

He Ran All the Way was the last film made by the brilliant John Garfield ... Garfield gives a terrific chilling performance as someone who is less like a cold-blooded killer than someone who has been rejected all his life by family and the outside world, and like a wounded animal goes on the run as a desperate man in search of someone to trust in this cold world. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalton Trumbo</span> American screenwriter (1905–1976)

James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including Roman Holiday (1953), Exodus, Spartacus, and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944). One of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee's investigation of alleged Communist influences in the motion picture industry.

<i>Roman Holiday</i> 1953 American romantic comedy by William Wyler

Roman Holiday is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance; the story and costume design also won.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Garfield</span> American actor (1913–1952)

John Garfield was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of the Group Theatre. In 1937, he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner Bros.' stars. He received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Four Daughters (1938) and Body and Soul (1947).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Dmytryk</span> American film director (1908–1999)

Edward Dmytryk was a Canadian-born American film director and editor. He was known for his 1940s noir films and received an Oscar nomination for Best Director for Crossfire (1947). In 1947, he was named as one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who refused to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in their investigations during the McCarthy-era Red Scare. They all served time in prison for contempt of Congress. In 1951, however, Dmytryk testified to the HUAC and named individuals, including Arnold Manoff, whose careers were then destroyed for many years, to rehabilitate his own career. First hired again by independent producer Stanley Kramer in 1952, Dmytryk is likely best known for directing The Caine Mutiny (1954), a critical and commercial success. The second-highest-grossing film of the year, it was nominated for Best Picture and several other awards at the 1955 Oscars. Dmytryk was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.

<i>Body and Soul</i> (1947 film) 1947 film noir directed by Robert Rossen

Body and Soul is a 1947 American film noir sports drama directed by Robert Rossen and starring John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks, Anne Revere, and William Conrad. The screenplay by Abraham Polonsky is partly based on the 1939 film Golden Boy. With cinematography by James Wong Howe, the film is considered by some to be one of the best films about boxing. It is also a cautionary tale about the lure of money—and how it can derail even a strong common man in his pursuit of success. The film uses the song Body and Soul for the main musical theme and underscoring throughout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Committee for the First Amendment</span> Action group formed in September 1947

The Committee for the First Amendment was an action group formed in September 1947 by actors in support of the Hollywood Ten during the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). It was founded by screenwriter Philip Dunne, actress Myrna Loy, and film directors John Huston and William Wyler.

<i>The Captains Paradise</i> 1953 film by Anthony Kimmins

The Captain's Paradise is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Anthony Kimmins, and starring Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo and Celia Johnson. Guinness plays the captain of a passenger ship that travels regularly between Gibraltar and Spanish Morocco. De Carlo plays his Moroccan wife and Johnson plays his British wife. The film begins at just before the end of the story, which is then told in a series of flashbacks.

<i>The Prowler</i> (1951 film) 1951 American film noir thriller film by Joseph Losey

The Prowler is a 1951 American film noir thriller film directed by Joseph Losey that stars Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes. The film was produced by Sam Spiegel and was written by Dalton Trumbo. Because Trumbo was blacklisted at the time, the screenplay was credited to his friend, screenwriter Hugo Butler, as a front.

<i>Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties</i> 2006 film directed by Tim Hill

Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Tim Hill and written by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. It is the sequel to the 2004 film Garfield: The Movie. The film stars Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt reprising their roles as Jon Arbuckle and Dr. Liz Wilson respectively, and Bill Murray reprising his role as the voice of Garfield. New cast members include Billy Connolly, Ian Abercrombie, Roger Rees, Lucy Davis and Oliver Muirhead in live-action roles and Tim Curry, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Vinnie Jones, Joe Pasquale, Richard E. Grant, and Jane Leeves as the voices of the film's new animal characters. In the film, Garfield, Odie, Liz and Jon travel to the United Kingdom, where Prince, another cat that looks exactly like Garfield, is ruling over a castle after the death of his owner. His reign is soon jeopardized by an evil aristocrat, who plans to remodel the castle into condominiums, destroy the estate, and get rid of Prince.

<i>Tender Comrade</i> 1943 film by Edward Dmytryk

Tender Comrade is a 1943 black-and-white film released by RKO Radio Pictures, showing women on the home front living communally while their husbands are away at war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Brocco</span> American actor (1903–1992)

Carl Peter Brocco was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 credits, notably Spartacus (1960) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), during his career spanning over 60 years.

<i>The Postman Always Rings Twice</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Tay Garnett

The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1946 American film noir directed by Tay Garnett and starring Lana Turner, John Garfield, and Cecil Kellaway. It is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by James M. Cain. This adaptation of the novel also features Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames and Audrey Totter. The musical score was written by George Bassman and Erich Zeisl.

<i>Death Sentence</i> (2007 film) 2007 film by James Wan

Death Sentence is a 2007 American vigilante action thriller film directed by James Wan and starring Kevin Bacon as Nick Hume, a man who takes the law into his own hands after his son is murdered by a gang member as an initiation ritual; Hume must then protect his family from the gang's resulting vengeance. The film is loosely based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Brian Garfield; although the novel is a sequel to Garfield's Death Wish, the film is unconnected to the previous Death Wish film series.

John Berry was an American film director, who went into exile in France when his career was interrupted by the Hollywood blacklist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood blacklist</span> Mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from US entertainment

The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War, in Hollywood and elsewhere. Actors, screenwriters, directors, musicians, and other American entertainment professionals were barred from work by the studios.

<i>Mutiny</i> (1952 film) 1952 film by Edward Dmytryk

Mutiny is a 1952 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Mark Stevens, Angela Lansbury and Patric Knowles. The picture was produced by the King Brothers Productions and based on a story by Hollister Noble; the two parties had previously collaborated on Drums in the Deep South.

<i>Tomorrow Is Another Day</i> (1951 American film) 1951 film by Felix E. Feist

Tomorrow Is Another Day is a 1951 crime drama film noir directed by Felix E. Feist and starring Ruth Roman and Steve Cochran. An ex-convict who thinks he killed a man goes into hiding with a woman whose boyfriend is the man he supposedly killed.

<i>Trumbo</i> (2015 film) 2015 film directed by Jay Roach

Trumbo is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Jay Roach and written by John McNamara. The film stars Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg as Edward G. Robinson, Dean O'Gorman as Kirk Douglas, and David James Elliott as John Wayne. The film follows the life of Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, and is based on the 1977 biography Dalton Trumbo by Bruce Alexander Cook.

<i>Noelle</i> (2019 film) 2019 film by Marc Lawrence

Noelle is a 2019 American Christmas fantasy comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film stars Anna Kendrick as Noelle Kringle, the daughter of Kris Kringle. It also stars Bill Hader, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Billy Eichner, Julie Hagerty, and Shirley MacLaine. In the film, when Noelle's brother Nick is stressed from all the pressure of taking over for their father, he leaves and does not return. She must find her brother and bring him back in time for Christmas. It was filmed from October 2017 to January 2018 in British Columbia and Woodstock, Georgia.

Edward Huebsch, AKA "Eddie Huebsch" and "Ed Huebsch," (1914-1982) was a 20th-century American Communist screenwriter whose career was cut short by the Hollywood blacklist.

References

  1. ↑ "The Top Box Office Hits of 1951". Variety. January 2, 1952. p. 70. - Please note figures are for the US and Canada and are rentals not gross
  2. ↑ He Ran All the Way at the TCM Movie Database.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ceplair, Larry; Trumbo, Christopher (2015). Dalton Trumbo: Blacklisted Hollywood Radical. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 250–51. ISBN   978-0-8131-4680-5.
  4. ↑ McGrath, Patrick J. (1993). John Garfield: The Illustrated Career in Films and on Stage. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 156. ISBN   978-0-7864-2848-9.
  5. 1 2 3 Bron. (June 6, 1951). "He Ran All the Way". Variety. p. 6.
  6. 1 2 Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times , film review, June 21, 1951. Accessed: July 16, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Inside Stuff—Pictures". Variety. Jun 20, 1951. p. 16.
  8. ↑ Advertisement, He Ran All the Way. Toronto Daily Star. August 15, 1951. p. 29.
  9. ↑ "Top Grossers of 1951". Variety. January 2, 1952. p. 70.
  10. ↑ "Reissues Making Strong Comeback; 20th Has 6 Slated, UA Releasing 4". Variety. June 11, 1952. p. 7.
  11. ↑ Schwartz, Dennis Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine . Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, December 16, 2004. Accessed: July 16, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.