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    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1960s
    Movies - 1960s Movies - L 2 Mins Read

    Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, The (1962)

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    A rebellious youth, sentenced to Ruxton Towers, a boy’s reformatory, for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution through his prowess as a long distance runner.

    During his solitary runs, reveries of his life and times before his incarceration lead him to re-evaluate his privileged status as the Governor’s prize runner.

    longdistancerunner

    There are great performances by Tom Courtenay (pictured at right) and James Bolam as the two borstal boys.

    Colin (Courtenay in his debut performance) is an embittered delinquent with nihilistically rejects everything around him, much like Arthur Seaton in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1961).

    The story of Colin’s refusal to fit into the pattern of ‘model prisoner’ or ‘consumer’ is well conveyed by director Tony Richardson and the scenes which follow Colin’s runs through the woods are beautifully shot.

    While the film represents class through the use of stereotypes (such as the ‘progressive’ prison governor and the patronising employer) it remains as powerful and relevant today as it ever was.

    Colin Smith
    Tom Courtenay
    Mrs Smith 

    Avis Bunnage
    Gordon 

    Raymond Dyer
    Governor 

    Michael Redgrave
    Housemaster (Brown) 

    Alec McCowen
    Mike 

    James Bolam
    Roach 

    Joe Robinson
    Audrey 

    Topsy Jane
    Gladys 

    Julia Foster
    Green 

    John Brooking
    Ronalds 

    John Bull
    Mr Jones 

    James Cairncross
    Detective 

    Dervis Ward
    Doctor 

    Peter Duguid
    Gunthorpe 

    James Fox
    Johnny Smith 

    William Ash Hammond
    Scott 

    Peter Kriss
    Mr Smith 

    Peter Madden
    Stacy 

    Philip Martin
    Craig 

    Arthur Mullard
    Bill Smith 

    Christopher Parker
    Fenton 

    Anthony Sagar
    Bosworth 

    John Thaw
    Tory Politician 

    Robert Percival

    Director 
    Tony Richardson

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