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.
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
