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f i l m Spotlight June 1997 The Running Man Produced and directed by Carol Reed, starring Laurence Harvey, Alan Bates and Lee Remick. Screenplay by John Mortimer, based on the novel Ballad of the Running Man by Shelley Smith. In Panavision, and, as the press book says, "breathtaking COLOR." Filmed in England, France, Gibralter and Malaga. 1963, 103 minutes. From the Columbia press book (© 1963, Columbia Pictures Corporation): "By successfully faking his death in a glider crash at sea, Rex and Stella Black defraud an insurance company of £50,000. Changing his appearance and using a stolen passport, Rex waits in Spain for Stella to join him, as a casual 'friend.' Together again, Stella's distaste for Rex's new personality is heightened by the knowledge he intends to repeat the fraud scheme; the arrival of Stephen, a young insurance agent who recognizes Stella and is attracted to her, frightens the girl and worries Rex. Stephen catches Stella in his hotel room, looking for evidence he is aware of the fraud, and she pretends she is there to make love to him. Next morning, Rex and Stella hurriedly drive off, but Stephen gives chase. Rex sends Stephen's car hurtling off the mountain road. Completely distraught, Stella desperately tries to escape from Rex who, by now, is prepared to kill her too." Excerpts of the Bates bio from the press book: "Alan Bates ... is one of the top figures in the 'angry young man' school of acting which has injected new life and vigor into the British theatre. In 'The Running Man,' Bates plays a young insurange agent with a deep interest in lovely Lee Remick and a considerable curiosity in her relationship with Harvey, with whom she is travelling about Spain. "Brought up in the school of realism developed at London's Royal Court Theatre, Bates did not move far from his initial training with his three film performances in The Entertainer, Whistle Down the Wind and A Kind of Loving. His stage roles in Look Back in Anger and The Caretaker solidified his position in this select group of serious young men. Bates, however, regards the 'angry' movement as grossly exaggerated and maintains that he, at least, is rarely angered by anything. "Bates was still at grammar school when he announced (at the wise old age of 11) that he would like to be an actor. To his surprise, his parents at once enrolled him with a Shakespearean acting group. He was later allowed to leave school a year early to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1954, Bates joined the Royal Air Force for two years, after which he made his London stage debut. A Kind of Loving established him as a film actor of great strength and potential." This classic film holds up well. Harvey is worldly and evil; Bates, 28, is fresh, handsome and innocent as Harvey's unwitting nemesis. The sunny Spain and Gibralter locations make good escape viewing, and there's a harrowing chase scene. The Running Man doesn't seem to be available on video -- if you think you've found it, be prepared to discover that you have the 80's Schwarzenegger film of the same name. Alan told me once that for years he felt this was just the kind of commercial film he didn't want to make, and wasn't pleased with it. But decades later he chanced upon it on television, and was pleasantly surprised: "I quite liked it!" Watch for it on cable, or contact the Bates Archive. |||

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