The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) User Reviews

Between the 50s and 60s...

[Quag7 · 8/10 · 1 March 2002]

I caught this film late at night on cable, and it is the first movie I've seen with Tom Courtenay in it, who is excellent (Either by coincidence or design, King Rat was on only a few nights later).

I'd never heard of this film before, but I was immediately transfixed by its look; something here is remarkable about the way black and white is used to further the overall feel and design of the film.

Having never been to the UK, I don't have a really good sense of how time passes there; to an American, England appears to age barely at all as seen through the cinema. But the themes here and the use of silence and the overall look of the film convey a society in the midst of change; as much as there is here that reminds one of the 1950s, there is an overwhelming 60s theme here about conformity and authority and society which is inescapable. I found myself cheering a bit at the end in the same way I cheered for Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke; here, as in that film, is the story of an individual who refused to be "broken."

I'd definitely rate this film as a key 1960s film, black and white, and yet thoroughly modern and not at all dated. A lot of care was put into this film from the performances to the camerawork, and while it is not something that would keep you on the edge of your seat, it is certainly a compelling story, compellingly told.

The Loveliness of the Black & White Cinema

[givnaw · 8/10 · 2 October 2002]

Rambling thoughts: A very good movie, really capturing the sense of futility of lower class British existence. The desolate beauty of gray, cold and damp England comes through in wonderful ranges of color; despite being a black and white film, there is a huge variety of tone in the photography. You can almost smell the wet leaves of the forests and hills, and feel the cold of the morning air as you follow the runners on their daily jogs. England's rich heritage of distance running makes it an apt subject. Distance running, which I do enjoy myself, is primarily a solitary activity, designed for bona-fide introverts, "angry young men", obsessive individuals who do not mind pain, and in some cases, may actually enjoy it. England, with its crummy weather, economy, history and hugely varied terrain, is particularly well-suited to the sport. Courtenay is a treasure; we are so fortunate to still have him around. It is a wonder to gaze upon his youthful gauntness, and then to see how his appearance has evolved over the years. Really sharp viewers will be able to spot a very young Inspector Morse, John Thaw, as one of the young inmates.

Probably Richardson's finest film.

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 15 December 2018]

A difficult one for me this. Back in the day when I saw it in the cinema, I was the same sort of age as the lads depicted and recognised the angst, anger and frustration depicted. in comparison to what is depicted I was privileged but even my grammar school had practices to be compared to those of a borstal and the bullying was rife. The other thing was I was also into cross country running. i didn't like doing it but it got me out of the school, I was good at it and the teacher enjoyed my successes. So a bit of a personal one but nothing can take away from the performance Courtney gives and it is clear that there is a seething revolutionary waiting to get out. The scenes on their trip to Skegness when we actually see the wondrous sand dunes and beach of Camber Sands are great and the young love well presented. Probably Richardson's finest film.

A compelling attack on "the system"

[rmears1 · 27 June 2001]

A powerful and absorbing commentary on the plight of poor adolescents in working-class British society. The story is told through flashbacks, as a reform school delinquent recalls his troubled home life and the events that drove him to become what he is.

Colin (Tom Courtenay), the rebellious young man, embodies the depths to which one can sink as a result of poverty. When his father dies, he is forced to become the figure of stability in the lives of his abrasive mother and all his siblings. The incessant desire for money, instilled in him by his mother, drives him to rob a bakery. This lands him in reform school, where his aptitude as a long distance runner catches the eye of the school's progressive governor (Michael Redgrave). The governor has resolved that his students must defeat the local public school in a race, and puts Colin in training to represent them.

Running provides Colin with an opportunity to escape his problems, vent his aggressions, and consider his prospects. The governor takes a liking in him and begins giving him special privileges. He is forced to decide if he should continue with his defiant behavior, or instead play by the rules.

Redgrave wisely plays the governor not as a stereotypical prison warden, but as a fair and rational man driven to win. Courtenay's performance is nothing short of brilliant. He captures all the agony of an individual forced to mature before his time, molded by a society which has no use for his kind. Do any of the inmates in the school really reform, or do they all just `play the game' until they are released? This is among the many pertinent questions raised by this key film of its time.

Superb 60's drama. Every scene is Courtney's

[g-hbe · 9/10 · 22 September 2006]

"Where the bloody hell have *you* been?" I'm sure this phrase appears in every black & white British 'kitchen sink' film of the time, usually asked by the exhausted mother or father of their wayward son. Colin Smith is a lad who is on the verge of becoming uncontrollable. Low-level crime and an aversion to authority make him every mother's nightmare. When his father dies and his mother takes up with a slimy fancy-man, Colin gets even worse and rebels. When he is convicted of burglary he is sent to Borstal and expected to bow down to the harsh routine, but his talent for running is spotted by the governor and he is encouraged to train for the inter-school Cup against the local 'posh' school. Will Colin do his duty? The film takes the unusual (for its time) structure of long flashbacks to Colin's home life while he is training. This is very effective and puts life into what could have been a rather dull film. There is one joyous scene in which Colin is first allowed out of the borstal gates to train - the sun is shining, we can almost smell the cool, fresh air and the soundtrack bursts into some glorious jazz trumpet. It's such an uplifting tune and so typical of its period that this film would be worth the price of the DVD just for this moment. Despite the depressing theme and grimy visuals, this film - made at the height of the 'gritty British drama' period of the 60's - is a delight.

Looking on with a lot of anger.

[whisperingtree · 9/10 · 9 July 2000]

The rise of the 'angry young man' in British cinema took an interesting twist in this gritty drama. Set initially in Nottingham, Smith and his mate played by a very young James Bolam are nicked for petty theft. Sent to a borstal his athletic prowess is seized on by the Head to be mobilised in the name of the institution. Michael Redgrave's superb creation combines the stiff Britishness with a surpressed and unfulfillable desire to reform and change. This opposition creates a man at odds with his position. On the one hands he trusts and on the other he is petty and weak. Courtney's runner defines the struggle of the period between the decaying class system and the consumer led rise of the working class. His desire to run his own race, to lose because he won't win to justify Redgrave's ideology portrays that essentially English state of mind that it is better to fail than to succeed as long as you have chosen to fail. A wonderful film.

Whew!

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 12 March 2012]

There were a whole spate of British movies in the early 60s that introduced us to the shabbier side of everyday life among the wreckage of the Industrial Revolution. They launched the careers of a number of actors and directors -- Albert Finney, Richard Harris, Julie Christie, Tony Richardson, and Tom Courtenay among them.

Here, Tom Courtenay is a juvenile delinquent who lives in a crummy house with his sour puss Mom, his dying father, his noisy younger siblings, and, later, a dressed-up dude who is his Mom's guest. He can't wait to get out from under it all.

Busted for a minor crime he's sent to a reform school where the well-intentioned manager, Michael Redgrave, spots his ability as a long-distance runner and encourages him to train and to enter the contest against the local public school. Imagine -- a Borstal boy taking the cup from a team of pampered poufs! Running is hard but it suits Courtenay well, as it gives him a sense of escape from his drab and unpromising surroundings. Alas, when the big race against the Aryans who all speak with the received pronunciation arrives, he discovers that you can't run away from your background. He strikes a blow against the establishment by deliberately stopping before crossing the finish line. Michael Redgrave, who had visualized Courtenay in the Olympic games, is not pleased. In his own mind, Courtenay has struck a blow for the underprivileged working man, but only at his own expense.

These movies about the shabby lives of the working class with its small-reward system were refreshing and new at the time. It had hardly been done before with such style. They were as fascinating as some tribal ethnography of Amazon head hunters. In retrospect, a lot depends on how involving the plot was. Episodes illustrating the minor flaws, the dirty brick, the rough bonhomie, don't add up to much unless there is a narrative peg strong enough to hold their weight. This movie qualifies just barely. We don't see much running, and Courtenay's life may be unfocused and its texture abrasive, but he's not particularly lonely.

I knew a marathon runner once. Like all the others he was more than six feet tall and had the long legs of a giraffe. When he crossed the finish line he was panting and sobbing, not merely tired.

I kept thinking about the interaction between genetics and environment. Take a soul with Courtenay's inborn characteristics -- that talent for running, especially long-distance running which takes more than momentary concentration. Give him that adventurous and slightly iconoclastic spirit. Then, instead of having him born to a poor and dysfunctional family, give him to a middle-class household with a sensitive mother and a healthy father and send him to that hoity toity public school. He'd cross that finish line with a grin a mile wide and go on to be a clever lawyer.

A pointless gesture?

[jghbrown · 9/10 · 10 September 2017]

I've seen this film a few times over the years. When I was younger I could relate to Colin Smith to some extent, having spent 10 years in an authoritarian boarding school in my youth. However, I now tend to look at it with a more critical eye.

It puzzles me that Sillitoe chose to use the word "loneliness" in the title, since Smith obviously gets some pleasure and comfort from his running. I don't know the answer but perhaps the "loneliness" means "isolation" or "alienation". A barrier that simply can't be overcome.

The governor of the borstal actually strikes me as being quite a kindly man, and seems to have some genuine interest in Smith's welfare. Perhaps he feels that by showing the borstal boys that they can compete favourably with boys from more privileged backgrounds it will help to break down what they may view as an impassable (and possibly unjust) class barrier and give them some confidence going forward in life.

In the case of Smith, this turns out to be a complete failure. Like his father before him who proudly spurned medical attention (and died soon afterwards - there's no pride like the pride of the poor!), he spurns the opportunity to take himself out of his condition. Though this no doubt gives him some momentary satisfaction, he will probably look back on it with regret in the grim grim years that lie ahead.

Whatever Sillitoe intended, it still has power and relevance today.

Brit flick

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 9 July 2021]

Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay) is sent to a juvenile detention center run by Governor (Michael Redgrave). He is encouraged into long distance running when he shows some proficiency.

This is a British film about class, punishment, coming-of-age, and moral redemption. Tom Courtenay delivers an interesting performance and he won a BAFTA for it. It's definitely worthwhile to see especially for the race finish. Is there a British New Wave? Maybe this could be considered as one. It has a modern sensibility with its structure and subject matter.

Absolutely fantastic!

[miriamkgross9 · 10/10 · 12 June 2005]

This film... is amazing. This is the only way that I can POSSIBLY describe the brilliant acting performance of Tom Courtenay, one of my all-time favorite actors. His depiction of Colin, a young man from the lower class society of Nottingham, is remarkable. In fact, depiction is quite the wrong word for what he does with that character. Courtenay does not play Colin, he IS Colin, pure and simple. I will not give a summary simply because it is impossible to explain the story line without seeing the film. I have tried to explain the story line to my friends, and they just can't understand why I'm raving about. Anyone who is reading this, WATCH THIS MOVIE! It is one of the best films the '60s has to offer.

Gritty

[BJJ-2 · 7/10 · 14 February 2005]

A dated but still very effective 'kitchen sink' drama in the wake of Alan Sillitoe's Saturday NIGHT AND Sunday MORNING two years earlier.Sillitoe again sets it in his native Nottingham,although the main performers involved,Tom Courtneay(Hull)and James Bolam(Sunderland) are clearly from Northern England and not the East Midlands and do nothing to disguise their native accents.

The film is told mainly in flashback,with Colin Smith(Courtneay)thinking over his depressing life while serving time in Borstal for a robbery;his only real strength is running,and a sympathetic warden(Michael Redgrave)encourages the youth to better himself.

The film is basically about a working-class rebel and his battles with authority(i.e. the police,bosses,borstal,etc.),a new and refreshing concept at the time,but somewhat done scores of times over four decades later.Still,the bleak,dismal atmosphere is accurately caught by cinematographer Walter Lassally,quirkily directed by Tony Richardson(several scenes in the film are momentarily speeded up,providing some humour amongst the grimness)and well-acted.The final race sequence is somewhat ambiguous;why does Colin behave as he did? The ultimate rebellion against the establishment or as a acceptance of the dull,ordinary life he will lead? The cast has some interesting names before they made it big on UK TV;Bolam,John Thaw,and Arthur Mullard,whose bluff cockney tones are absent here due to dubbing.

British cinema at it's best

[the_monk · 10/10 · 14 June 2001]

Ahh Mother,why oh why oh why oh why, don't they make them like they used to? Forget your Guy Richie crime capers,'Loneliness of the long distance runner' is British cinema at its best. I can't explain why I love this film (erm so why I am I here?), whenever I try to explain the plot to friends they look perplexed as to why the film should be so good. Tom Courtenay is in his element in his portrayal as the 'loveable rogue'. Has 'Jerusalem' ever been more poignantly sung as it has here? Im not urging you to go out and purchase the film, but if you have a spare 90 odd minutes and it comes on television then watch it. Ta.

Modest aims but delivers the goods.

[Pedro_H · 7/10 · 4 October 2002]

A borstal (English juvenile reform school) boy reflects on his life and times while doing the only thing he is good at - long distant running.

One of those 1960's British "Kitchen Sink" melodramas (A Taste of Honey, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Billy Liar, Look Back In Anger, This Sporting Life, etc.) that plays just as well today as when it was made. In truth it wasn't that well received at the time of release (too downbeat?), but it has passed the test of time well.

(Maybe in this DVD age someone can package all the above mentioned films together in to one box?)

Tom Courtney is a joy to watch on screen. He just has to stand in front of the camera to represent working class English youth. A generation whose food contained little vitamins and whose skin sees little sun: The fish, chips and cigarettes generation.

(He is just as much a rebel as any played by James Dean, but hasn't got the haircut or the profile to make it sexy.)

He has a hard luck story to tell: But that is a bit of a cop-out. He didn't need to steal, but does, and is punished according to law: although as a first offence (or is it???) he surely wouldn't have been sent to this place. Not even in the 60's.

Michael Redgrave is also great as the pipe smoking governor (authority on a stick!) and, as always in the British films of the 60's, there is lots of talent happy to do bit parts. Partner in crime James Bolam (who went on to have great TV success in the UK) gives great support to our anti-hero.

The whole thing climaxes in a cross country race against a public school (natch!) that features one of the great twist endings of cinema. Worth seeing for that alone.

downhill marathon

[onepotato2 · 5/10 · 27 February 2008]

I definitely appreciated this movie. I've been wanting to see it for decades, so I was grateful to see it on the DVD rack. But ultimately the quotidian aspects of life in a juvie-penal system and goofs around the house, and the style of film-making are more valuable than its big pronouncement/redemption, that horrible ending.

As it arrived, I was sitting there thinking "Oh please, not the usual dumb, simplistic ending..." but there it was, something out of an eighties teen movie. Tom sabotages his own marathon win as a finger-in-the-eye to both the wealthy and the coaches who are playing him. Gee... you really showed them. It's just exceptionally dumb, hollow and frustrating, even as a dramatic point. The character regards it as a triumph, but that's just a testimony to his mental stagnation; he's exactly where he was at the beginning. In the end all he values is destruction and passive aggression. I hope he enjoys them - it's all life is going to serve him.

He'll have plenty of time to relive this one trifling 'success' in his life, while he's stuck in impoverished Stinkburg for the rest of time. Hooray, you were really true to yourself. ...and now you can get back to beating your wife.

A magnificent unappreciated film

[carloi-1 · 9 August 2002]

I recently watched this movie again on TV. The wonderful performances by Tom

Courtenay and Michael Redgrave have not diminished with time. The movie is

also full of technical innovations at the time. One of these is common today, a fast switching between the two time frames of the story. The life of the hero in a quasi-prison and the family life that led to his capture and conviction. The movie also predates the current of "Angry Young Men" that was to be so prolific in

British Cinema. Others have remarked on the wondrous scenes of Courtenay

running in open countryside as he trains for a long distance competition. The accompaniment of a jazz trumpet also fit well. But to me the core of the movie is the rage of the hero towards the "establishment" beautifully symbolized by

Michael Redgrave's Headmaster. Don't miss this movie if you have a chance.

Black & White rules!

[gingergurl75 · 9/10 · 6 October 2006]

I saw the last few minutes of this flick on Tyne Tees telly a couple of years after its theater rounds. In that part of England in those days there was only subsequent run at the Odeon, ABC and Majestic and I never got the chance to see it on a big screen. I can always hope.

I also remember the lurid cover on the paperback as it sat on the rack at Boots alongside Brendan Behan's "Borstal Boy." I had to settle for Mickey Spillane or Ian Fleming instead.

The film is far more gritty than Billy Liar, but Courtenay is identical in both roles in that he has to triumph over adversity in both films. In this role he rejects the life of his father which was subservience to the mill in favor of living large, but not very. In short he aspired to be a spiv just to blend in. But he needs to impress a couple of birds too, and that takes money -- and love of money is the root of all evil.

Then he gets a mini-vacation in a castle stolen by Oliver Cromwell and eventually converted to a government-owned barracks to meet the conveniences of World War II. I have never seen the concrete post with barbed wire any other place than England. In this boot camp styled borstal he has to confront his demons and decide just exactly who he wants to be. The Head has an ax to grind with the local school and naively hopes that sports is the way to channel these boys' anger. Should that fail, there are posters plastering the walls touting a man's life in the army. And that's why this film doesn't waste a scene.

Americans watching this film might have some trouble with an almost extinct dialect, but human nature does not change.

Favorite scenes 1) when he burns the pound note and 2) the romp on the dunes at Skegness.

Excellent cinematography and great performances.

[Andy-140 · 8/10 · 25 November 1998]

This film was seen to be the last of Woodfall's 'kitchen sink' dramas. There are great performances by Tom Courtenay and James Bolam as the two borstal boys. Colin (Courtenay) is very much a nihilist rejecting everything around him, like Arthur Seaton in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.

The story of Colin's refusal to fit into the pattern of 'model prisoner' or 'consumer' is well conveyed by Richardson and the scenes which follow Colin's runs through the woods are beautifully shot. Overall the film was slightly jumbled and represented class through the use of stereotypes i.e. the 'progressive' prison governor and the patronising employer. A good film nonetheless.

Good, but not great !!!

[avik-basu1889 · 7/10 · 1 August 2017]

A poignant exploration of the British class structure in the 60s as well as a study of the disillusionment of the 'angry young man' of the working class. The story is interesting, but the direction as well as the musical choices at times is a bit weak. Nevertheless it's still worth recommending.

The long and winding road to self-respect

[sol1218 · 9/10 · 13 August 2009]

**SPOILERS** One of the best and most thought-provoking films to come out of England during its "New Age" cinema revolution back in the late 1950's and early 1960's "the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" never really got the recognition, from both moviegoers and film critics, that it so rightfully deserved at the time of its release back in 1962.

18 year-old Colin Smith,Tom Courtenay,never had the opportunities that most young men his age had in both education and social relationships. Gowing up in the poverty stricken section of Nottingham England Colin, a high school drop out, was now forced to became the Smith family bread winner. That's when Colin's father who despite having available to him the best of health care, due to the British free and government sponsored health system, opted to die at home without being cared and treated for his illness, a result from his work at the plant, at a local government financed hospital free of charge.

It was Colin's life of petty crime, since he either refused or could't find a job, that lead to his incarceration into the Ruxton Towers medium security boys reformatory out in the Nottingham countryside. Being a nonconformist and not wanting to take orders Colin does in fact find an outlet to his frustrations in life in long distance running. It there that he can reflect on the life he lead, and is still leading, that's leading him nowhere but to a life behind bars or, like his dad, an early grave.

The reformatory's headmaster The Governor, Michael Redgrave, is obsessed in Ruxton Towers winning the five mile cross-country race and sees in Colin, who's by far the fastest boy on his running team, the person who can make his dream come true. This has Colin given all the freedom he needs by being allowed to run for hours, outside the conferment of the reformatory, to build up his wind and leg strength for the upcoming big race against Ruxton Towers rival in the cross-country race the exclusive prep school Ranley. It's during these long and lonely running sessions out in the Nottingham countryside that Colin starts to get a new insight on life. It's that insight that will have Colin overcome his fears not only of the outside world but reinforce his, being the nonconformist that he is, independence in him resisting being made to play ball with authority figures like the Governor; Who despite his good intentions for Colin is only interested in using the troubled young man to farther his own career!

***SPOILER ALERT***As the big race nears Colin's resentment in him being used for other people's, like the Governor, gains starts to conflict with his wanting to win the race for his own glory and salvation. Colin had been told by the Governor that if he wins he'll be released and given a chance to compete for England in the upcoming Olympics. What the Governor doesn't quite realize that is that the only salvation that Colin wants is freedom from being controlled and manipulated by men of authority like him! And it's in that grueling five mile long race that Coiln will show the Governor, and everyone in attendance, not just what he's made of, in his running ability, but how he can turn it on or off to his and only his, not the Governor's, advantage!

Running Out Of Steam

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 30 July 2009]

This film should be seen if only for the priceless pairing of Michael Redgrave and wait-for-it Arthur Mullard. There should be a special award for the idiot who imagined that Mullard was fit to share even one scene with Redgrave, it's not unlike pairing Sinatra with Vince Hill. Gimme a break. Apart from that plus some very dated and therefore unrealistic dialogue what we have here is yet another brilliant performance from Michael Redgrave and a passable one from Tom Courteney in his first film role - though he had appeared on TV - a couple of years before his breakthrough role in Billy Liar. John Thaw and James Bolam are also on hand and both would go one to better things. Today it plays almost like a caricature of 'new' British cinema, thus taking its place alongside Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, A Taste Of Honey etc as once gritty films that now seem risible.

Runner finishes ahead of most.

[st-shot · 8/10 · 17 December 2010]

Coping poorly with the death of his father and the disruptive mood it creates around the house when his mother takes up with her lover before the old man has even reached room temperature Colin Smith chooses to rebel rather than take up the offer of the same job that hastened dad's early demise. Along with a mate he robs a bakery after hours but the two prove to be inept crooks and he is quickly brought to justice and sent off to Ruxton Towers, a reformatory. The warden or Governor (Michael Redgrave) as he's called lives by the credo of "You play ball with us and we'll play ball with you" and when he sees that Colin has natural athletic abilities as a runner he begins to give him privileges. On the day of Ruxton's big race against a private school all hopes are pinned on Smith. The question is what will he do with the ball now that he has as he puts it "the whip hand".

Runner should be viewed in two phases. Once before turning twenty -one and the other after forty. As a teen I admired and applauded Colin's defiance, as an adult faced with responsibilities I wanted to whack him on the back of the head and say "wise up". Either way the film remains one of the best examples of the British kitchen sink form from the angry young man era with Tom Courtnay as Colin giving a standout performance. Bereft of movie star looks Courtnay's snare and curt responses speaks volumes to the hypocrisy that's heaped on him as he refuses to give an inch to a system that he sees as wanting to chew him up.

Tony Richardson's direction is well paced and audacious as he throws in a little slapstick to liven up the glum setting of row house existence as well as deliver some devastating flashback imagery that haunts Colin's jaunts of bucolic freedom. Redgrave's Governor is a perfect symbol of well bred authority that motivates Colin and gives rational to his actions.

As we age we better understand that if you are going to get along you've got to go along. As our mountain of idealized principle in our youth erodes to a grassy knoll through life's experience and realities we see Colin as a victim of his age as well as his environment. Frustrated as I may be at this age with this "failure to communicate" , a grudging respect remains however for Colin's attempt to be true to himself which Richardson powerfully sums up in the films climax.

Kitchen sink that is less than the sum of its parts

[trimmerb1234 · 7/10 · 24 April 2010]

There is no doubt that this film had some of the best of British talent from an era which was particularly blessed compared to the present. Tom Courtenay a newly discovered talent, Michael Redgrave a well established one. Tony Richardson, the best director of his generation.

Stylistically the film is both determined by - and suffers from - being a kind of confluence of currents that were modish at, and somewhat before, the time of its making. There is at times cinema verite wobbly/blurred camera-work and improvisational-sounding dialogue, a working class kitchen sink setting and something of the angst of "Look back in Anger" (but of a griping resentful sort rather than John Osborne's explosive and searingly honest kind). It is then a kind of marriage - but not one made in Heaven, more the other place. The treatment of class-conflict (the bringing together of the public school youths and their opposite numbers from the "approved school" (reform school) in an athletic competition is a complete damp squib (compare Lindsay Anderson's "If" for example), no point at all appears to be made.

Why then was this film so well received? Deeply attached to his family and North of England working class roots, Courtenay had a brilliant talent which could have enabled him escape his roots and reinvent himself - yet he chose not to. Some kind sense of duty to family, roots and class, added to which perhaps a natural cussedness, stopped him doing what many others would have done. It mirrors his character's decision at the end of the film - to stay true his roots, not to sell out. Its Courtnay's performance which gives coherence to the story and lifts the film out of the ordinary. Had Courtenay not been cast, this film would have been forgotten.

Angry young man refuses to sell out

[barryrd · 9/10 · 28 February 2009]

Tom Courtenay is brilliant in this film. In this role, he is smart and more than a match for the police and his mother's insolent boyfriend. And he is not lacking in social skills. The music is brooding and jazzy, depending on the mood. The black/white film captures the prevailing mood particularly the rain, mud and fog. At another time, we see Colin and his girlfriend walking on the beach. A touching scene, we get the feeling that this was his real moment of happiness.

In this movie, directed by Tony Richardson, Tom Courtenay plays Colin Smith, the angry young man role – a staple of British cinema in the 1960's. Tom Courtenay went on to make a number of first-rate films and receive a number of awards, not least of which was a knighthood from the Queen.

The film deals with a young man from the wrong side of the tracks who clearly feels the pain and resentment that his life brings. The father dies leaving behind a young family, probably as a result of working conditions, harassment, burnout, and the other ailments of the industrial economy that sapped the lifeblood of working class males. Colin, the eldest son of the family is in a reform school by day where the boys are treated with about as much respect (lack of respect) as their fathers received in society.

Upon her husband's death, his mother collects 500 pounds from the firm where he was employed and her face shows the hurt and bitterness; it took his death to give them some material reward. She proceeds to spend the money on television, clothing, and a new bed (to be shared with the new boyfriend). Material possessions and pleasures are the carrots that are dangled in front of working class people. The eldest son Colin, Tom Courtenay, shows his contempt by burning the pound note his mother gives to him. He is so filled with anger and despair that nothing motivates him anymore. In one touching moment in the film, the young man knowing his father is about to die, goes into his room and places the blankets over him. It is almost as if he understands what his life was like and was now about to be set free. Just my take on this short scene.

As for the boy, the preferential treatment he starts to receive at school is offered in exchange for his expected victory in an athletic competition, long-distance running. A lean, fit youth, he excels in track and other sports. This catches the attention of the headmaster Ruxton Towers, performed by Michael Redgrave, who desires nothing more than to impress the Board of Governors with the school's prowess, particularly against a rival school in an upcoming event. Michael Redgrave is superb in a less than attractive role as the arrogant headmaster who feels his main responsibility is to keep the boys in check through humiliation and authoritarian rule, except when it is in his interest to use them for his own purposes.

The atmosphere is bleak and it is an irony to watch the boys sing the hymn Jerusalem at the tops of their voices with images of dark Satanic mills as Christians take up the fight to build a new Jerusalem in England. This song of social democracy gives some indication of the political stripes of the directors who made these angry young man movies. One thinks that their view of the working class, while sincere, had more than a little dislike for their lifestyle. Perhaps they pitied them.

The black and white photography is as stark as the movie itself. Avis Bunnage is Mrs. Smith and William Ash Hammond, the terminally ill father. James Bolam, who has a filmography that goes back to the early 60's is Colin's best friend. James Fox is the runner for the other school in the final challenge that pits him against our anti-hero Colin. Alec McCowen plays the role of a colleague of Ruxton Towers. A young John Thaw had a role in this movie as one of the reform school lads. He later went on to be Inspector Morse in the Morse television series. Julia Foster is the girlfriend, who later acted in Alfie.

A great cast for a film from the archives of Britain's best.

Strong and vivid slice of kitchen sink life

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 26 November 2016]

THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER is director Tony Richardson's follow-up to A TASTE OF HONEY and another kitchen sink drama. However, this one's much better than his previous constrained effort, as this explores working class life and struggles on a much grander tableau. The main character is a teenage running champion whose life in a borstal is explored in the grittiest of detail while his back story is explored via flashbacks.

The story is well cast and accentuated by the ring of authenticity. Tom Courtenay is exceptional as the protagonist, never smiling, never happy, but at the same time proving ultimately sympathetic given his background and story. A strong supporting cast including Michael Redgrave, James Bolam, and even John Thaw help to propel things along. The situations remain interesting and are surprisingly undated given the film's age, and there's always some drama to keep your mind occupied. I particularly enjoyed the ending, which would seem insignificant to an outsider with no knowledge of the film's plot, but which becomes almost an epic struggle to those who have sat through the preceding narrative.

Suppose there was a class war and nobody turned up?

[ianlouisiana · 4/10 · 8 December 2005]

It might seem strange to our American cousins,but the English working-class actually don't hate the so-called upper-classes.They are amused by them,slightly disdainful of them and have as little to do with them as possible.It's the middle-class public school/Oxbridge types(i.e. director Tony Richardson)who do their hating for them.Never forget that revolutions are not made by the people but for the people.This condescending attitude to the working class has blighted the British Cinema for seventy years and British TV for slightly less. All the cheery cockneys,tarts with hearts,warm and wise gritty northerners never had an existence outside of the imagination of an Oxbridge type riven with guilt at living in Chiswick . Alan Sillitoe's "hero"is a "The world owes me a living" Nottingham lad from a respectable(not,as many seem to believe,desperately poor)working-class home.He is a thief.He is not stealing to support his poor old mum,he's doing it because it's fun. He gets caught and sent to Borstal,where the Governor sees his potential as an athlete,allows him privileges not extended to his fellows,and eventually enters him in a race against "proper" schools which he promptly throws to demonstrate his "principles". Not exactly Brain of Britain then. More the sort of lad the screws say "see you soon" to when he leaves. Courtenay's gaunt physique and repressed energy scream resentment and hate that we are somehow supposed to admire and identify with. Richardson uses "New Wave " devices that were already becoming clichés by 1962 in a desperate attempt to distract us from the tiredness of the plot. By all means watch "The loneliness of the long-distance runner",but don't believe it reflected British life in 1962.It merely reflected what Tony Richardson would have you believe British life was like in 1962. Not quite the same thing. The best thing about the film is the dancing,glittering trumpet playing by Pat Halcox,and if you want to hear more of him listen to any Chris Barber record. A few years later Mr Richardson went on to make "The charge of the Light Brigade" which gave him another chance to rubbish the upper classes which he seized with alacrity. If you want to see an accurate portrayal of working-class life,10 minutes from any Terence Davies film will give you more truth than a lifetime's study of Tony Richardson's entire oeuvre.