He Ran All The Way [DVD] [1951]

"He Ran All the Way" is a black and white hostage drama from 1951, based on Sam Ross' (first) novel of the same name. Hostage films were popular due to the success of "The Petrified Forest" (1936), and include such films as "Heat Lightning" (1934) with Anne Dvorak and Preston Foster, "Highway West" (1941) with Brenda Marshall and William Lundigan, "Escape in the Desert" (1945) with Jean Sullivan and Helmut Dantine, and "Key Largo" (1948) with Humphrey Bogart and Edward G Robinson.

The film stars ruggedly handsome John Garfield (1913-52), the original "method" actor, as a petty thief (turned cop killer) on the run. Garfield made his screen debut in 1938 with the popular "Four Daughters" for which he received his first Best Supporting Actor nomination (he got his second in 1947 for "Body and Soul"), and "They Made me a Criminal" (1949) propelled him into the A list. He's best known for "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946). Blacklisted in the communist scare of the early 50s, his career was cut short, and he died in 1952 at age 39. This was his last film.

FWIW - Garfield had severe heart problems (he died shortly after the film) and was under enormous stress due to the HUAC inquisition. Where possible a double was used for the strenuous scenes. OTOH, Garfield is seen to be chain smoking throughout the film.

Shelley Winters (1920-2006) plays a lonely bakery worker who befriends Garfield only to find that she and her family are taken hostage. Winters was a great actress, nominated 4 times for an Oscar and winning twice ("Diary of Anne Frank", "A Patch of Blue"). She also earned 3 Emmy nominations and 1 win in 1964. She won the Golden Globe for "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972).

Wallace Ford (1898-1966) plays Winters' father. Ford appeared in over 100 films from 1930 to 1965, often as a comic foil. He did 5 films for John Ford including "They Were Expendable" (1945) and "The Last Hurrah" (1958). He was nominated for a Golden Laurel in 1965 for "A Patch of Blue", his last film.

Norman Lloyd (1914) plays Garfield's partner in crime. Lloyd worked with Orson Welles and John Houseman and later with Hitchcock. He was twice nominated for an Emmy and his film credits include "Saboteur" (1942) and "Spellbound" (1945). He also had an active career directing on TV, especially for Hitchcock, and produced dozens of series ("Tales of the Unexpected", "Journey to the Unknown") and TV movies.

John Berry (1917-99) directs. Berry got his start working with Orson Welles and John Houseman and was active in the late 40s. Shortly before making this film he made "Hollywood 10" (1950) about the persecution of actors and directors by HUAC, and this earned him a place on the blacklist and virtually ended his career in the US.

FWIW - Robert de Niro portrayed Berry in the film "Guilty by Suspicion" (1991).

The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo (1905-76), another victim of the Hollywood blacklist. Trumbo won the Oscar twice ("The Brave One", "Roman Holiday") and was nominated a third time ("Kitty Foyle"). He won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes for "Johnny Got His Gun" (1971). He wrote "Spartacus" under an assumed name, and when Kirk Douglas insisted that his real name be used, this broke the black list.

FWIW - The film was actually produced by Garfield since he was blacklisted and unable to get a job with any of the studios. Hence the number of blacklisted people also employed. The film credit goes to his long time friend Bob Roberts.

The cinematography is by James Wong Howe (1899-1976), one of Hollywood's best cameramen. Howe's characteristic use of deep focus and dramatic lighting are well in evidence. Howe was nominated for an Oscar 10 times and won twice ("Hud" and "The Rose Tatoo"), making him one of the most acknowledged cinematographers in film history.

Franz Waxman (1906-67) provides the score. Waxman was nominated for an Oscar 10 times and won twice ("A Place in the Sun" and "Sunset Blvd"). He was a favorite of Hitchcock who used him in 4 films and earned 2 of his Oscar nominations ("Rebecca" and "Suspicion"). Among his other notable films are "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), "Fury" (1936), and Captains Courageous" (1937). Although Waxman could be great, in this film his music is heavy handed and intrusive.

The NY Times' Bosley Crowther said "a very thin thread of plausibility is stretched exceedingly taut" but nonetheless called the film "a shock-crammed script" and praised Garfield's performance as "full of startling glints from start to end."

1951 was a good year for films. The top grossing films were "Quo Vadis", "Alice in Wonderland", "Show Boat", "A Streetcar Named Desire", and "David and Bathsheba". Oscars went to "The Quiet Man" (Director), "High Noon" (Actor), "Come Back Little Sheba" (Actress), "The Greatest Show on Earth" (Picture), and "Viva Zapata" (Supporting Actor). Other notable releases that year included "The African Queen", "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "Murder Inc", and "A Place in the Sun".

This film is often mistakenly called "noir" but it can more properly be called downbeat. The protagonist is a petty criminal with no redeeming qualities (in the first scene he curses at his mother), and the film chronicles the last day in his life following the killing of a cop during a failed robbery. There are no double nor triple crosses and no femme fatale, and there is no cast of seedy characters as is customary in "film noir". Bottom line - there is almost nothing "noirish" about this film, apart from the fact it's shot in NYC and it concerns a petty criminal.

That being said, it is certainly an entertaining film and the performances are better than average. Fans who enjoy Garfield's "tough guy" persona will find it on display here.

Just when I thought I'd seen all the best John Garfield performances, along comes his last and just maybe his best performance...

HE RAN ALL THE WAY (1951) John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Norman Lloyd, Wallace Ford, Selena Royle, Gladys George, Bobby Hyatt.

This was a great character driven film noir with a pretty amazing tour de force performance by Garfield. It's directed by blacklisted John Berry with a screenplay by blacklisters Hugo Butler and Dalton Trumbo (fronted by Guy Endore in the films credits)

MILD SPOILERS>>>>

Garfield is a paranoid, borderline delusional loser living with a sleazy mother (Gladys George...naturally) who hates him. The opening of the film sets the tone with Garfield waking in a cold sweat from a horrible nightmare. He pulls himself together to meet Norman Lloyd. They're all set to rob the railroads payroll man. The plan seems simple enough but it all goes south and people end up dead as the panic ridden Garfield gets away with the loot. He runs through the streets of LA trying to elude the police. Finally taking cover at a public swimming pool where he meets Winters. She's a innocent, friendly baker with low self esteem who is shocked and excited when Garfield takes a feigned interest in her.

He continues the ruse of liking Winters but Garfield is so paranoid and unpredictably volatile that he can't hide who and what he is for long. This leads to his taking Winters and her family (Ford, Royle, Hyatt) hostage until he feels safe enough to make a getaway. It's here that the film becomes the most entertaining as Garfield grows to care for the family while alternately making violent threats on their lives. He maliciously taunts the mother and father yet he cares for them. One scene in particular is when Garfield realizes that in spite of his actions, Winters has fallen in love with him. Garfield can't seem to bring himself to believe it yet uses the knowledge and Winters actions to cruelly taunt the mother as she is sewing. She becomes so distraught that she accidently runs her finger under the sewing machine needle and screams in pain. Garfield rushes to her aid, genuinely concerned and apologetic and worried for her and feeling guilty for causing the incident yet feeling angry at his own guilt. This scene is followed by another great moment when the young son comes in. Seeing his mother in pain he immediately lashes out at Garfield by hitting and kicking him. Garfield almost goes to strike the child, verbally warning him, then stopping in mid sentence and telling the child...

"Go to it, do anything you want".

Again a fascinating, nuanced performance as Garfield stares down at the tearful, angry child, hitting Garfield with all his might. Finally running out of strength, he just sobs as Garfield holds him in his arms. Powerful stuff.
Also very powerful is Garfields repeated attempts to ingratiate himself into the family. At one point he sends a family member to the store to bring back a huge turkey dinner with all the fixings. But is hurt when they refuse to eat it, instead eating some soup that the mother makes. He's so completely crestfallen by their reaction to his completely genuine gesture of kindness he goes off to sulk in the next room, telling them as he leaves...

"All I've asked of you people is a place to stay for a couple nights. Something you'd give an alley cat".

He's oblivious to his own atrocious behavior and the family's obvious state of terror and can only see his own pain. Really brilliant stuff by Garfield.

But it's Garfield's interaction with Winters and the Father that is even more interesting. Winters has it bad for Garfield. He's the first man who's really taken an interest in her. She's at once drawn to, frightened and excited by his volatile mood swings, obvious strength and overt sexuality.

In "The Desperate Hours", Bogart's character delighted in tormenting the captured family. He got a sadistic thrill in undermining the Father, making him look ineffectual and impotent in front of his family. In "He Ran All The Way" it's Winters who starts to let her love of Garfield undermine her own fathers attempts to try to stop Garfield and save his family. And also unlike "Desperate Hours" where Frederic March finally wins out over Bogart, it's not any family member that does in Garfield, but his own inability to trust.
Everything hinges on whether Winters is telling him the truth at the end. Winters father has decided to take matters into his own hands. And it's the pain and sense of betrayal that Winters feels because of Garfield that drives them all into a last desperate showdown. But it's the last scene with Garfield's final revelation, beautifully emphasized by James Wong Howe's stunning photography that makes it a truly terrific finale and a truly great film. It really is some of Howe's best work.

As last performances go, Garfield couldn't have given audiences much more than he gives here. It's a complex and personal performance. Berry also deserves a lot of praise here. He loads the film with some rather beautiful close ups, moving the action along quickly and efficiently with some clever camera work and gives us some great location shots of L.A. There's one scene where Lloyd and Garfield are walking along a seedy LA street, talking about their upcoming crime. As they turn the corner we see the towering white structure of LA City Hall, looming large in the distance. I could go on and on about Berry and Howe's work in this film but I think you get the picture. It's top notch work by all, including Franz Waxman, one of my favorite composers who does a great job here with an emotional, pulse pounding score yet at times fairly subtle and unobtrusive. While I still enjoy Garfield in the film noir The Fallen Sparrow just a tad more because of its more traditionally entertaining adventure theme, "He Ran All The Way" runs pretty much neck in neck but ultimately has the better performance by Garfield in my opinion. I have to highly recommend this movie.