The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Country: UK
Director: Tony Richardson
Production Co: Continental Distributing Inc.
Genre: Drama, Horror
Rating: 7.6/10
Length: 103 mins

Storyline

A rebellious youth, sentenced to 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.

Plot Keywords

rebel, athlete, headmaster, juvenile delinquent, bully, intense, powerful, brooding, spirited, reform school, nottingham, england, track, anger, rehabilitation, rebellion, running, reform, rivalry, growing up, revenge, 1960s

Short Review

The performance of Tom Courtenay and the imaginative, if sometimes overfussy, direction of Tony Richardson, plus some standout lensing by Walter Lassally makes this a worthwhile pic.