The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

19621962
Not RatedNot Rated
1h 44m

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Official Trailer

Play trailer3:10

A young thief takes up long-distance running when he is sent to a borstal.A young thief takes up long-distance running when he is sent to a borstal.A young thief takes up long-distance running when he is sent to a borstal.

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 5 wins & 2 nominations total

Videos1

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Tom Courtenay and Philip Martin in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Topsy Jane in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Joe Robinson in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave, and Tony Richardson in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Director
- Tony Richardson
Writer
- Alan Sillitoe(screenplay) (short story)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

A Taste of Honey

7.5

A Taste of Honey

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

7.6

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

This Sporting Life

7.6

This Sporting Life

Look Back in Anger

7.0

Look Back in Anger

Billy Liar

7.3

The Entertainer

7.1

The Entertainer

A Kind of Loving

7.3

A Kind of Loving

Room at the Top

7.5

Room at the Top

Tom Jones

6.5

The Sailor from Gibraltar

6.7

The Sailor from Gibraltar

Girl with Green Eyes

7.0

Girl with Green Eyes

Mademoiselle

7.2

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.

working class class differences institutional governor alienation kitchen sink realism 79 more

Trivia
Producer and Director Tony Richardson continued to insist on selecting filming locations, which he'd begun with A Taste of Honey (1961), the first British movie shot entirely outside of a studio. According to Cinematographer Walter Lassally, location work was very difficult to sell to British movie financiers at the time. "They were afraid that a lack of sunlight would delay the shooting interminably. It was impossible to convince them that for greater realism, it was actually desirable to shoot exteriors without sun."

Goofs
Early in the movie, when the new boys are in the van on the way to the borstal, they are shown in handcuffs and chains; when they emerge from the van, the restraints are gone. However, one of their guards is heard referring to removing their restraints after they pass through the outer gate.

Quotes
Brown, House Master: Now when you broke into this, um, what was it...
Colin Smith: Bakery
Brown, House Master: Bakery, yup... what were you thinking about at the time?
Colin Smith: I wasn't thinking about anything, I was too busy breaking in.

Connections
Featured in Free Cinema (1986)

Soundtracks
Jerusalem
Music by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (uncredited)
Lyrics by William Blake (uncredited)
Sung by the lads in the audience at the close of the concert scene
Several instrumental variations of the melody are heard throughout the soundtrack

Top review

A magnificent unappreciated film

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.

helpful•29

2

carloi-1
Aug 9, 2002

Release date
- October 8, 1962 (United States)
Country of origin
- United Kingdom
Language
- English
Also known as
- Die Einsamkeit des Langstreckenläufers
Filming locations
- Riddlesdown Quarry, Whyteleafe, Surrey, England, UK
Production company
- Woodfall Film Productions
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 44 minutes
Color
- Black and White
Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1

Jonathan Kaplan

Jonathan Kaplan

Jul 7Trailers from Hell

‘Cinema ’62’ Makes Case for Greatest Year in Film History

‘Cinema ’62’ Makes Case for Greatest Year in Film History

Mar 18Variety Film + TV

Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Top Gap

By what name was The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) officially released in Canada in English?

More to explore

View image

Hollywood Romances: Our Favorite Couples

See the entire gallery

Image caption not available

What to Watch in December

Watch the video

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.