Running Scared (1972)

When an undergraduate commits suicide, his best friend Tom Betancourt is sent down from university because he did nothing to prevent the death, which he felt was a choice his friend had a right to make.

Director:

David Hemmings

Writers:

Hugo Butler (adaptation), Clive Exton (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Powell, Gayle Hunnicutt, Barry Morse

Cast

Cast overview:
Robert Powell	...	Tom Betancourt
Gayle Hunnicutt	...	Ellen Case
Barry Morse	...	Mr. Case
Stephanie Bidmead	...	Mrs. Case
Edward Underdown	...	Mr. Betancourt
Maxine Audley	...	Mrs. Betancourt
Georgia Brown	...	Sarah
Ben Howard	...	Charlie
Paul Williamson	...	John
John Bailey	...	Inspector
John Franklyn-Robbins	...	Dean
Terrence Hardiman	...	Doctor
Bernard Kay	...	Mr. Willis
Andy Bradford	...	Casey
Joseph Greig	...	Porter

Storyline

An undergraduate, "Casey" Case, commits suicide in his college rooms, watched by his best friend Tom, who respects his right to end his life and does nothing to stop him. Soon afterwards, Tom receives an angry letter from Casey's sister, Ellen, whom he has never met, enclosing a bullet with which, she sarcastically suggests, he too can kill himself. Sent down from university, Tom becomes intrigued by the Case family and, posing under a false name, makes their acquaintance. To his own surprise, he finds himself falling in love with Ellen; but does she know who he really is?

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1972 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Braunston, Daventry, Northamptonshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wigan-Hemmings-O'Toole

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film has a British setting, but is based on an American novel by Gregory Macdonald (his first, published in 1964). The presence of a Hollywood screenwriter, Hugo Butler, who had died in 1968, suggests that the project had been in the works for a long time before the film was finally made. Despite good reviews, it was a box-office failure, and has never had a video or DVD release in Britain; nor has it been televised in the UK in the last thirty years.

User Reviews

Quite a few people have been looking for this film

This is not really a review, just some information. This film was lost for a long time. It was shown on the 4th of December 2011 in Braunston, the location where it was filmed. I understand they have had an awful time trying to find the film and to find out who the copyright holder is. I'm not sure if copyright has been resolved, but the film is still in existence and the female lead was at the showing in Braunston. I don't know if they are going to release anything, or if it is going to be shown again. There were at least two showings in Braunston which were completely sold out, I am kind of waffling now because I need to fill in ten lines of text. I hope this isn't too much of an issue for IMDb, I have only written this to give information to those searching for this long lost film.

Cheers Carl