The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)
Encyclopedia
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a 1962
film, based on the short story of the same name
.
The screenplay, like the short story, was written by Alan Sillitoe
.
The film was directed by Tony Richardson
, one of the new young directors emerging from documentary films, specifically a series of 1950s filmmakers known as the Free Cinema
movement.
It tells the story of "a rebellious youth" (played by Tom Courtenay
), sentenced to a borstal
(boys' reformatory) for robbing a bakery, who 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 (played by Michael Redgrave
) prize runner."
Set in a grim environment of early-1960s Britain and like other films which deal with rebellious youth, it is a story of how the youth chooses to defy authority, in so doing securing his self-esteem (at the probable personal cost of continued confinement). The film places its characters thoroughly in their social milieu. Class consciousness
abounds throughout: the "them" and "us" notions which Richardson shows reflect the very basis of British society
at the time, so that Redgrave's "proper gentleman" of a Governor is in contrast to many of the young working-class inmates.
Much of the filming took place in and around Claygate
, Surrey
at Ruxley Towers, a Victorian mock castle built by Lord Foley (hence Ruxton Towers). The building had been used as a NAAFI base in the war, giving it a military atmosphere. The original trumpet theme to the movie was performed by Fred Muscroft (the Scots Guards
Principal Cornet at the time).
The film was heavily sampled in the Chumbawamba
song "Alright Now", and text from the book upon which the film is based formed the cover of their single "Just Look At Me Now" (A monologue starts in plain grey typeface on the front and another appears on the back).
Next, we see Colin in handcuffs
with a group of other similarly encumbered young men. They are being taken to Ruxton Towers, what we might today term a detention centre for juvenile offenders, a reform school. It is overseen by "the Governor", who believes that the hard work and discipline imposed on his charges will ultimately make them useful members of society. Colin, sullen and rebellious, immediately catches his eye as a test of his beliefs.
An important part of the Governor's rehabilitation programme is athletics, and he soon notices that Colin is a talented runner, able to easily outrun Ruxton's reigning long distance runner. As the Governor was once a runner himself, he is especially keen on Colin's abilities because for the first time, his charges have been invited to compete in a five-mile cross country run against a nearby public school
, Ranley, and its privileged students from upper-class families. The Governor sees the invitation as an important way to demonstrate the success of his rehabilitation programme.
As the Governor takes Colin under his wing, offering him outdoor gardening work and eventually the freedom of practice runs outside Ruxton's barbed wire fences, we learn in a series of flashbacks how Colin came to be incarcerated. We see his difficult, economically strained family life in a lower-class workers' complex in industrial Nottingham
. Without a job, Colin indulges in petty crime in the company of his best friend, Mike (James Bolam
). Meanwhile, at home, his father's long years of toil in a local factory have resulted in a terminal illness for which his father refuses treatment. Colin is angered by the callousness of his mother (Avis Bunnage
), who he knows already has a "fancy man", and who Colin finds has neglected to give his father a herbal concoction for pain and, as Colin believes, brings about his father's death.
Colin rebels by refusing a job offered to him at his father's factory and watches with disdain as his mother spends the five hundred pounds in insurance money the company pays her on clothes, a television and new furniture. When his mother's lover moves into the house and after an argument when his mother tells him to leave, Colin and Mike take to the streets. Colin uses his portion of the insurance money to treat Mike and two girls they meet to an outing in Skegness
, where Colin falls in love with his date, Audrey (Topsy Jane), and confesses to her that she is the first woman he's ever slept with. She eventually extracts a half-hearted promise from Colin that he might look for work, implying his feelings for her are such that marriage is a possibility.
But one night, while prowling the streets of Nottingham with Mike, the two spot an open window at the back of a building. It's a bakery, with nothing much to steal but the cashbox, which contains about seventy pounds. Mike is all for another outing to Skegness with the girls, but Colin is more cautious and hides the money in a drainpipe outside his prefab house. Soon, the police come calling, accusing Colin of the robbery. He tells the surly detective (Dervis Ward) he has no knowledge of the crime. The detective produces a search warrant on a subsequent visit, but can find nothing. Finally, frustrated and angry, he returns to say he'll be watching Colin. As the two stand at Colin's front door in the rain, the torrent of water pouring down the drainpipe dislodges the money, which washes out around Colin's feet.
This backstory is interspersed in flashbacks with Colin's present-time experiences at Ruxton Towers, where he must contend with the jealousy of his fellow inmates over the favouritism shown to him by the Governor, especially when the Governor decides not to discipline Colin, as he does the others, over a dining-hall riot because of Ruxton's poor food. Colin also witnesses the kind of treatment given to his fellows who are not so fortunate - beatings, bread-and-water diets, demeaning work in the machine shop or the kitchen.
Finally, the day of the five-mile race against Ranley arrives, and Colin quickly sizes up who the school's best runner is (played by James Fox
) and who he must beat. With a proud Governor looking on, the starting gun is fired. Colin soon overtakes Ranley's star runner and has a comfortable lead with a sure win; but a series of jarring images run through his mind, jumpcut flashes of his life at home and his mother's neglect, his father's dead body, stern lectures from detectives, police, the Governor, the hopelessness of any future life with Audrey. Just yards from the finish line, he stops running and remains in place, despite the calls, howls, protests from the Ruxton Towers crowd, and especially the Governor. In close-up, we see Colin look directly at the Governor as a rebellious sneer plays on his face. The expression remains there as the Ranley runner passes him and crosses the finish line to victory. The Governor's anger is evident.
At the end of the film, Colin is back in the machine shop, punished and now ignored by the Governor. But he seems calm, even content, because in the end, he has refused to submit to authority and has settled into the loneliness of the title.
1962 in film
The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
film, based on the short story of the same name
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
"The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" is a short story by Alan Sillitoe which was set in Irvine Beach, and published in 1959 as part of a short story collection of the same name. The work focuses on Colin, a poor Nottingham teenager from a dismal home in a blue-collar area, who has bleak...
.
The screenplay, like the short story, was written by Alan Sillitoe
Alan Sillitoe
Alan Sillitoe was an English writer and one of the "Angry Young Men" of the 1950s.. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was applied.- Biography :...
.
The film was directed by Tony Richardson
Tony Richardson
Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer.-Early life:Richardson was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist...
, one of the new young directors emerging from documentary films, specifically a series of 1950s filmmakers known as the Free Cinema
Free Cinema
Free Cinema was a documentary film movement that emerged in England in the mid-1950s. The term referred to an absence of propagandised intent or deliberate box office appeal. Co-founded by Lindsay Anderson, though he later disdained the 'movement' tag, with Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson and Lorenza...
movement.
It tells the story of "a rebellious youth" (played by Tom Courtenay
Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel "Tom" Courtenay is an English actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner , Billy Liar , and Dr. Zhivago . Since the mid-1960s he has been known primarily for his work in the theatre...
), sentenced to a borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
(boys' reformatory) for robbing a bakery, who 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 (played by Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
) prize runner."
Set in a grim environment of early-1960s Britain and like other films which deal with rebellious youth, it is a story of how the youth chooses to defy authority, in so doing securing his self-esteem (at the probable personal cost of continued confinement). The film places its characters thoroughly in their social milieu. Class consciousness
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
abounds throughout: the "them" and "us" notions which Richardson shows reflect the very basis of British society
Social structure of Britain
The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, with the concept still affecting British society in the early-21st century. Although definitions of social class in the United Kingdom vary and are highly controversial, most are...
at the time, so that Redgrave's "proper gentleman" of a Governor is in contrast to many of the young working-class inmates.
Much of the filming took place in and around Claygate
Claygate
Claygate is a village in the English county of Surrey, approximately south west of London and within the Metropolitan Green Belt.It is primarily a residential area but with offices, farms and two shopping areas with a supermarket, five pubs and numerous restaurants...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
at Ruxley Towers, a Victorian mock castle built by Lord Foley (hence Ruxton Towers). The building had been used as a NAAFI base in the war, giving it a military atmosphere. The original trumpet theme to the movie was performed by Fred Muscroft (the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
Principal Cornet at the time).
The film was heavily sampled in the Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba is a British musical group who have, over a career spanning nearly three decades, played punk rock, pop-influenced music, world music, and folk music...
song "Alright Now", and text from the book upon which the film is based formed the cover of their single "Just Look At Me Now" (A monologue starts in plain grey typeface on the front and another appears on the back).
Plot summary
The film opens with Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay) running, alone, along a bleak country road somewhere in rural England. In a brief voiceover, Colin tells us that running is the way his family has always coped with the world's troubles, but that in the end, the runner is always alone and cut off from spectators, left to deal with life on his own.Next, we see Colin in handcuffs
Handcuffs
Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists close together. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each half has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist...
with a group of other similarly encumbered young men. They are being taken to Ruxton Towers, what we might today term a detention centre for juvenile offenders, a reform school. It is overseen by "the Governor", who believes that the hard work and discipline imposed on his charges will ultimately make them useful members of society. Colin, sullen and rebellious, immediately catches his eye as a test of his beliefs.
An important part of the Governor's rehabilitation programme is athletics, and he soon notices that Colin is a talented runner, able to easily outrun Ruxton's reigning long distance runner. As the Governor was once a runner himself, he is especially keen on Colin's abilities because for the first time, his charges have been invited to compete in a five-mile cross country run against a nearby public school
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
, Ranley, and its privileged students from upper-class families. The Governor sees the invitation as an important way to demonstrate the success of his rehabilitation programme.
As the Governor takes Colin under his wing, offering him outdoor gardening work and eventually the freedom of practice runs outside Ruxton's barbed wire fences, we learn in a series of flashbacks how Colin came to be incarcerated. We see his difficult, economically strained family life in a lower-class workers' complex in industrial Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. Without a job, Colin indulges in petty crime in the company of his best friend, Mike (James Bolam
James Bolam
James Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
). Meanwhile, at home, his father's long years of toil in a local factory have resulted in a terminal illness for which his father refuses treatment. Colin is angered by the callousness of his mother (Avis Bunnage
Avis Bunnage
Avis Bunnage was a British actress of film, stage and television.She attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School in Manchester. She worked as a secretary and a nursery teacher before deciding to become an actress...
), who he knows already has a "fancy man", and who Colin finds has neglected to give his father a herbal concoction for pain and, as Colin believes, brings about his father's death.
Colin rebels by refusing a job offered to him at his father's factory and watches with disdain as his mother spends the five hundred pounds in insurance money the company pays her on clothes, a television and new furniture. When his mother's lover moves into the house and after an argument when his mother tells him to leave, Colin and Mike take to the streets. Colin uses his portion of the insurance money to treat Mike and two girls they meet to an outing in Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
, where Colin falls in love with his date, Audrey (Topsy Jane), and confesses to her that she is the first woman he's ever slept with. She eventually extracts a half-hearted promise from Colin that he might look for work, implying his feelings for her are such that marriage is a possibility.
But one night, while prowling the streets of Nottingham with Mike, the two spot an open window at the back of a building. It's a bakery, with nothing much to steal but the cashbox, which contains about seventy pounds. Mike is all for another outing to Skegness with the girls, but Colin is more cautious and hides the money in a drainpipe outside his prefab house. Soon, the police come calling, accusing Colin of the robbery. He tells the surly detective (Dervis Ward) he has no knowledge of the crime. The detective produces a search warrant on a subsequent visit, but can find nothing. Finally, frustrated and angry, he returns to say he'll be watching Colin. As the two stand at Colin's front door in the rain, the torrent of water pouring down the drainpipe dislodges the money, which washes out around Colin's feet.
This backstory is interspersed in flashbacks with Colin's present-time experiences at Ruxton Towers, where he must contend with the jealousy of his fellow inmates over the favouritism shown to him by the Governor, especially when the Governor decides not to discipline Colin, as he does the others, over a dining-hall riot because of Ruxton's poor food. Colin also witnesses the kind of treatment given to his fellows who are not so fortunate - beatings, bread-and-water diets, demeaning work in the machine shop or the kitchen.
Finally, the day of the five-mile race against Ranley arrives, and Colin quickly sizes up who the school's best runner is (played by James Fox
James Fox
James Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
) and who he must beat. With a proud Governor looking on, the starting gun is fired. Colin soon overtakes Ranley's star runner and has a comfortable lead with a sure win; but a series of jarring images run through his mind, jumpcut flashes of his life at home and his mother's neglect, his father's dead body, stern lectures from detectives, police, the Governor, the hopelessness of any future life with Audrey. Just yards from the finish line, he stops running and remains in place, despite the calls, howls, protests from the Ruxton Towers crowd, and especially the Governor. In close-up, we see Colin look directly at the Governor as a rebellious sneer plays on his face. The expression remains there as the Ranley runner passes him and crosses the finish line to victory. The Governor's anger is evident.
At the end of the film, Colin is back in the machine shop, punished and now ignored by the Governor. But he seems calm, even content, because in the end, he has refused to submit to authority and has settled into the loneliness of the title.