He Ran All the Way

After a heist goes wrong, cop killer John Garfield (as Nick Robey) is on the run. Taking cover in a public swimming pool, Mr. Garfield meets plain Shelley Winters (as Peg Dobbs). Flattery gets him everywhere; and, Garfield uses Ms. Winters for getaway cover. Starved for the manly affection, Winters mistakes his advances for interest. Soon, Winters has Garfield in her apartment, to meet the family. When he feels the police closing in, Garfield holds up in Winters' apartment, holding the family hostage. Desperate hours ensue…

It's difficult to understand Winters' continued naivety; and, the "family held hostage" plot doesn't ring quite true. Still, Garfield's paranoia, and Winters' character development make it well worth watching. Sadly, this was Garfield's final film; he died within a year, at age 39. Director John Berry and photographer James Wong Howe make it look great. "He Ran All the Way" boasts a fine supporting cast, led by Wallace Ford. And, the ending grows with an exciting, thought-provoking intensity.

******** He Ran All the Way (6/19/51) John Berry ~ John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford, Selena Royle

Shot on what was clearly a small budget, this "noir" style thriller is a little "loose limbed" in the writing department, but good direction, good location cinematography, Waxman's superb score (you know this is an above average film score from the first notes) and some of the best screen acting on film pull it off in style.

The director manages to mesh the differing acting styles (Garfield and Winter's more internal, "method" influenced style, Royle's more technical approach and Ford's purely instinctive playing) and creates a real ensemble. One can read the actors' minds just from a telling turn of the eye, curl of the lip. Wonderful. Everyone impresses, but Winters is most sensational, showing us the character's mixed-up feelings about the magnetic, sexy character Garfield plays right from the first accidental encounter.

The uptight and dumb smalltime thief Nick Robey (John Garfield) and his partner and only friend Al Molin (Norman Lloyd) robber US$ 10,000.00 from a man, but the heist goes wrong. Al Molin is killed by a policeman and Nick shots him deadly in the spine. He hides out in a public swimming pool and meets the shy spinster Peggy Dobbs (Shelley Winters) in the water. Nick uses Peggy to lie low and leave the plunge. He offers a ride in a taxi to her and she invites him to enter in her apartment, where she introduces her family to him. When Nick discovers that he killed the cop, he decides to use Peggy's apartment as hideout to wait the police manhunt cool down, forcing the family to lodge him. When Nick finds that Peggy loves him, he invites her to leave the town with him and asks her to buy a used runaway car. However, the paranoid Nick cannot trust anybody and believes Peggy has betrayed him.

The film-noir "He Ran All the Way" is the last movie of John Garfield in the role of a man that does not know the meaning of love or family, therefore he cannot believe in a woman in love with him. The storyline is very simple and claustrophobic and four years later, William Wyler made "The Desperate Hours" that has a similar storyline, with a gang that breaks in suburban house and threatens the household. This movie has not been released on Blu-ray, DVD or VHS in Brazil and is only available in cable television. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Por Amor Também Se Mata" ("For Love, It Also Kills")

"He Ran All The Way" is John Garfield's final film and he doesn't disappoint his fans. He is dynamic as a cop killer who is on-the-lam and hiding out in the apartment of a middle class family. The film is a taut thriller with many tense moments and Garfield pulls no punches while he devises an escape plan. The captive family is well played by Shelley Winters who falls for the thug, Wallace Ford and Selena Royle her parents and Bobby Hyatt the little brother. There is also a gem of a cameo performance from Gladys George as Garfield's mother and also by Norman Lloyd as his partner in crime. Alas Garfield displays all his bad boy mannerisms and gut wrenching force that we came to expect from him...and what also made him a star.

John Garfield's character in this movie makes his character in THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE look like Mr. Easy Going. He's tight as a drum from the opening scene with his nasty mother, through the holdup (with snaky Norman Lloyd as his partner), his flight, and the long scenes with Shelley Winters' family.

Winters is appealing in her role as the plain girl who can't find a man. She falls for the dangerous and casually violent Garfield; but is she really in love with him or trying to assist in his capture? That's where the tension lies in this short thriller. Dalton Trumbo (uncredited as screenwriter) creates good dialog for all the cast members, and pulls together an exciting final 5 minutes with a few plot twists and a gut-wrenching ironic final shot. Catch it if you can, if you're a noir fan.