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Run for the Sun
Run for the Sun
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Run for the Sun
Directed byRoy Boulting
Written byDudley Nichols
Roy Boulting
Based onRichard Connell
Produced byRobert Waterfield
Harry Tatelman
StarringRichard Widmark
Trevor Howard
Jane Greer
Peter van Eyck
CinematographyJoseph La Shelle
Edited byFrederic Knudtson
Music byFred Steiner
Production
company
Russ-Field Corporation
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • July 30, 1956 (1956-07-30) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.25 million (US)[1]

Run for the Sun is a 1956 American Technicolor thriller adventure film released by United Artists, the third film to officially be based on Richard Connell's classic 1924 suspense story, "The Most Dangerous Game", after both RKO's The Most Dangerous Game (1932), and their remake, A Game of Death (1945).[2] This version stars Richard Widmark, Trevor Howard, and Jane Greer, and was directed by Ray Boulting from a script written by Boulting and Dudley Nichols.[3] Connell was credited for his short story.[4]

In this loose adaptation, the expatriate Russian general of the original story is transformed into a British traitor hiding in the Mexican jungle with a fellow Nazi war criminal played by Peter van Eyck. Their prey are Widmark, portraying a Hemingway-like but reclusive novelist, and Greer, playing a magazine journalist who has tracked down the novelist's whereabouts. In this version, the Nazis are hunting them not for sport, but to prevent them revealing their whereabouts.

Plot

[edit]

While working for Sight magazine, journalist Katie Connors goes to San Marcos, a remote Mexican fishing village. She seeks novelist and adventurer Mike Latimer, who has abandoned writing "at the peak of his fame" and dropped from sight. He is in the village, indulging in drinking, fishing, hunting, and flying his aircraft. Katie contrives to meet Latimer, who is smitten. Over the next days, Katie starts falling in love with him but conceals the reason she is there.

After Latimer explains that his wife was the muse behind his literary success, and that he quit writing because she left him to be with his best friend, Katie decides to return to New York City. Latimer offers to fly her to Mexico City and asks Katie to write down her address to keep in touch. During the flight, the magnetized notebook in Katie's purse affects the aircraft's magnetic compass, and they find themselves lost over jungle. The aircraft runs out of fuel and Latimer crash-lands in a clearing. Knocked unconscious, he wakes up to find himself in a bed in the main house of a hacienda.

Katie introduces him to their rescuers, the Englishman Browne and the Dutch archaeologist Dr. Van Anders, who live on the estate with Jan, another European. When asked about a rifle bullet that Latimer carries, he says that it is a souvenir and good luck charm from the D-Day invasion, a time when his courage failed him.

Browne, a big game hunter, claims that he has no contact with the outside world. He keeps savage dogs to prowl the estate and control the local populace. When Latimer goes to examine the condition of his aircraft, it has disappeared. Later, a newscast on the radio announcing their disappearance reveals Katie's identity and original purpose. Katie tries to persuade an offended Latimer that she no longer intends to write the story but he rebuffs her.

That night, Latimer finds a storeroom containing military gear with Nazi markings, items from his missing aircraft supposedly stolen by the local natives, and hunting rifles. The dogs' barking awakens Browne and Van Anders. Latimer overhears them talking in German and tells Katie what he found. He says that they need to work together to escape. They discover that Browne has been concealing from them his own "flyable" aircraft.

Latimer eventually recognizes Browne's voice; the latter turns out to be an infamous turncoat who during the war broadcast Nazi propaganda from Berlin to Britain after having married a German woman. Browne admits the truth and adds that his wife was Van Anders' sister, killed in a British air raid. Van Anders is Colonel Von Andre, a German war criminal who massacred an entire village and intends to kill Latimer and Katie. The two try to steal the aircraft, but when Jan shoots at them, they flee into the jungle.

Browne, leading Van Anders, Jan and the dogs, follows their trail, failing to catch them the first day when wild pigs attack the dogs. The next day, Latimer rigs a crude booby trap that kills Jan. With Katie nearing exhaustion, Latimer doubles back, and when Browne and Van Anders find Jan's dead body, they realize that the aircraft has been left unguarded. Stopping for the night, Latimer finds that she wrote down the office address of Sight magazine as her own, proving that she had been truthful about her feelings.

They reach the hacienda before their pursuers and barricade themselves in the chapel. Van Anders pretends to negotiate with Latimer and shoots through the door. Latimer ridicules him, and when Van Anders goes to bring workers to break down the door, he is forced to lock up the dogs to get their cooperation. Browne fears the Nazi, and offers to shoot Van Anders if Latimer flies him to South America. Latimer refuses and uses the bullet hole in the door as a makeshift gun barrel, striking the primer with a chisel and fatally shooting Browne. Latimer and Katie take off in Browne's aircraft, killing Van Anders with the propeller when he tries to block their path. They manage to escape safely.

Cast

[edit]
  • Richard Widmark as Michael Latimer
  • Trevor Howard as Browne
  • Jane Greer as Katie Connors
  • Peter van Eyck as Dr. Van Anders / Colonel Von Andre
  • Juan García as Fernandez
  • José Antonio Carbajal as Paco
  • José Chávez as Pedro (as José Chávez Trowe)
  • Guillermo Calles as Paco
  • Margarito Luna as Gran-Hotel Proprietor
  • Guillermo Bravo Sosa as Gran-Hotel Waiter
  • Enedina Díaz de León as Paco's Wife
  • Carlos Henning as Jan

Production

[edit]

Run for the Sun was one of four films produced for United Artists release by a company owned by actress Jane Russell and her then husband, former NFL star Bob Waterfield. Originally Russell and Robert Mitchum were announced as stars.[5] Then Eva Marie Saint was going to play the female lead.[6]

Robert Wilder wrote the original script and Dudley Nichols was brought in to work on it.

Roy Boulting was signed to direct in August 1955. The original stars were to be Richard Widmark and Leo Genn.[7] Jane Greer later joined the cast.[8]

Genn was meant to play the head villain, and he had script approval at a rate of $3,500 a week plus expenses. The script was rewritten and Genn did not like the result when he arrived in Mexico to start filming. He pulled out, and Trevor Howard was cast instead. Genn later sued Waterfield, who eventually had to pay Genn his complete salary.[9]

The jungle sequences were shot about 50 miles from Acapulco, Mexico. The location used for Browne and Van Anders' base was a vast, ruined, 16th century hacienda and sugar plantation/refinery built by Hernán Cortés at Atlacomulco, southeast of Cuernavaca. In the 1980s, the principal house and several other buildings were restored and turned into a hotel. The interior and patio of the house used in the film, as well as the interior of the small hotel where Katie Connors and Mike Latimer meet, were sets built at Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City. The house interior was reputed to be the largest set yet built in a Mexican studio. [N 1]

Reception

[edit]

Film reviewer Leslie Halliwell in Leslie Halliwell's Film Guide (1989), noted that Run for the Sun was a "... tame remake of 'The Most Dangerous Game' with Count Zaroff replaced by Lord Haw-Haw; sluggish plot development mars the action."[11]

Film reviewer Adrian Turner in the Time Out Film Guide (2004), said that Run for the Sun: "... never really gets to grip with the grotesquerie of the original story, though Howard as a dead ringer for Lord Haw-Haw, is excellent."[12]

References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia

Run for the Sun is a 1956 American adventure thriller film directed by Roy Boulting, featuring as reclusive adventure novelist Mike Latimer and as magazine journalist Katie Connors, who track him down for an . After their small plane crashes in the remote jungle during their return flight, the protagonists stumble upon an isolated estate owned by enigmatic Europeans played by and , leading to a perilous ordeal involving pursuit and . Produced by Harry Tatelman under the Russ-Field banner—formed by and —and released by , the film marks a loose of Richard Connell's 1924 "," transposing the human-hunting premise to post-World War II fugitives evading . Shot on location in with by Joseph LaShelle, it emphasizes tense action sequences and jungle atmosphere, though contemporary reviews noted uneven pacing amid its strengths in casting and visuals.

Background

Literary origins

Run for the Sun derives its central premise from Richard Connell's short story "The Most Dangerous Game," originally published in Collier's magazine on January 19, 1924. In the story, experienced big-game hunter Sanger Rainsford falls overboard from a yacht and swims to the foreboding Ship-Trap Island, where he encounters the cosmopolitan General Zaroff, a Cossack aristocrat who reveals his ennui with conventional prey and declares humans the ultimate quarry due to their capacity for cunning resistance. Zaroff provides Rainsford a head start and limited provisions before unleashing his pack of hounds and Cossack retainers in pursuit across the island's treacherous terrain, testing the protagonist's ingenuity through improvised traps and evasion tactics. The narrative culminates in Rainsford infiltrating Zaroff's chateau to confront him directly, underscoring themes of primal survival instincts overriding civilized pretensions and the moral inversion of predator and victim roles. Connell's tale, which earned him the for short fiction that year, built on earlier adventure motifs but innovated by humanizing the hunt's psychology, drawing from the author's experiences and influences like Jack London's wilderness survival ethos. Its enduring appeal stems from taut pacing and ethical ambiguity, inspiring over a dozen film versions since the 1932 RKO adaptation. For Run for the Sun, screenwriters and Roy Boulting retained the hunting humans motif but transposed it to a Mexican jungle crash-landing scenario, featuring two protagonists—a withdrawn mirroring Rainsford's expertise and a resourceful female journalist—to inject interpersonal dynamics absent in the solitary original. The villains evolve from Zaroff's singular eccentricity to paired ex-Luftwaffe officers embodying Axis war criminals evading justice, reflecting contemporaneous Allied victory narratives and amplifying geopolitical stakes over the source's apolitical sadism. This loose reconfiguration prioritizes ensemble action and romance, diverging from Connell's concise, one-on-one duel while preserving the core thrill of outwitting refined barbarity.

Development

Russ-Field Productions, an independent company formed by actress and her husband, former professional football player , initiated development of Run for the Sun as part of its early slate of adventure films intended for distribution. The project built on the company's prior efforts, such as Underwater! (1955) and (1955), aiming to capitalize on genre appeal with and star-driven narratives. British director Roy Boulting co-wrote the screenplay with Oscar-winning screenwriter , adapting Richard Connell's 1924 short story "" into a post-World War II thriller. The script relocated the core premise of human pursuit in a remote to , replacing the original's singular aristocratic hunter with dual antagonists—a fugitive Nazi war criminal and a British traitor—to reflect contemporary geopolitical tensions and provide a more plausible motive for silencing witnesses. This update emphasized survival elements and character interplay over supernatural horror, distinguishing it as the third official following the 1932 RKO film and its 1945 remake A . Boulting's involvement extended to directing, ensuring a cohesive vision focused on tense pacing and realistic jungle perils.

Production

Pre-production

The screenplay for Run for the Sun was co-written by director Roy Boulting and Oscar-winning screenwriter , adapting Richard Connell's 1924 "." The relocated the core premise of human hunters pursuing shipwrecked victims to post-World War II Mexico, substituting Nazi war criminals as antagonists to differentiate it from earlier cinematic versions, such as the 1932 film and the 1945 low-budget remake A . This narrative shift emphasized themes of fugitive villains evading justice in remote jungles, leveraging the story's established suspense while incorporating contemporary geopolitical elements. Production was handled by the Russ-Field Corporation, founded in 1955 by actress and her husband, , a former professional , as their second feature following The King and Four Queens. Harry Tatelman oversaw the project, which was financed independently and slated for distribution by , reflecting the era's trend toward package-unit production outside major studios. Principal casting secured as the reclusive adventure novelist Mike Latimer, as journalist Katie Connors, as the sinister host Col. Barnes, and as his accomplice Dr. Zimmerman, with pre-production emphasizing performers capable of handling demanding location work. Technical preparations included selecting Mexico's and for to authentically depict treacherous terrain, with advance scouting to mitigate logistical challenges like weather and access. The film was planned in Technicolor using the newly developed Superscope 235 format, the first feature to employ this alternative, which enlarged 35mm negatives to 70mm for enhanced aspect ratio and visual scope without requiring specialized cameras. Budget estimates targeted efficient on-location shooting, with interiors limited to minimize costs, aligning with Russ-Field's model of mid-tier adventure films.

Filming and technical aspects

Principal filming for Run for the Sun occurred on in , utilizing rugged terrains to depict the story's Central American jungle setting, with specific shoots at Atlacomulco in Estado de México for key sequences involving the antagonists' base. The production leveraged these authentic environments to enhance the film's thriller elements, contrasting urban scenes with dense, hazardous wilderness areas. Cinematography was directed by Joseph LaShelle, who employed processing to capture vibrant hues in the tropical landscapes and action sequences. The film marked the inaugural use of SuperScope 235, a format that squeezed a 2.00:1 onto standard 35mm film for anamorphic projection, allowing expansive vistas without the optical compression typical of earlier processes. Audio was recorded in mono via RCA Sound Recording, prioritizing clarity for dialogue and ambient jungle effects over stereophonic immersion. These technical choices supported director Roy Boulting's vision of a visually dynamic adventure, though the implementation occasionally strained composition in tighter interior shots.

Cast and characters

Principal performers

Richard Widmark starred as Michael "Mike" Latimer, a reclusive adventure novelist and former pilot whose plane crashes in a remote , forcing him into a survival ordeal against hidden threats. Widmark, known for his intense portrayals in films like Kiss of Death (1947), brought a brooding intensity to the lead role, drawing on his established screen persona of resourceful anti-heroes. Jane Greer portrayed Katherine "Katie" Connors, a determined magazine reporter who seeks out Latimer and becomes entangled in the ensuing dangers after their crash. Greer, previously acclaimed for her femme fatale role in Out of the Past (1947), shifted to a more vulnerable yet resilient character, marking a departure from her typical noir assignments. Trevor Howard played Browne, a seemingly hospitable host on the island who harbors a darker agenda tied to wartime secrets. Howard, a British actor celebrated for roles in Brief Encounter (1945) and The Third Man (1949), lent understated menace and authority to the enigmatic figure. Peter van Eyck depicted Dr. Van Anders, a dual-role antagonist revealed as a fugitive Nazi officer conducting hunts on human prey, echoing the film's literary roots in Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game." The German-born van Eyck, often cast as villains in Hollywood productions like The Wages of Fear (1953), effectively embodied the cold precision of the pursuer.

Character portrayals

, the protagonist played by , is portrayed as a brooding, reclusive best-selling who vanished from the public eye at the peak of his success, having retreated to a remote village amid personal disillusionment from wartime experiences. Widmark's restrained performance emphasizes Latimer's rugged resourcefulness and inner turmoil, drawing comparisons to in his adventurous yet haunted persona. Katherine "Katie" Connors, enacted by , is depicted as a bold and enchanting tabloid reporter driven by professional ambition to locate and the elusive Latimer, evolving into a resilient survivor alongside him after their plane crash. Greer's portrayal highlights her character's tenacity and charm under duress, contributing to the film's romantic tension. The primary antagonists reside on a secluded estate, masquerading as hospitable hosts. Browne, performed by , appears as a sophisticated ex-diplomat harboring traitorous secrets, with Howard delivering a restrained depiction of calculated menace. Dr. Van Anders, played by , initially presents as a cultured companion but is revealed as Colonel Wilham Von Andre, a fugitive Nazi officer obsessed with hunting humans for sport; van Eyck's role underscores the villains' supremacist ideology and predatory cruelty, adapting the classic "" trope to a post-World War II context.

Plot summary

Detailed synopsis

Katie Connors, a for Sight , travels to the remote village of San Marcos in to Mike Latimer, a once-prolific adventure novelist who has withdrawn from public life following the breakup of his marriage, during which his wife left him for his best friend, leading to his . Despite her initial about her intentions, Connors and Latimer develop a mutual attraction over several days, prompting her to abandon her exposé story. When Connors prepares to depart for and finds no commercial transport available, Latimer offers to fly her there in his single-engine . During the flight, a malfunctioning causes them to veer off course into uncharted jungle territory in , where they run low on fuel and are forced to crash-land near a river. Injured but alive, the pair abandons the wreckage and treks through the dense wilderness until they reach an isolated , where they are greeted by the estate's owners: the urbane British expatriate Browne and his associate, the German-born Dr. Otto Van Anders, who present themselves as eccentric archaeologists studying Mayan ruins. The hosts provide medical care, food, and shelter, but Latimer grows suspicious upon discovering that the plane wreckage has vanished and his is missing from the crash site. Further investigation reveals the hosts' true identities as fugitives from justice: Van Anders is a former pilot and Nazi war criminal whom Latimer recognizes from wartime encounters, while Browne is a British traitor who collaborated with the Nazis in efforts. To eliminate the witnesses and preserve their hidden sanctuary, the criminals—assisted by a and attack dogs—embark on a sadistic hunt, treating Latimer and Connors as prey in a deadly game reminiscent of human big-game pursuits. The fugitives sabotage any chance of immediate rescue and pursue the couple relentlessly through swamps, rivers, and thick undergrowth, forcing Latimer and Connors to improvise weapons, evade traps, and exploit the terrain for survival. In the ensuing cat-and-mouse chase, Connors sustains further injuries but aids in counterattacks, while Latimer confronts the hunters in brutal , ultimately killing Van Anders and outmaneuvering Browne. The survivors press eastward toward civilization, evading the remaining threats until they reach safety near , where authorities are alerted to the criminals' lair. Their ordeal strengthens their bond, transforming initial wariness into deep affection.

Release

Theatrical distribution

Run for the Sun was theatrically distributed in the United States by , the studio handling release for Russ-Field Productions. The film premiered in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 27, 1956, before opening more widely across the country on July 30, 1956. As a adventure thriller, it targeted audiences interested in survival dramas, leveraging the star power of and for marketing in theaters during the summer season. Limited information exists on international theatrical rollout, though managed global distribution for many of its 1950s titles.

Home media availability

The film was released on DVD in the United States as a manufactured-on-demand edition by on May 22, 2012, through their Limited Edition Collection, featuring the original presentation but lacking supplemental materials such as commentary tracks or featurettes. No official Blu-ray Disc edition has been produced or announced by major distributors. International DVD variants exist, including a Region 0 PAL edition distributed in under the title Huida Facia el Sol. Digital distribution includes availability for purchase, rental, or streaming on platforms such as , Google Play Movies, and Apple TV, with options for high-definition playback where supported. Access to these services requires subscription or purchase and may be subject to regional licensing restrictions and periodic changes in availability.

Reception

Contemporary critical response

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised Run for the Sun as "a ripping third remake of 'The Most Dangerous Game,'" commending its fast-paced adventure and strong performances by Richard Widmark and Jane Greer amid lush Mexican jungle settings filmed in Superscope 235. The review emphasized the film's escapist thrills, including survival chases and tense confrontations with Nazi hunters portrayed by Trevor Howard and Peter Van Eyck, though Crowther overlooked technical aspects like the widescreen format. Trade publications assessed it as solid entertainment for mid-tier bookings, with exhibitor guides recommending it for audiences seeking action-oriented fare without heavy dramatic pretensions. Overall, contemporary notices viewed the film as competent but unremarkable, prioritizing its visual spectacle and star appeal over narrative originality in adapting Richard Connell's 1924 short story.

Commercial performance

Run for the Sun was independently produced by Russ-Field Productions, founded by actress Jane Russell and her husband Bob Waterfield, and distributed theatrically by United Artists beginning in mid-1956. The film achieved financial viability, turning a profit for its producers amid a landscape where many independent ventures struggled. Detailed box office grosses or rental figures from primary trade publications like Variety remain undocumented in accessible records, consistent with the era's reporting for mid-tier releases not ranking among the year's top earners. Its success supported Russ-Field's subsequent projects, including The King and Four Queens (1956), before the company's eventual challenges.

Retrospective views and legacy

In later assessments, Run for the Sun has been regarded as a competent but unexceptional adventure thriller, praised for its location shooting in Mexico's deserts and jungles, which lent authenticity to the survival chase sequences, though criticized for lacking the sharp wit and character depth of director Roy Boulting's more acclaimed British comedies. Reviewers have noted its straightforward execution of the hunted-prey premise, with Richard Widmark's reclusive author and Jane Greer's resourceful journalist providing reliable leads, but faulted the script for formulaic tension-building that pales against the 1932 adaptation . The film's legacy endures primarily as the third cinematic adaptation of Richard Connell's 1924 short story "The Most Dangerous Game," following the 1932 RKO version and 1945's A Game of Death, updating the tale to feature Nazi war criminals as antagonists in a post-World War II setting, which added a layer of geopolitical menace absent in earlier iterations. This variant influenced subsequent hunter-prey narratives in horror and action genres, though Run for the Sun itself has not achieved the cult following or frequent remakes of its predecessors, often cited in film histories as a mid-tier example rather than a genre-defining work. Its score by Fred Steiner, incorporating researched Latin American motifs, has received niche appreciation among film music enthusiasts for evoking the exotic locale effectively. Home media releases, including DVD editions from and later boutique labels, have sustained modest interest among fans of 1950s adventure cinema and Widmark's oeuvre, with retrospective viewings highlighting practical stunts and visuals as strengths amid dated pacing. While not a box-office phenomenon upon release, its availability on streaming platforms in the has prompted reevaluations that position it as a serviceable B-picture elevated by its cast and Connell source material, without the innovative edge of later exploitation riffs on the theme.

Analysis

Adaptations and influences

Run for the Sun serves as a loose adaptation of Richard Connell's short story "," originally published in magazine on January 19, 1924, which centers on a big-game hunter who becomes the prey of a deranged aristocrat targeting humans for sport. The 1956 film updates the narrative by shifting the locale from an isolated island to a remote jungle in , replacing the story's Russian count with a pair of Nazi war criminals led by a former pilot, thus incorporating post-World War II themes of accountability for atrocities. This version emphasizes location shooting in , contrasting the original story's confined, atmospheric tension with expansive, daylight survival action sequences filmed on authentic terrain rather than studio sets. As the second major cinematic remake following the 1932 RKO production starring Joel McCrea and the 1945 low-budget A Game of Death, Run for the Sun innovated by integrating aviation elements—a plane crash precipitating the hunt—and character backstories evoking Ernest Hemingway's expatriate archetypes, with Richard Widmark's reclusive writer mirroring the author's persona. No direct remakes or sequels of Run for the Sun have been produced, though its hybrid of psychological suspense and physical peril within a modern geopolitical context contributed to the broader lineage of human-hunt thrillers that proliferated in subsequent decades. The film's restraint in gore and focus on moral confrontation over explicit violence distinguished it from later, more visceral interpretations of Connell's premise, influencing the genre's shift toward character-driven survival tales amid exotic, unforgiving environments.

Strengths and criticisms

The film's principal strength lies in its ensemble performances, with delivering a charismatic yet edged portrayal of the Mike Latimer, complemented by Jane Greer's versatile depiction of the resourceful Julie Pleshette, who navigates both vulnerability and determination effectively. and further elevate the antagonists through nuanced menace, Howard's "bruised refinement" and van Eyck's calculated demeanor adding layers to the villains beyond mere pulp archetypes. Cinematography by Joseph LaShelle stands out for capturing the Mexican jungle's "primal beauty" and treacherous terrain in vivid , enhancing the atmospheric tension and scenic authenticity of the chase. Director Roy Boulting's handling of the narrative's builds efficiently, particularly in the action-oriented third act, where pursuits and confrontations maintain taut pacing and viewer engagement. Critics have noted the film's derivative reliance on Richard Connell's "" as a core weakness, resulting in a plot that, while entertaining, lacks and deeper character development, fitting characters into " suits" without the quirky detail of Boulting's stronger works. The initial setup drags, taking longer than necessary to establish motivations and relationships, which slackens momentum before the thriller elements intensify. Some observers find the story's contrivances unconvincing, diminishing the overall impact despite its pulp thrills.

References

  1. https://www.[imdb](/page/IMDb).com/title/tt0049696/reviews/
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