He Ran All The Way

Directed by John Berry, He Ran All The Way follows dimwitted criminal Nick Robey (John Garfield) as he holds a family of four hostage after a straightforward heist goes disastrously wrong. Filmmaker Berry, working from Guy Endore’s screenplay, does an effective job of initially luring the viewer into the hit-and-miss proceedings, as He Ran All The Way kicks off with an exciting robbery sequence that seems to be laying the groundwork for an engrossing little thriller – with this vibe certainly perpetuated by a subsequent (and impressively tense) interlude detailing Nick’s efforts at hiding from the cops in a community swimming pool. It’s disappointing to note, then, that the picture progresses into a stagnant, overly familiar midsection that grows less and less interesting as time progresses, which is a shame, certainly, given that He Ran All The Way boasts its fair share of agreeable elements – including Garfield’s predictably compelling performance and a smattering of palpably suspenseful scenes (eg the patriarch of said family attempts to hide the newspaper from Nick). And although the film does conclude on a relatively strong note, He Ran All The Way has long-since cemented its place as a terminally erratic endeavor that often feels long at just 77 minutes.

** out of ****