Run Wild, Run Free

Run Wild, Run Free is a 1969 British drama film directed by Richard C. Sarafian and starring John Mills. The film was written by David Rook, based on his novel The White Colt, and shot on location in Dartmoor, Devon, England.[1][2]

Run Wild, Run Free
Theatrical film poster
Directed byRichard C. Sarafian
Screenplay byDavid Rook
Based onThe White Colt
1967 novel
by David Rook
Produced byAndrew Donally
John Danischewsky
Monja Danischewsky
StarringJohn Mills
CinematographyWilkie Cooper
Edited byGeoffrey Foot
Music byDavid Whitaker
Production
company
Irving Allen Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • 28 March 1969 (1969-03-28) (London)
  • May 21, 1970 (1970-05-21) (USA)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The film features a psychosomatically mute English boy (Lester), who sights a wild, white pony on the Dartmoor moors and sets out to tame him.[3] He is supported by an old moorman (Mills) and a neighbouring farm girl, Fiona Fullerton. Much of the film is devoted to him searching for the pony and his family searching for him across the beautiful, foggy moors.[4][5]

Cast

Reception

A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote: "If it is not a milestone in its genre, its cloying quotient is decidedly low. As a dissection of the rapport between two youngsters and a couple of wild animals in a largely uncomprehending world, it has enough honesty and genuine sentimentality to move mere grown-ups too."[6] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and called it "a sensitive and beautiful film, and probably ideal for kids from about the fourth grade up."[4] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune also gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "On the face of it, the film seems pat ... But the well-written script departs from tradition and gives us a story full of unpredictability and insight."[7] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Quite unabashedly, Run Wild, Run Free celebrates the power of love, yet it happily avoids the treacle – except for an overripe score – that characterizes most pictures about children and animals. It pulls out all stops emotionally but gets away with it because it has simplicity and intelligence."[8] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that "Richard Sarafian's combination of generally pedestrian images with a quivery, quavery wild-heart-of-Dartmoor sensitivity suggests some uncertainty as to whether the picture is aimed at the pony club set, or their more susceptible mothers and grandmothers."[9]

See also

References
  1. "Run Wild, Run Free (1969)". BFI. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019.
  2. "Reelstreets | Run Wild Run Free". www.reelstreets.com.
  3. "Run Wild, Run Free". Variety. 1 January 1969.
  4. Ebert, Roger. "Run Wild, Run Free movie review (1969)". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  5. Run Wild, Run Free (1969), retrieved 8 January 2020
  6. Weiler, A. H. (24 July 1969). "Rustic Simplicity Theme Of 'Run Wild, Run Free'". The New York Times. 25.
  7. Siskel, Gene (1 December 1969). "Run Wild, Run Free". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 20.
  8. Thomas, Kevin (28 May 1969). "'Run Wild, Free' on New Fox Screen". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 11.
  9. "Run Wild, Run Free". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 36 (426): 149. July 1969.
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