Hunted (1952)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- After accidentally setting fire to his foster parents' house, Robbie, a six-year-old boy, runs away. He searches for a hiding place and runs into a riverside warehouse. Clattering down the steps, he runs into the arms of a man, Chris Lloyd (Dirk Bogarde). Robbie sees a body lying nearby. Thinking that the boy will give him away to the police, Lloyd takes the boy with him on a dash to the Scottish border. The more time they spend together, the closer they become, so when Robbir falls seriously ill, Lloyd has to make a difficult decision.
- Actors:
- Dirk Bogarde, Kay Walsh, Elizabeth Sellars, Geoffrey Keen, Frederick Piper, Jon Whiteley, Julian Somers, Jane Aird, Jack Stewart, Douglas Blackwell, Leonard White, Gerald Anderson, Denis Webb, Gerald Case, John Bushelle, Ewen Solon, Katharine Blake, Molly Urquhart, Howard Lane
- Directors:
- Charles Crichton
- Producers:
- Julian Wintle
- Writers:
- Michael McCarthy, Jack Whittingham
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- The Instant Expert's Guide to: Charles Crichton
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Reviews (1) of Hunted
Ealing Drama. - Hunted review by Steve
This was a great leap forward for Dirk Bogarde who was never quite so convincing before Hunted. He portrays a murderer who travels across country with a small boy (John Whiteley) who has witnessed his crime. The boy is abused by his guardians and is starved of love and hungry with the need to give affection. They flee north pursued by the police and of course, their relationship deepens and they effectively save each other. It is an episodic road film in which the pair cannot trust anyone but each other. I think this is the best of Charles Crichton's many fine films for Ealing, it is understated for such a melodramatic narrative, the evocation of industrial Britain is satisfying and we really care about these two. There were quite a few films made after the war about a child's unconventional relationship with a surrogate parent (these two made another, The Spanish Gardener), and this is one of the best examples.