User reviews

Thrilling suspense in this jungle adventure with fantastic stars Widmark and Greer. some good dialogue, but the story doesn't really convince; it's just a vehicle for the situational suspense and romance. Widmark is a Hemingway-style author and Greer a journalist who finds him in hiding and tricks him into revealing his confidence (which, disappointingly, involves nothing more than a cliched love drama).

Nice direction, very effective photography in sharp color. Greer was never lovelier and, except in the incomparable Robert Mitchum, never found a better leading man. It's a shame that Hollywood allowed Mr. Howard Hughes to throw her into a ditch (figuratively, of course), because this lady had real talent.

Richard Widmark, a Hemingway type writer who craves the solitude of J.D. Salinger, is found in an obscure Mexican village by Jane Greer. Jane's a reporter for a tattletale magazine, but Widmark doesn't find this out till they've started kanoodling. He offers to fly her back to Mexico City.

While enroute they go off course and crash in the jungle. They come upon an Englishman and a Dutch archaeologist, so they say. In reality it's a diplomat who was a member of the pro-Nazi Cliveden set and who defected during World War II. The Dutchman with him is really a former Wehrmacht high officer and his brother-in-law.

Trevor Howard and Peter Van Eyck don't want word of their secret to get out so Widmark and Greer have to die. Now starts the chase through the jungle like The Most Dangerous Game.

Of course this is a remake of that film, but the characters are a bit more complex. Widmark's an alcoholic writer who craves his privacy as much as Howard and Van Eyck do. Greer's a reporter who's gone after Widmark's story and now has an even bigger one potentially.

In the original film it was more of a morality play. Joel McCrea and Leslie Banks were certainly classical hero and villain respectively and Fay Wray was not the independent woman that Greer is.

Still this is a good remake helped a lot by the outdoor locations instead of RKO's backlot jungle.

I had the privilege of seeing Richard Widmark in person a few years ago when he appeared at the Lincoln Center Film Society. Nearing 90 then, he had recently remarried after the death of his wife of many years. His appearance was remarkably unchanged: ruggedly handsome, that same, strong, rough speaking voice, and one of the best pairs of cheekbones in the business - right up there with Jack Palance, Loretta Young, and Elvis.

Widmark gets to show his stuff admirably in "Run for the Sun," which costars Jane Greer. He plays a writer a la Hemingway who has given up his career and is living in oblivion in Mexico. Greer plays a reporter who finds him with the intention of doing a story about him. She doesn't reveal her intentions, instead deciding to return to New York, and Widmark offers to fly her to Acapulco. They crash in the jungle and wind up at the compound of Trevor Howard.

This is supposedly a vague remake of "The Most Dangerous Game," which I haven't seen, so I can't make any comparisons. This film, though a little too long, is very exciting, particularly the last section, and will really hold the viewer's attention. Both Widmark and Greer are excellent. Greer is in her early thirties here and finally in a color movie, and she's beautiful despite a couple of frumpy hairdos and outfits. Trevor Howard underplays as the villain and is an introverted menace.

Very enjoyable.

I tuned into this one on TCM and heard Robert Osborne refer to it as a remake of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME--BUT in my opinion, only in vague outline. Like GAME, it ends with a chase through the jungle with the bloodhounds on their trail and leads to their final escape. But there are several novel twists and turns along the way and the suspense is in high gear once the chase begins.

Jane Greer appeared in so many B&W film noirs of the '40s that it's surprising to see her in technicolor. She looks great and has good chemistry with Richard Widmark's adventurous writer. Both of them appear to be having a tough time physically as they trudge through swampy waters and slash their way through thick jungle. Trevor Howard is the villain of the piece, not quite as menacing as Charles Laughton in the original.

Gripping suspense yarn will keep you glued to your seat as you wonder how it all turns out. Give it a chance, as it starts slowly before the plot thickens.

Movie talks upon a beautiful woman reporter (Jane Greer) , she is looking for an adventurer novelist(Richard Widmark) in a solitary South American location . They fall in love and aboard a plane are crashed on jungle . There find shelter in an inhospitable mansion inhabited by strange people (Trevor Howard and Peter Van Eyck) .

The picture gets adventure action , a love story , thriller , exciting pursuits with numerous odds , risks and perils and results to be pretty entertaining . Richard Widmark as the stalwart and brave hero is nice . Enjoyable Jane Greer (Out the past) as a genuinely moving heroine is fine . Secondary cast is excellent with a terrific Trevor Howard and a crafty Peter Van Eyck . The tale was compellingly developed in this second of several versions using Richard Connell's famed novel . It's a remake to ¨The most dangerous game¨(Ernest B.Schoedsack with Joel McCrea and Leslie Banks as count Zaroff), the classic and black and white adaptation was creepier and darkest , this version is glimmer (spectacular cinematography by Joseph LaShelle) and an adventure film . Recent version titled ¨Surviving the game¨(Ernest Dickerson with Ice T and Rutger Hauer) is more violen t. Motion picture was well directed by British director Roy Boulting . The flick will appeal to Richard Widmark fans and adventure cinema-goers . Rating : Good , if you haven't seen it , you don't miss the chance the next time .

What initially looks as if it is going to be a character study of a washed-up Hemngway-type novelist wallowing in self-pity and local liquor in some tiny south American village suddenly changes tack to become a sort of remake of The Most Dangerous Game and, in truth, the first half of the plot was probably more interesting for me. Once Trevor Howard and Peter van Eyck are introduced as a Nazi sympathiser and war criminal hiding out in the jungle into which Widmark and Jane Greer crash land, the film pretty much forgets any ideas of delving into how Latimer can overcome the writer's block that is driving him towards self destruction and concentrates instead on a straightforward cat-and-mouse chase formula. That's not to say the second half of the film isn't enjoyable – it is: it just isn't as interesting as the first 40 minutes.

The film benefits greatly from location shooting, and all four principal characters give reasonable performances. Widmark is as reliable as ever, while Howard portrays Browne – the antithesis of all those stiff-upper-lipped WWII types he so often played – in exactly the same manner in which he played all those stiff-upper lip WWII types, and it works quite well. There's no hint of innate character deficiencies in the characterisations of the Nazi's either, no sneering disdain for anything non-German, no mad dreams of a resurgence of the Nazi dream. Howard and van Eyck are just a pair of criminals on the run, as desperate to escape their jungle prison as they are to evade capture.

Viewed most of the films that Richard Widmark starred in, however, I finally discovered this film being shown on TV in the wee hours of the morning and found this to be a great film Classic. Richard Widmark, (Mike Latimer) and Jane Greer gave an outstanding performance together, sometimes fighting like cats and dogs and struggling to get away from Trevor Howard, (Browne) who plays a very wicked character who will stop at nothing to get just what he desires in life. This entire cast of actors all gave an outstanding performance, but Widmark and Greer really put their heart and soul into this picture. Jane Greer experience a spinal injury during the making of this film, and years later she became very ill and needed surgery, which corrected her problem. It was during a scene in this picture where Jane goes through swampy water which contains many dangerous viruses.

Although the name of Richard Connell is in the credits, when it finally comes the famous hunt is from expedience rather than for kicks. Trevor Howard, (although he gives himself away by reading Nietzsche in German) resembles Julian Amery rather than a typical Nazi, that role being filled by scowling henchman Peter Van Eyck.

There's an awful lot of talk before we eventually cut to the chase, but when it finally comes - benefit of location photography in Mexico in colour & scope by veteran Joseph La Shelle - it proves worth the wait; while as the heroine Jane Greer finally comes into her own in jeans, blouse and dishevelled hair.

The film's biggest surprise is that it was the work of Roy Boulting (personally asked to take over the direction on the request of Richard Widmark), serving as a reminder that this was the man who gave use the nail-biting 'Seven Days to Noon', which also made an exemplary use of locations.

One of countless remakes of The Most Dangerous Game (1932), Run for the Sun throws a curve ball or two to stand apart from the rest. But does it do it any favors?

The original tale is that of a hunter who becomes marooned on an island. He's taken in by a mysterious man but quickly finds himself the prey. Here instead we see a man and a woman involved in a plane crash, they're saved but their saviors may not be who they claim to be.

I quite liked the twist, I loved the big revelation monologue, but sadly the movie has pacing issues, a rather mundane cast and really really drags.

Normally I have issue with them tweaking the source material, here I don't. I just don't think it was very successful.

For fans of the original I'd say, stick with the original.

The Good:

One great scene

Interesting spin on the original story

The Bad:

Drags

This is a first rate remake (redesigned) of Richard Connell's classic suspense short story, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. If you are lucky, read the story. If you can't find it, see the 1932 movie with Joel McCrae, Leslie Banks (as the mad Count Zaharoff - General Zaharoff in the original short story), Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong. It captures the best aspects of the short story, but not all the clever details. Also, the sets were reused by the same production group (along with Fay Wray, Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot) for KING KONG shortly afterwords.

Basically the story goes like this. The hero is sole survivor of a shipwreck, and finds himself on an island owned by the villain. The villain, a master hunter, is insane, and has found there is only one game worth hunting - "the most dangerous game" or man, the only animal that one knows can think. He gives his "guests" (he has caused the shipwrecks) a good dinner or two, and then they proceed to run for their lives or until he kills them. But Rainsford (the hero in the original short story) is a trained hunter too. So for a change, Zaharoff really has a worthy opponent. The ending of the tale I will leave to the lucky reader.

But this 1956 film is an interesting version of the original. The scene shifts to an isolated jungle area of Mexico. Richard Widmark and Jane Greer are in a plane crash, and are rescued by Trevor Howard and Peter Van Eyck, both of whom are far from welcoming. Widmark is not sure, but he keeps thinking he knows Howard, although he's never seen him. Then he realizes it's Howard's voice - he heard it in World War II, as a Nazi propaganda figure (a British traitor). In short, Howard is a version of William Joyce, "Lord Haw Haw" (see SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR). Van Eyck is Howard's brother-in-law.

Howard and Van Eyck have been less than willing to help Widmark and Greer get back to civilization before, because they did not want to have them report them to the authorities - they are wanted for war crimes (at least Van Eyck is). Widmark, when he makes the mistake of discovering who his hosts are, suggests that if they help him and Greer get back, he can take a message to Howard's loved ones about their safety. Unfortunately, Howard explains, his wife and children were killed in the war by bombing. As it is apparent that Van Eyck wants to see the strangers dead, Widmark and Greer take off to try to get to safety. And then the story follows the lines of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME.

But ironically there is one more switch. Howard has been connected to Van Eyck only by the marriage - personally he has no liking for the man. As it turns out, he would not mind if he could get out of the jungle - away from this remnant of a bloody, horrific past. And so the film actually goes onto a somewhat different conclusion. But I leave it to the viewer to see what it is.

RUN FOR THE SUN is like a poor man's version of THE AFRICAN QUEEN with some added-in Nazis for good measure. The film stars Richard Widmark as a hard-drinking writer modelled on Ernest Hemingway who finds himself in a remote south of the border village with the pretty Jane Greer. They have a couple of courteous hosts who turn out to be hiding dark secrets as the plot progresses. The film boasts Trevor Howard in an against-type role but for the most part is quite dull, plodding along without much in the way of really anything happening for long sections. As per usual, when there is eventually some action at the climax, it's too little, too late.

A solid little exotic thriller that boasts good location photography and that great staple of pulp yarns: ex-Nazis hiding in the jungle!

It's a mistake to regard this film as a remake of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. In that movie, plus films like TURKEY SHOOT and HARD TARGET, the plot is about antagonists who like to hunt down people like game animals. In RUN FOR THE SUN, however, the chase at the end is not a planned hunt on the part of the Nazis: they simply want to keep their whereabouts a secret from the world outside.

It's a nice touch to have bad guy Howard actually WANT Widmark to hang around the place because he stops jungle life from being so dull.

Mike Latimer (Richard Widmark) is a famous novelist who's dropped out of circulation. A reporter (Jane Greer) is undercover--trying to wrangle an exclusive interview with this mercurial man. However, although she is able to make contact with him and befriend him, he doesn't know she's a reporter. What they both don't know is that the plane he's flying them in across the Central American jungle is going to conk out...and leave them stranded in the middle of no where. Does it sound like it couldn't get any worse? Well, it can. Although they are saved from the wreckage, their benefactors turn out to be Nazis hiding out in the jungle and they're not about to let the pair escape if they can help it. Soon, it's a long and torturous trek through the unforgiving jungle...with these nasty jerks in hot pursuit.

While this isn't one of Widmark's very best films, it is quite good and the Nazi theme worked since it was only about a dozen years since the war ended. Tense, well crafted and well worth seeing. Besides, Greer nearly died making this film....so don't you owe it to her sacrifice to see the movie?!

I originally planned on giving this film an 8...it's really good. But near the end, Latimer takes out one of the baddies and then doesn't bother picking up the guy's gun as he makes his escape. This simply makes no sense and annoyed me.

By the way, early on you see the reporter looking through a magazine with a cover story about Latimer. While the magazine looks a lot like LOOK magazine, its name is SIGHT....a rather clever little play on words.

Katie Connors (Jane Greer) arrives in a remote Mexican village hoping to do an interview with novelist and adventurer Mike Latimer (Richard Widmark). He spends his time fishing, drinking, and other manly pursuits away from the spotlight. He agrees to fly her to Mexico City but they crash in the jungle. They are rescued by Browne (Trevor Howard), archaeologist Dr. Van Anders (Peter van Eyck), and their local servants. There appears to be something strange going on.

The movie should hold back the Nazi reveal. When Mike finds the room, he should set off on an escape plan. Quite frankly, the Nazis would kill them both when the whole story is told. I don't think that they would let them sleep in their own rooms. The movie loses a bit of tension when the Nazis aren't the most determined. The dogs are good and scary. It's man hunting man thriller. It's partly good.

Widmark is the 'ever-popular-tortured-novelist', Greer the tabloid writer sent to Mexico to get the scoop on him. The two crash-land in Widmark's plane and are taken in by Nazis avoiding war trials. When the couple escape into the jungle, the chase begins. Great adventure, fore-runner of Indiana Jones-type stories. Howard is great as the heavy, running through the jungle screaming "LAT-TEE-MORE, OH, LAT-TEE-MORE!" Easily one of the best adventure movies of the '50s.

Worthwhile to watch especially for the two main actors, who deliver quite a good show. A young Widmark plays a Hemingway-type author, and very convincingly. The story has considerable excitement and it keeps you on your toes, but there are some mistakes in the storyline that are a bit distracting.

I never was a fan of Richard Widmark, but it's interesting how you can tell a good movie when you see one. I saw about 10 seconds of this movie and there was something about it that was different. I could tell that it's worth seeing, so I did. The movie didn't disappoint. There's realness to the character that I don't get from watching movies made more recently, and the whole movie was - good. Now I can see why there are Richard Widmark fans out there. He's fantastic in this movie.

The plot is pretty shallow if you compare to newer movies. Nazis hiding in Latin American jungle, and a plane crashes bringing Widmark and Greer to their "estansia". But somehow, the movie has reality that's not seen in newer movies. I'm just not sophisticated enough to express what makes this movie that way.

The last 10 minutes of this movie is just superb. I doubt if you can make this movie better even if it was remade. I have renewed respect for Richard Widmark's talent as an actor.

Not terribly exciting to watch as it's more of a romantic film than an adventure. It was all a bit to easy for the goodies to escape the baddies and Kate's hairstyle and makeup remained remarkably well preserved even at the end of the film seemingly unaffected by the heat and humidity, she did manage to get a bit dirty.

I've seen The Dangerous Game and this film is supposed to be a remake of that but the plots are entirely different so it's not a remake of that excellent film.

The jungle in colour is nice to look at but it's not worth watching as it just jogs along with unconvincing danger elements with the "Nazis" no where close to be nasty enough.