The little runaway
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The little runaway |
| Original title | Little Fugitive |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1953 |
| length | 75 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Ray Ashley , Morris Engel , Ruth Orkin |
| script |
Ray Ashley , Morris Engel , Ruth Orkin |
| production |
Ray Ashley , Morris Angel |
| music | Eddy L. Manson |
| camera | Morris angel |
| cut |
Ruth Orkin , Lester Troos |
| occupation | |
| |
The Little Runaway is an American drama film , directed in 1953. The script is based on a story by co-director Ray Ashley. In Germany, the film was first shown in cinemas on May 20, 1960.
action
Joey Norton lives in Brooklyn with his mother and 11-year-old brother Lennie. Since the mother has to work, she instructs Lennie to take care of his brother. Lennie and his friends Charley and Harry play baseball on the street. Joey wants to participate, but he is not accepted. The mother receives a call that her mother is sick. She has to go there overnight to look after her and leave her sons alone. Lennie's plan to go to a fair on Coney Island the next day fails because he has to take care of Joey. Lennie plays hide and seek with Joey, but he only does it so he can sneak away.
Lenny, Charly and Harry read comics and think about how to get rid of little Joey. Lennie takes Joey to a field. Harry shows the boys his father's rifle there. He pretends the gun is sharp and lets Joey hold it. Unnoticed, she points in Lennie's direction, who has previously supplied himself with ketchup. A shot goes off and Lennie rolls on the floor. Harry tells the horrified Joey that the police are now looking for him, that he must go into hiding. Joey runs home, takes the money his mother left to buy food for her sons, and grabs his toy gun. Then he runs away.
Joey arrives at the fair on Coney Island and has fun on a carousel. When a song sounds that Lennie was playing on his harmonica earlier in the day, Joey remembers the incident. Joey tries to suppress that and continues to visit the attractions of the fair. When he runs out of money, he goes to the beach. There he meets a boy named Hank who is looking for returnable bottles there. Joey does the same and earns 25 cents on it. With that he goes back to the fair to the pony riding stand, which is run by Jay. Jay teaches Joey to ride and tells him stories. Again Joey goes to the beach and collects bottles so he can continue to be with Jay. Jay likes the boy and allows him to ride the biggest pony for free. When Jay asks if he has any friends on the beach, Joey runs away.
Joey lies down under a pier and falls asleep. The next morning the beach and the fair are deserted. At the pony stand he meets Jay again, who promises to hire him if Joey gives him his name and address. Jay calls the apartment and reaches worried Lennie. When Joey sees Jay talking to a police officer, he runs away again. Lennie arrives at the fair and puts up leaflets saying that Joey should come to the booth where parachute jumps are being simulated. Lennie goes to the booth and wants to take a jump herself. He is promoted upstairs and sees Joey with a balloon. After the jump, Lennie looks for his brother in the crowd. He sees the balloon and follows it, then is disappointed when the balloon soars into the sky.
In the evening there is a storm with heavy gusts and heavy rain. The beach is emptying. After the storm, Lennie finds his brother who is collecting bottles again. He tells Joey that his death was a joke and takes him home. They arrive shortly before their mother, to whom they do not tell anything. The mother is happy that her boys are safe at home and promises them to go to the fair on Coney Island with them next weekend, which makes both of them grin.
Reviews
"An outsider film with a documentary touch, which stands out for its idiosyncratic visual art and an astonishingly true study of the child's mentality."
Awards
Venice Film Festival 1953
- Silver Lion for Ray Ashley, Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin
- Nomination for Best Original Story for Ray Ashley, Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin
- Nomination for the WGA Award for Best American Drama
Further honors
- 1954: Nastro d'Argento des Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani for the best foreign film
- 1997: Admission to the National Film Registry of the National Film Preservation Board
background
The film, for which its own production company ( Little Fugitive Production Company ) was established, had a budget of 30,000 US dollars.
Morris Engel, husband of Ruth Orkin, was a cameraman in the US Army Signal Corps during World War II . Engel made another film with his wife ( Lovers and Lollipops , 1956).
The actors in the film were unknown amateur actors. Only Will Lee made a career in film. He became known as Mr. Hooper (in German dubbing Herr Huber) in the American version of the children's show Sesame Street .
In 2006 Joanna Lipper directed a remake of the film under the same original title. The remake has not yet been released in Germany.
Web links
- Little Fugitive in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Review by Dean Jardine ( memento from February 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) at apolloguide.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The little runaway. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 29, 2016 .
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046004/business