Run for the Sun (1956) User Reviews

Little known remake of "Most Dangerous Game" worth seeing

[funkyfry · 7/10 · 30 October 2002]

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.

exciting jungle film

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 12 December 2005]

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.

Run With Dick and Jane

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 21 October 2005]

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.

Widmark and Greer racing through the jungle...

[Doylenf · 31 January 2002]

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.

Colorful adaptation of the classic film with a magnificent Richard Widmark

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 22 March 2006]

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 .

A Film of Two Halves

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 24 November 2008]

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.

Great Film to View

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 24 September 2006]

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.

Not really "The Most Dangerous Game" but a solid, beautiful survival romance set in Mexico

[secondtake · 7/10 · 29 May 2011]

Run for the Sun (1956)

This begins in Mexico, with a charming and warmly photographed encounter between a reclusive Hemingway-like novelist on the outs and a too-beautiful reporting trying to track him down. They have a series of interactions that establish both the man's independence and self-criticism (positive qualities) and the woman's weakening resolve, since she kind of likes the guy and doesn't want to blow his seclusion. He doesn't know what she's up to at first, and she just wants to give up and go home before he discovers her duplicity.

But this is just a set-up so that the rest of the movie, the most dangerous game part, where the two are pursued through the jungle for a hour of exhaustion. Richard Widmark makes a convincing writer/adventurist out for himself, drowning in alcohol, and then surviving in the jungle. And surprisingly, Jane Greer, often something of an ornament in movies because she looks so good, is perfectly tough and (later) weary while still playing the female reporter a little out of her league. The two are also given time in the first scenes to develop a genuine understanding for each other, the basis for a growing affection. When thing get dire later and they cling to each other (this is no spoiler, surely), you expect and need it.

Ostensibly (and officially, in the opening credits) this second half of the movie is based on the Richard Connell short story, "The Most Dangerous Game," though it's too far removed from the original to count. The core of the story is about a famous hunter becoming the prey to a slightly crazed man who loves to hunt the most dangerous of animals: humans. But this is not a twist of roles, or a matter of wanting to test a man's hunting skills against human prey. This is just about two innocents who learn something they shouldn't and have to run for their lives.

Though the Connell story has a creepy originality to it, I rather like this movie more than either of the earlier adaptations (the 1932 "The Most Dangerous Game" and the 1945 "A Game of Death). Both of those are closer to the original, though both take the liberty of adding a woman to the story and the improbably and convenient outline of an unnecessary romance. "Run for the Sun" has morphed into something new, and better, the romance becoming central.

Director Ray Boulting, who got his start making documentaries, gives the film a kind of British flavor (Connell was American), making the bad guy a twisted diplomat for Britain who went bad during WWII. The whole scenario in the Mexican jungle feels like that classic situation of a Brit somewhere far from London going native but bringing a little bit of England with him, with tea and good books and indigenous servants.

In the end, the events are fairly straight forward, which is its largest flaw. The realistic filming of the chase (most of it is believable, both rugged and unsensational) compensates for the fact that you sort of know the outcome. A clever trick with a bullet near the end is a fun, almost James Bond, innovation. The glue, and the sugar, here is the acting, Widmark above all convincing both in his delivery and for his physical energy. Greer is just fine, though she's given little to do but respond, and get very very tired. It's her clever magnetic notepad holder that gets them in trouble, if you pay attention. The evil Mr. Browne? Played by a very British Trevor Howard to perfection.

The filming is first rate, and it's no wonder with Joseph LaShelle behind the camera. He did some classic noirs, but then moved to a decade of terrific wide screen color films, including several with Billy Wilder. Here, the camera-work is really nice, and the color itself is truly striking and clean. Naturally, it's still top notch Technicolor and not one of the Kodak competitors which were still thin by comparison. And it's shot about 50 miles from Mexico City. The hacienda is beyond gorgeous.

If you just approach this movie for what it is, a kind of less outrageous "African Queen" without the star power, it's a lot of well made fun. If you come into it expecting another "The Most Dangerous Game," you'll have to make some adjustments quickly.

A Name in the Bullet

[ragosaal · 7/10 · 19 November 2006]

+++++++ THIS COMMENT CONTAINS SPOILERS +++++++

I saw "Run for the Sun" when I was a bit more than a kid in the middle 50's. Though I haven't had the chance of seeing it again since, for some reason I remember its plot most clearly. Nazis hidden in a remote jungle (Trevor Howard and Peter Van Eyck) are discovered by chance by a couple of Americans (Richard Widmark and Jane Greer) after their plane crashes nearby. When they find out who their hosts are Widmark and Geer are chased through the jungle in a sort of deadly hunting game.

There was also a most unusual sequence when Widmark unarmed is hiding behind a sort of wooden wall and sees Howard coming towards him with a rifle; so he places the only bullet he has in a small hole in the wall and hits it hard with a rock shooting Howard down. I don't think this could really work mostly because it would be impossible to aim at anything but nevertheless the idea is most original and besides: what has Widmark to loose in trying? (in a "The Avengers" TV series episode Patrick MacNee uses exactly the same trick to get rid of a menacing villain).

I know the story of humans hunted by humans has been in movies before ("The Most Dangerous Game") but "Run for the Sun" stands as a real little big colorful adventure film in my opinion, most entertaining and enjoyable. As I remember this movie it couldn't be less than a 7 out of 10.

Latimer's Run

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 6 November 2022]

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.

Run for the Sun: Underwhelming remake

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 23 April 2019]

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

Lord Haw Haw as Count Zaharoff

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 6 August 2005]

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.

Respectable version of The Most Dangerous Game

[MissSimonetta · 7/10 · 31 August 2015]

People seem to generally dislike Run for the Sun (1956), but I rather like it. Sure it has its flaws, such as poor pacing, but the elements it gets right, it does well.

The love story between Mike and Katie is touching and maturely handled. I thought both characters were interesting, especially Mike, who is a Hemingway-like author who feels like he has lost his inspiration. Katie is intelligent and collected, though her icy demeanor melts once she falls for Mike-- unfortunately, she becomes rather damsel-like once the climax hits.

The odd part about RFTS is that it works best before we get to the "people hunting people" scenario. Honestly, the bit with the Nazi war criminals feels tacked on and isn't nearly as interesting as the romance or the original Connell story (and for that matter, the superb 1932 film of the same name). There's little sense of danger or suspense either, making the last twenty minutes feel like an anti-climax.

Not as effective as it could have been, but certainly better than its reputation among film-goers would imply. A worthy remake.

Not a lot going on here

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 26 January 2024]

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.

Solid

[Dilophosaurus · 27 September 2004]

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.

Widmark and Greer pursued through the jungle by Nazis...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 11 January 2016]

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.

Nazi's hunt Richard Widmark & Jane Greer in the Mexican jungles

[a_chinn · 7/10 · 29 January 2018]

Exciting and suspenseful reworking of "The Most Dangerous Game" has Richard Widmark as a reclusive Hemingway-like writer living in Mexico and Jane Greer as a magazine reporter trying to find out why he stopped writing. Two find themselves stranded in the jungle after their plane crashes. They happen upon a remote compound with some friendly European gentlemen, except that these gentlemen really aren't so friendly and SPOILER ALERT! are Nazi and Russian war criminals who then want to hunt Widmark and Greer for sport. Tone can be difficult with these human-hunting-human stories, where it can easily become ridiculous (i.e. "Hart Target"), but this film gets it right and I'll credit the smart script co-written by Dudley Nichols, who wrote everything from "Bringing Up Baby" to "Stagecoach." The story moves along at a good clip, with Widmark growing increasingly suspicious of his hosts, and has some solid action and suspense once the hunt begins. FUN FACT: According to IMDB, Richard Widmark thought this was one of his worst films and used to tell his kids that if they didn't behave themselves, they'd have to watch " Run for the Sun".

Run for your life

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 29 June 2011]

***SPOILERS*** Trying to track down famous American novelist Mike Latimer,Richard Widmark, who dropped out of sight fives years ago Sight Magazine investigative reporter Katie Connors, Jane Greer, finds Latimer at this Mexican fishing village San Marcos out, what else, fishing. It doesn't take long for Latimer to figure out that Katie isn't just there for the scenery or fish since she tells him she doesn't know squat about fishing and is not at all interested in the sport! Agreeing to fly Katie back to Mexico City, when her fishing party failed to arrive in town, where she can catch a plane back to the states Latimer's plane crash lands in the Mexican jungle where he and Katie are rescued by British explorer Browne, Trevor Howard, and his friend Dutch archaeologist Dr. Van Anders, Peter Van Eyck.

It's not that long that we find out that both Browne & Van Anders are fugitive Nazi war criminals, Browne being a traitor to his country as well, on the run from justice. The film really takes off together with Latimer and Katie when the two find out who Bowne & Van Anders really are and try to flee on foot through the swamps and woods to get to Latimer's plane that the two Nazis had hidden deep in the Mexican jungle! Exciting man and woman on the run film with a really well though out ending in Latimer finishing off Browne, without the use of a rifle, with the very bullet that was meant for him when he was a war corespondent with the US paratroopers on D-Day! As for Nazi fugitive Van Anders he got his the hard way by being chopped up by Latimer's plane's motor blades when he, in typical Nazi superman macho fashion, single handedly tried to prevent Latier and Katie from escaping.

P.S Actress Jane Green didn't know it at the time but she contracted a rare and near fatal tropical disease when she was filmed together with co-star Richard Widmark wading through the dirty and incest infected swamp water in the movie. It was years later after she discovered that she had it that Greer was treated for her illness which ended up saving her life.

man hunting man thriller

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 9 July 2021]

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.

Never A Dull Moment.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 26 June 2011]

Rather fun. Widmark is an Ernest Hemingway figure who is suffering from writer's block and has hidden away in a tiny Mexican village where he spends his time fishing and drinking. Jane Greer is on the editorial board of a New York magazine who disguises her identity and seeks him out to write a tell-all piece about him.

When the time comes for Greer to leave, Widmark offers to fly her from the minuscule airfield of San Marcos (not the one in Texas) to Mexico City, but Greer innocently places her metal notepad next to the compass and the airplane gets lost over the Mexican jungle.

After the crash, which is ill-handled by the producer, Widmark and Greer find themselves guests at an ancient but elaborate hacienda in the middle of the bush. Their hosts are Trevor Howard, who turns out to be Lord Haw Haw in hiding, and Peter van Eyck, his companion who claims to be a Dutch archaeologist but is really an escaped Nazi. It's always interesting to see which cultural group the Thought Police will use as villains. One might think, well, 1956, maybe a secret band of Soviet terrorists spreading communism among the Yanomami, but, no, they haven't forgiven the Germans yet.

Widmark begins to twig early on. He's heard their voices somewhere. As Lord Haw Haw, of course, Widmark would have heard his propaganda broadcasts in England during the war. And when, at dinner, van Eyck says he's studying the pre-Mayan cultures of the area, Widmark, in a tone full of suspicion, remarks that he didn't think there were any cultures before the Mayan. Of course, he's wrong. Where does he think the Mayans sprang from, a nest of ants, like myrmidons? Anyway, all that is prologue. The last third of the movie is an exciting chase through the bush, borrowing heavily from "The Most Dangerous Game" and "The Hounds of Zaroff." After they escape, Widmark and Greer plunge through jungle and rivers armed with nothing but a bush knife and the various traps Widmark manages to set to knock off the men and dogs who are in hot pursuit.

There is no poetry in the film. Widmark may be a writer but after a brief exchange with Greer in a cantina, that persona is quickly dispensed with and he becomes a traditional macho anti-intellectual hero in an adventure movie. And when the duo in danger hide a few feet away from Howard and van Eyck, I thought of a similar moment in Fritz Lang's "An American Guerrilla in the Philippines," when Tom Ewell is under a log a few feet from a Japanese patrol. His feet are bare, and they rest on an ant hill. It's a wrenching scene and there's nothing like it in this film from Ray Bolton. All it would have required is a moment's creative thought. Some goofs are obvious too. Widmark manages to escape from a building by killing an armed man with a trick. He leaps over the body and rushes off without bothering to pick up the rifle and arm himself.

That lack of originality doesn't spoil the movie. It's engaging at first. Then it becomes tense -- and the tension lasts until the end. Widmark is almost always likable, even as the heavy, and Greer exudes class. You know, though, if Howard and van Eyck were nowhere near civilization, where did they get all their booze from?

In The Doghouse

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 7 July 2015]

Given that there are only seven basic plots it seems foolish to spend so much time both alleging and rebutting the connection (or non) between Run For The Sun and The Most Dangerous Game aka The Hounds Of Zaroff. Over the years there have been several films involving an isolated house, an eccentric/insane owner who lures - or waits for the genuinely lost - travellers to his bailiwick, entertains them royally for a short time then explains the way back to the civilised world, gives them a reasonably start and then goes in pursuit with a pack of hounds. This is, of course, a sound basis for a thriller and begs variations. In Run For The Sun Trevor Howard is a William Joyce (Lord 'Haw Haw') who, unlike the original, escaped the hangman's noose and holed up in a Mexican jungle. Richard Widmark and Jane Greer, flying in Widmark's plane to Acapulco, veer off course, run out of gas, and crash not too far from Howard's home. Once Widmark figures out who Howard is and realises there's no way Howard can afford to let them go, he goes on the lam with Greer with Howard and a pack of dogs on their trail. It's competent, Widmark is invariably good value and Greer is good to look at. What's not to like.

Couple crash-land in Mexican jungle, encounter Nazis in-hiding

[bux · 9/10 · 9 October 1998]

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.

Somewhat intriguing, but slightly outdated.

[jordondave-28085 · 7/10 · 5 June 2023]

(1956) Run For The Sun THRILLER

Adaption from Richard Connell's book "The Most Dangerous Game", co-written and directed by Roy Boulting, that has reporter, Katherine 'Katie' Connors (Jane Greer) seeking for renown missing author, Michael 'Mike' Latimer (Richard Widmark) who was found hiding somewhere in some remote Mexican fishing village. And upon both Katie coming back along with Mike flying his plane to Mexico City, they both stumble across some Nazi pre- war idealists, headed by actor Trevor Howard as Browne hiding amongst the jungles of Mexico. Somewhat intriguing, but slightly outdated.

A "Classic" In Its Own Right

[ebiros2 · 29 July 2011]

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.

Remake of the Most Dangerous Game OK - Run For the Sun

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 5 January 2022]

Richard Widmark is very believable in this role of a writer with the dreaded, hackneyed "writer's block". He is discovered by a magazine writer played by Greer, who does a good job as well. Their trek through the jungle to escape nazis hiding after the war is reminiscent of "The Most Dangerous Game", where the hunters eventually become the hunted. A passable adventure yarn.