HUNTED

UK, 1952, 84 minutes, Black and white.
Dirk Bogarde, Jon Whitely, Kay Walsh, Elizabeth Sellars, Frederick Piper, Geoffrey Keen, Julian Somers.
Directed by Charles Crichton.

Hunted is a brief thriller of the '50s, effectively directed by Charles Crichton who made a number of films for Ealing Studios. It features the young Dirk Bogarde as well as Jon Whitely, who made such an impact as one of the Kidnappers. There is an excellent supporting cast which includes Elizabeth Sellars, Kay Walsh, Geoffrey Keen. Authentic locations are used. The film, though brief, has good characterisations and draws well the bond between the hunted killer and the little boy running away from home.

1. Interesting and effective small thriller? A film of the '50s?

2. Black and white photography, locations and their authenticity? The mood and pace of the film? Musical score?

3. The situation of Chris and Robbie? Chris's quilt or innocence? A man on the outer, the sailor, the chase? The little boy running away from home? Guilt about setting fire to the house? The bonds between the two? The love each for each? Chris giving his life for Robbie?

4. Chris, the fight, the man's death? The meeting with Robbie? On the run, hiding, the need for money, Robbie going into the house but failing to get the money, Chris and his wife and her affair? The escape from the city, getting lifts along the road? The boarding house and their plans? The suspicions of the wife? Robbie, caring for him, the food? The impact on him? Chris's moods ~ wanting to get rid of the boy, helping him? The mutual dependence? The running away from the house after the discovery of the truth? Crossing the train tracks, travelling by night, aiming for the mountains? Hunger? The farm? The contact with Chris's brother, going to the house, his rejection? The boat, the escape? Robbie sick, the brevity of Chris bringing him back and the end of the film? Leaving it to audience imagination? Dirk Bogarde's portrait of Chris?

5. Robbie and his parents, the orphan, playing with matches, the fire, running away? The gradual revelation of his foster parents' cruelty, the marks on his back, his fear? The chance encounter with Chris? Going with him, his fears about the fire? Avoiding the police? Going into the house to get the money? The perspective of the little boy? On the run, the lifts, at the boarding house and the kindness of the wife? The leaving of the house, running away, into the mountains? Chris's moods and Robbie always coming back? On the boat, his sickness? A good portrait of a little boy?

6. The sketch of the police, investigations, pursuit?

7. Chris's brother, the phone contact, his respectability in the village, his rejection of his brother, Chris's reaction?

8. The boarding house, the kindly woman, coping with the truth about Chris, the
newspaper, her husband?

9. Chris's wife, the affair, her fear?

10. Robbie's parents, seeming ordinary, their concern, the gradual revelation of their harshness and cruelty?