User reviews

Britain just after the second world war must have been a grim place indeed. Still looking like a bomb site, with poor living standards, inadequate social services, stifling conformity and tough policing. Amid this bleak social landscape, Bogarde is a hopeless, alienated character fleeing from the police after a crime of momentary passion. He is joined by a scared and emotionally scarred small boy also on the run from a harsh reality. Their journey together is gruelling yet at the same time strangely aimless, as they focus on escaping the past with little idea of their future.

Like all good road movies, the journey changes the characters, as they are affected, enriched and ultimately redeemed by their own striving and by their personal interaction. Any more detail would spoil this story but you can be guaranteed of a fine reward at the end if you can stick with the grinding progress of this particular odyssey.

Filmed in suitably bleak black and white, there's a slightly too earnest quality about the way this movie strives to put everything in the worst possible perspective – but that's when looked at from the comfortable perspective of half a century later when life is a lot softer for many of us. Go the distance with this one and you'll be a better person for it.

There is a very perceptible difference between Hollywood productions and British filmmaking. Hollywood would have over-dramatized this film. "Big" stars would have been included. The production values would have been pristine, first-rate and in color. And the end result would have been considerably less than that which was produced by British filmmaking. Dick Bogarde was just as good as any 50s Hollywood male star. The child star, Jon Whitely, was exceptional, and some spoiled LA brat could not have done half as well. A film about a murderer trying to escape can be gripping. And a film about a mistreated boy who runs away from home can be very engaging as well. But if you combine those two elements, you have a classic, and this is it.

From the opening scenes of Hunted, directly after the credits, when the dramatic music accompanies a little boy running through the streets of London clutching a teddy bear, we just know this is going to be a great film and it certainly is. Filmed in England and Scotland in late 1951 and released early in 1952, this truly is a wonderful film. The boy is six years old orphaned Scots boy Robbie Campbell (a truly outstanding debut performance by six years old Scots boy Jon Whiteley), who is running and searching for somewhere to hide after accidentally setting the kitchen curtains on fire in his adoptive London home and, believing he has set the house on fire, is fleeing the severe punishment that he believes will be meted out to him by his cruel and violent adoptive father. He ends up running into a derelict building on a bomb site some distance from home where he accidentally comes upon a man, Chris Lloyd (Dirk Bogarde), having just murdered his wife's lover in a crime of passion. Seeing that Robbie has seen the body and is the only witness to his crime, Chris abducts him and takes him on the run with him as he attempts to flee the country and the long arm of the law. Robbie, unloved at home and cruelly treated by his adoptive father, dare not return home and a bond develops between the two fugitives as Robbie flees his adoptive father and Chris flees the police and the hangman's rope.

Chris is at first completely uncaring and rough in his attitude to Robbie, but he gradually takes on the responsibility for Robbie's devotion as the two flee from London and travel up through the midlands to Stoke-on-Trent and then north into Scotland. As the journey gets tougher, Chris has to force Robbie to keep going, to carry him in his arms and to hold him, against the cold, as they sleep out in the wilderness.

It really is a superbly made drama and I read somewhere that, of all the many Rank films Dirk Bogarde made during his long career, this was his personal favourite. It is also a film record of a bygone post-war Britain; from its bomb sites and tramcars and horse drawn traffic in the capital, to the now long gone pottery factories of Stoke on Trent, belching forth their black smoke from huge bottle ovens and covered with industrial grime. The railway scenes in the film were filmed on the equally now long gone Potteries Loop Line at Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, one of hundreds of lines that fell under the Dr Beeching axe in the 1960's. All completely gone now, but captured for posterity on 35mm black and white film in Hunted.

The film is also a social record of the UK in 1951, a time of general poverty; of post-war austerity and ration books, when everybody dresses so drably. The police in the film may, by modern standards, seem to be having great difficulty in tracking down Chris and Robbie. But you have to take into account the fact that in those days, television was in its infancy; the police had no personal radio communications or computers or helicopters and the pace of life was very different. In real life 1951, a man on the run could quite easily abduct a little boy and take him all over the country with him without being apprehended. So this film then is a contemporary account of how things would have been back in 1951.

Today, in an increasingly paranoid age when, in the minds of many, man abducting little boy equals sex, this film is from a time when characters in films apparently didn't even think of such things. This mindset is no better demonstrated than by one of the police officials in the film who confesses to a colleague that he can't understand what Chris Lloyd wants with the boy. "Why does he hang on to him?" These days, the police would probably put two and two together and make five. However, the story is far more complicated than it would seem at first glance. For the film is not really as much about child abduction as it is about two people of very different ages teaming up in a common cause. Neither of them can go home again and all they have is each other.

Early on in the film, before the loving relationship between Chris and Robbie develops, Chris says to the boy: "You don't like me, do you?" "No", says Robbie. "Well, why don't you go off home, then?" asks Chris. "I don't want to go home", answers Robbie. Hence his decision to stay with Chris. As soon as Robbie gets over the initial shock of being dragged off by Chris at the beginning of the film, he comes to realise that from now on, his only future is with his co-fugitive.

At only six and a half years of age, Jon Whiteley is perfect for this film and comes across variously as scared; devious;furtive and, for a short time, happy to be with Chris and away from his abusive home. His sheer delight at seeing men hay making in a field during the long journey north has to be seen to be believed. Dirk and Jon got on so well together that when the filming finished and they had to part, Jon was reportedly inconsolable. Dirk wanted to adopt the boy, but his friends persuaded him against it. The chemistry between Dirk and Jon is plain to see and what a team they make.

This film is an absolute classic. Beautifully acted; directed and photographed. One of the best British films of the 1950's. 10 out of 10 for this black and white gem.

....and "Gloria" (1980) and "Leon" as well...Charles Crichton,whose career spans the second half of the century ("a fish named Wanda"!),is definitely a director to upgrade.

"Hunted" is a small gem ,a suspenseful sensitive story which casts Bogarde as an unlucky murderer on the lam and young John Whiteley as a moving kid.A road movie,from the bleak city to the wild moors of Scotland ,where a special chemistry between the man and the boy literally grows on the audience .

Spoilers.Spoilers. Like all the great storytellers ,Crichton introduces first Bogarde as the "villain " who abducts a cute brat.But further acquaintance shows this:actually both of them are victims of a society that increases the prestige of money ,of Bogarde's boss who sleeps with his wife ,a society that does not care a little bit about its orphans whom it leaves to hateful "parents" .The boy really acts as if he's got nothing to lose.

Admirable sequence :In a bedroom they share for one night,Bogarde begins a bedtime story for his protégé:it's a fairy tale ,a story of a giant.But little by little ,the story becomes HIS own story :what a smart way of letting us know about the hero's past!During this sequence ,which takes place halfway through the film,we see the boy SMILE for the first time.His face is so beaming we are on the verge of tears .He will laugh later ,in his pal's mean brother's house ,during the meal.When Bogarde sails away with his "hostage" ,he makes the story he told come true . End of spoilers .end of spoilers

Bogarde's rendering is a real tour de force and many consider this part

his first important one:tense,distraught,anguished,he runs the whole gamut of emotions.Matching him every step of the way is Whiteley's performance :in the three examples I mention at the beginning of my comment ,which I admire (with the exception of Besson's) ,the young actors cannot hold a candle to him.Instant karma:he won a special AA the following year,and was given the main part in Lang's "Moonfleet" in 1954.He was to meet again Bogarde in "Spanish gardener".

Crichton had often been labeled "for the whole family".But they totally missed the point:"hunted" is not a rosy work,its open ending does not settle the things ,but increases our fear of what will become of our two so endearing heroes.His directing is now nervous -the first sequences when the heroes do not stop running -,now intimate -all the scenes where the two characters hang on to each other,now poetic -the seagulls which accompany the triumphant voyage .A wonderful use of nature (not unlike Charles Laughton's "the night of the hunter") and its wildlife where the runaways take refuge.

Wonderful movie.

Although this movie is nearly fifty years old, it had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. What was going to happen next? Would the characters escape? I can't say much more, without giving away the story except - "Hunted" was brilliantly plotted and directed. Thumbs up to everyone concerned, including Dirk Bogarde as the wanted man, and Jon Whitely as the little boy whom he first used, and then befriended.

Right from the start this movie settles its direction straight: A bleak and almost unbearable ambiance surrounds Rob and Chris. They both got nothing to lose and so this unequal pair is ready to be on the run. Every scene is beautifully shot and the actors are really going through the motions. The greatest thing about this movie are teaches of the heart. The "bad" killer is a soft and caring guy whose life as a poor sailor dragged him into this mess.

Think about which society you're living in and why people sometimes do what they have to do...

Outstanding movie by all means!

Buy it now!

This film has the feeling of having been extensively edited.There seems to be the first reel missing.Bogarde and the boy are on the bomb site without any explanation,this now has to come late in explanatory dialogue.After starting out to be a standard fugitive film it develops into a sort of reverse 39 Steps.The problem is that with each step taken by Bogarde his reason for keeping the boy seems even more implausible..After all since he will be having a date with Albert Pierrepoint you would think that the last thing he would want to be lumbered with is a child.I am no fan of films featuring young children,of which there were many in the 1859s.So I am afraid that I found this film to be a bit of a pain.

A hardened criminal gets back in touch with his humanity after caring for a vulnerable boy while both are on the run.

If you didn't love Dirk Bogarde before seeing this film, you will after.

Hunted (AKA: The Stranger In Between) is directed by Charles Crichton and co-written by Jack Whittingham and Michael McCarthy. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Jon Whiteley, Elizabeth Sellars and Kay Walsh. Music is by Hubert Clifford and cinematography by Eric Cross.

Story finds Bogarde and Whiteley as man and boy on the run for differing reasons. Bogarde's Chris Lloyd is a fugitive, Whiteley's Robbie a orphan being mistreated in his adoptive home. The odd couple, fleeing authority, but heading where?

Haunting yet beautiful, firm but tender, Hunted is a terrific piece of Brit film noir that holds you in its grip from beginning to end. Film unfolds as being about two lost souls traversing the British lands, from a ravaged London in the beginning to a Scottish harbour at the end. Initially suspicious of each other, with the adult inconvenienced by his child companion, the relationship will develop as their respective demons surface. Who is the more frightened of the two? What hope is there for them? Fate has brought them together, but fate can often deal a deadly hand, what hand has been dealt Chris and Robbie? It's this question that hangs heavy in the tense story, ensuring our attention at all times.

As the journey takes them out of the city, into the country and finally out to the sea shore, we are treated to no end of visual smarts. Imagery is a big part of Hunted's worth to the film noir enthusiast, be it monuments or various building structures, Crichton (Dead of Night) and Cross (The Mystery of the Marie Celeste) ensure that the simmering narrative is well served by locations and items that surround our two protagonists. Shadowed balustrade, spiral staircase, murky street lights, dingy basement, low lighted farm houses, barns, haystacks, railway sidings, medieval relic structure, and on it goes, all given a forbidding sheen by the makers, backed significantly, too, by Clifford's music swells and low rumble peters.

Some means and motivations are purposely left grey, which means we get more dramatic/emotional impact for certain passages of dialogue, such as a bedtime story sequence that grips the heart considerably. The acting is first rate from Bogarde (Victim) and Whiteley (Moonfleet), very believable is their relationship (they would also make The Spanish Gardner together in 56), with Bogarde never better as he shifts seamlessly from a man of fiery rage and panic, to a tender soul reaching out in the shadows, desperately searching for redemption.

Now available on DVD with a very good print, Hunted is yearning to be seen by more people. It deserves it, a real treat, both thematically and visually, one of the best new discoveries for me in 2012. 9/10

In the 1950s, Dirk Bogarde played three main sorts of roles in films--sailors or soldiers, the nice Dr. Sparrow in the Doctor movies as well as complete sociopaths. Of these roles, the sociopaths are by far the most interesting to watch. During this time, he often played murderers and crooks on the run. So, when I first started watching "The Stranger in Between", it came as no surprise as he's once again playing a murderer on the run! However, as the film progresses you realize that this seemingly simple film has a lot more depth to it--depth that make it a standout picture.

When the movie begins, a cute little boy is hiding after he'd been playing with matches. He stumbles into the hiding place of Chris (Bogarde)--a guy who is wanted for murder! Chris doesn't want to let the boy go--he could tell people where he's hiding. So he convinces the boy that the police are looking for BOTH of them and they set off together on a cross-country run to avoid capture.

About midway through this movie, you start to notice some things that make it interesting. Chris isn't just a mindless killer--his motivations and what he did exactly aren't quite so black and white. The boy also is not just some scared kid--he's been terribly abused and in some ways he's better off on the run with a killer than staying in his former life! The film also has a few unexpectedly nice moments between the two. Chalk this up to excellent acting, writing and direction. Where is this all going? Well, see the film to find out for yourself.

A cute 7-year-old boy runs away from home and into the crowded city streets because he accidentally set the curtains at home on fire and is afraid of the potential punishment he'll receive from his foster parents. He ends up in a dark alley, and straight into the arms of thug Chris Lloyd who just murdered a bank employee. The two run off together. At first, Lloyd considers the little kid as a sort of safety assurance, but he can't get rid of him, and he eventually grows fond of the boy as he flees further north.

I'm a bit struggling with what exactly the main message of the film is. Is it that you can't let a little child die when you are the only adult around to look after him? Isn't that rather obvious? I also don't understand why "Hunted" has such a high rating and receives such favorable reviews, since I found it a rather dull movie. More than half of the film exists of little Robbie whining about how hungry and tired he is, but he also follows around his adult role model like a shadow. On the bright side, I've never been a fan of Dirk Bogarde, but admittedly he gives a stellar performance here.

The key word is "What do you think girls marry sailors for?", the scornful reply of his wife's lover which triggers the tragedy and opens the stage for the development of an abyss of humanity. It's a fugitive epic, like an old Icelandic saga, as there is no end to this Golgatha walk of constantly more worrying and heart-rending tribulations of a man getting lost in life by over-reacting to a shock, which under the circumstances is perfectly natural, like a crime passionel, and finds a very singular companion to his troubles in small boy escaping from home and the tortures by his step-father.

Dirk Bogarde is good as always and finds himself perfectly at home in this harrowing walk through hell to nowhere ending up in a paradox of freedom where he finds no other choice than to resign just as he finally found a way out. It's not his misfortune or his suffering that guides him but the small boy who ever and again compels him to choose a path leading him on to unknown territory of his previous human experience and deciding his fate. That makes this a very educating ordeal and truly a film out of the ordinary if not extremely unique. It's very unpleasant for its arduous trials but has to make you a different person afterwards with a lot more sober perspective to yourself and reality. It gets you outside of yourself as it compels you to empathize with these two outlawed characters in search of an alternative to the reality which has treated them with irrepairable injustice to the point of extreme abuse without finding it or anything else than even deeper despair and trouble. This fate teaches you something, but you have to find the lesson by yourself after the film has ended. This is a film you can't escape from, but you have to see it again some time for its wholesome and purging trials. It's life at the edge of what you can endure, tested to extremity.

The name of the English director Charles Crichton is almost automatically associated by many with 'A Fish Called Wanda', the sparkling comedy from 1988. However, that was practically the last fiction film made by the director who was then 78 years old and was at the end of a career in who had directed more than 50 films in various genres from comedies to thrillers and had also put his name on some memorable creations of British television, including episodes of the cult series 'The Avengers' in the 60s. 36 years before this latest success, Crichton had directed a gem of a black-and-white film called 'Hunted' starring Dirk Bogarde, one of his favorite actors, alongside a six-and-a-half-year-old blond boy who filled the screen, like any child actor of great talent. In one hour and 20 minutes, Crichton has created a believable and humane story and captured, better than any documentary of the era, the image of an England struggling to recover from the destruction and human trauma of war.

Alfred Hitchcock emerged in the English film school, but had crossed the ocean over a decade before 1952. I think that he appreciated and would have signed the first few minutes of 'Hunted' without hesitation. It's an exceptional introduction. A boy of about six runs through the streets of London with a teddy bear in his hand. He carelessly crosses the street and is almost run over by a carriage pulled by two stallions. He continues to run and takes refuge in a building in ruins. There he comes across a man smoking a cigarette next to a corpse. We understand that he had just killed another man. The child freezes and drops the toy from his hands. The man takes his hand and the two leave together - the killer and the only witness to the crime.

Chris, the murderous man, had as motive for his crime the infidelity of his wife, who had taken advantage of the long absences due to his profession as a sailor to cheat on him. Robbie, the little boy, had good reasons to run away from home where he was being abused by his adoptive parents. The dependence between the two turns into a relationship of friendship and mutual support. They are fugitives and cross England from south to north, reaching the sea that may open the gate of salvation for them. All is shot with documentary simplicity and authenticity by Eric Cross, one of the best-known and most prolific cinematographers of English pre- and post-WWII films. Italian neorealism is not far away. Jon Whiteley is amazing as the little boy. Child actors usually charm and conquer through naturalness and sincerity, in his case an extraordinary expressiveness is added. Chris and Robbie's relationship never descends into melodrama. 'Hunted' is a simple and moving film, a beautiful combination of film noir and road movie, a gem in black and white.

I saw this movie on television back in 1976, I was about 10 years old and I never forgot it. Something had mobilized in me to vaguely remember her until now I looked for her and saw her again. It tells the story of two fugitives, an orphan boy adopted by a cruel marriage that subjects him to punishment, and a man who, in a fit of jealousy, murders his wife's lover. Fate causes their paths to cross and together they begin an anguished escape from their past lives. At first, Chris tries by all means to abandon little Robby on the way to a certain shelter, but the boy feels protected by Chris and does not know. Takes him off Little by little, a relationship of father and son love is born between them that will culminate in a dramatic but successful way. It's hard to imagine this movie starring actors other than Dirk Bogarde and Jon Witheley, as both are perfect in their roles. Bogarde manages to convey all the feelings that his character goes through, indifference, anguish, despair, love and sweetness and little Whiteley is absolutely wonderful. The chemistry between the two is superlative. Director Charles Crichton did a superb job perfectly creating an atmosphere both haunting and romantic. A movie that is a real gem.

"Hunted" is about a little boy that by accident is witness of a murder and goes on the run with the murderer. The first sounds a little bit like "Witness" (1985, Peter Weir), the second as "A perfect world" (1993, Clint Eastwood).

Ultimately the film has more in common with "A perfect world" in that eventually a close bond is formed between the child and the criminal. "Hunted" is a sort of superlative step of "A perfect world" in that it contains "ein umwerting aller werten". Bad guys turn out to be good and the other way round.

"Hunted" was for me also an introduction to a completely different side of the oeuvre of Charles Chrichton. Until now I had only seen two Ealing comedies: "The Lavender Hill mob" (1951) and "The Titfield Thunderbolt" (1953).

I liked this introduction to the non comedy side of Charles Chrichton very much, and I wasn't the only one. Director Chrichton himself told that making the movie gave a boost to his self confidence, lead actor Dirk Bogarde considers it his best movie from the fifties and last but not least the movie won the first prize in the International Locarno film festival. On top of that I like to mention cinematographer Eric Cross. The photography is very beautiful and in the beginning of the movie the scenes in the industrial landscapes and the working class areas reminded me very much of "A taste of honey" (1961, Tony Richardson).

Over time the film has fallen into oblivion. In my opinion unjustified, it is a hidden gem.