For fans of tough-as-nails acting as seen in John Garfield and Shelly Winters, Dalton Trumbo, James Wong Howe’s cinematography, and early 50’s Noir

By: Gareth Jones

John Garfield died too young. At age 39, he suffered a heart attack after appearing before the House of Un-American Committee in 1951.  Always a standout in playing tough, working class underdogs, he brought his experience in the Group Theater to the screen along with other great actors of the 40’s and 50’s.  Teaming up with fellow “blacklisters” Dalton Trumbo and John Berry, Garfield makes He Ran All the Way an intense experience, working with a young Shelly Winters to create tension in a short 77 minutes.The film tells a simple tale of a payroll heist gone bad, resulting in Garfield’s robber holding up with Winter’s family in her apartment.  What could have been a completely unlikeable thief transforms into a complex, sympathetic character study.  The cinematography of James Wong Howe is memorable as always, with some astonishing use of shadow and angle.  Garfield produced it himself; it would be his final film. 

Available for streaming on The Criterion Channel as well as other major streaming services