Based upon a novel of the same name, written by Sam Ross, He Ran All The Way is a very enjoyable and brisk noir that should appeal to those who have enjoyed the similar, and better-known, (The) Desperate Hours (released later, 1955, and remade in 1990). This is the kind of noir that maintains a decent bit of grit, but also has you hoping for some turn in the third act that might allow some of the characters to change their apparent fate.
John Garfield plays Nick Robey, a young man who takes part in an armed robbery and shoots a policeman. Desperate to evade the authorities, Nick ends up ducking into a busy swimming pool, where he meets Peg Dobbs (Shelley Winters). There's a bit of a connection, but only while Nick needs to stay hidden in the crowd. Once out of the pool, however, Nick gets the idea to escort Peg home, aiming to lay low there a while until the heat dies down. That gets a bit trickier when Peg's parents (played by Wallace Ford and Selena Royle) enter the home. They also have another young boy in tow (Tommy, played by Robert Hyatt). It's not long until everyone figures out just what Nick is up to, but maybe Peg won't mind the opportunity to help a man she sees to have taken a liking to.
Adapted into screenplay form by Hugo Butler and Guy Endore (although the bulk of the work was done initially by an uncredited Dalton Trumbo), He Ran All The Way doesn't waste much of the relatively short 77-minute runtime. We see Nick getting himself into seriously hot water and the rest of the film shows us his attempt to get out of that situation. Sometimes he looks unwilling to harm people he has just met, sometimes he looks ready to dispose of anyone he even suspects of getting between him and his pending freedom.
Garfield is suitably on edge for most of the runtime, initially sympathetic, but soon hardening as he feels the world closing in around him. Winters is wonderful in her role, soft and naive and loving without ever seeming like a world-class dope. Both Ford and Royle do well in their supporting roles, as does Hyatt, and together they represent a very typical family unit that you don't want to see kept in a dangerous situation any longer than necessary.
I've not seen any of the other films directed by John Berry, and no other titles immediately jump out at me, but his handling of this material makes me think I could do a lot worse than check out more of his output from the 1940s and 1950s (aka his most prolific period). If there's anything else like this gem in the mix then I'll be a happy viewer.
7/10
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