Had "The Running Man" not been a Carol Reed film, I might have enjoyed it more. One has a certain expectation that goes with a name. Here, however, the result is disappointing.
Lee Remick plays Stella Black, a widow who isn't one. Her husband Rex (Laurence Harvey), angry that his insurance company didn't pay a claim for 20,000 pounds, decides to get back at them by playing dead. As his widow, Stella is due to collect a good deal of money. The couple makes a plan to meet in Spain after she gets the settlement.
When Stella arrives, Rex is now blond and an Australian named Jim Jerome, and he's totally into the subterfuge. Stella feels somehow unable to connect with him. Then she's spotted by the insurance agent (Alan Bates) who questioned her after Rex's "death." Both she and Rex are convinced that he's after them - he writes in a little book, seems suspicious of Rex, and asks a lot of questions. Then Stella realizes that Rex is also planning on killing off Jim Jerome - and she panics.
The scenery in the film is stunning, and the acting by this fine cast is very good, though the only truly strong role belonged to Laurence Harvey. I don't agree with one of the other comments - I didn't find him particularly likable. The Bates character is much more likable. Rex doesn't have much regard for what Stella wants or needs.
As far as any plot twist, some of this film was fairly predictable.
All in all, for this writer, the film seemed remote and didn't draw me in.
Lee Remick plays Stella Black, a widow who isn't one. Her husband Rex (Laurence Harvey), angry that his insurance company didn't pay a claim for 20,000 pounds, decides to get back at them by playing dead. As his widow, Stella is due to collect a good deal of money. The couple makes a plan to meet in Spain after she gets the settlement.
When Stella arrives, Rex is now blond and an Australian named Jim Jerome, and he's totally into the subterfuge. Stella feels somehow unable to connect with him. Then she's spotted by the insurance agent (Alan Bates) who questioned her after Rex's "death." Both she and Rex are convinced that he's after them - he writes in a little book, seems suspicious of Rex, and asks a lot of questions. Then Stella realizes that Rex is also planning on killing off Jim Jerome - and she panics.
The scenery in the film is stunning, and the acting by this fine cast is very good, though the only truly strong role belonged to Laurence Harvey. I don't agree with one of the other comments - I didn't find him particularly likable. The Bates character is much more likable. Rex doesn't have much regard for what Stella wants or needs.
As far as any plot twist, some of this film was fairly predictable.
All in all, for this writer, the film seemed remote and didn't draw me in.