The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) on Netflix
Sent to a borstal for robbing a bakery, Colin Smith outruns Ruxton's best long-distance runner. The Governor, a former runner, enters him in a five-mile race against a privileged public school.
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Trailer
Plot summary
Colin Smith arrives at Ruxton Towers, a borstal for young offenders, in handcuffs with other young men. The Governor who runs the place believes hard work and discipline will make his charges useful members of society, and athletics is part of his program. Colin, sullen and rebellious, soon outruns the borstal's leading long-distance runner. A former runner himself, the Governor moves him from dismantling scrap to light gardening and lets him take solo runs past the barbed wire. Ruxton has been invited to run five miles against Ranley, a school for privileged pupils, and the Governor treats the fixture as proof of his methods. Fellow inmates resent the favoritism. Colin's practice runs bring back his poor upbringing in Nottingham, his petty crimes with Mike, and an outing to Skegness with Audrey.
Cast
- Topsy Janeas Audrey
- John Brookingas Green
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The borstal in the film, Ruxton Towers, was shot at Ruxley Towers in Claygate, Surrey, a Victorian mock castle built by Henry Foley, 5th Baron Foley that had been used during the Second World War by the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes. The house is now a luxury development and is the former home of Rolling Stones member Ronnie Wood.
