Watch The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) online. Free streaming 1962, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Tony Richardson 1962, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Tony Richardson. CONTACT INFORMATION. IMDB 1962, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Tony Richardson 1960, House of Usher, Roger Corman; 1962, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Tony Richardson; 1963, Shock Corridor, Samuel Fuller; 1966, Who Are You Polly Magoo ?, William Klein Amazon.com: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner: Tom ... Amazon.com: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner: Tom Courtenay, ... Tony Richardson: Movies & TV. Amazon Try Prime. Your Amazon.com Today's Deals Gift Cards Sell Help. Shop by Department ... Tony Richardson - The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner ... The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner was the first film for Tom Courteney, ...

Mark Deming The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner | Film | The Guardian Details: 1962, UK, Cert 12A, 104 mins. Direction: Tony Richardson. Genre: Drama. Summary: Tom Courtenay's Angry Young Man of the title is a rebellious youth sentenced to a boy's reformatory for robbing a bakery. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film by ... The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, British film drama, released in 1962, that was directed by Tony Richardson and featured the impressive screen debut of Tom Courtenay. Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, The -- (Movie Clip ... Borstal boys overseen by Craig (Ray Austin) and Fenton (Anthony Sagar) stage a mess hall brawl, later reviewed by the Governor (Michael Redgrave) and staff, in Tony Richardson's The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner , 1962. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner But director Richardson would explore an equally rebellious character three years later in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), ...

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner was adapted for the screen by Alan Sillitoe from his short story and ... Tony Richardson Screenplay: Alan ... The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) Directed by Tony Richardson. With Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay, Avis Bunnage, Alec McCowen. A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy's reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of... This WWII film follows the perspectives of American, Polish and British soldiers attempting to capture key bridges behind German lines in a complicated parachute and armoured assault. Actors: Siem Vroom Marlies van Alcmaer Erik van 't Wout Directors: Richard Attenborough A Taste of Honey (1961) Black and white, gay and straight, mothers and daughters, class, and coming of age. Jo is working class, in her teens, living with her drunk and libidinous mother in northern England. When mom marries impulsively, Jo is out on the streets; she and Ge...

Actors: Dora Bryan Robert Stephens Rita Tushingham Directors: Tony Richardson Cry Freedom (1987) Donald Woods is chief editor of the liberal newspaper Daily Dispatch in South Africa. He has written several editorials critical of the views of Steve Biko. But after having met him for the first time, he changes his opinion. They meet several times,... Actors: Josette Simon Wabei Siyolwe John Matshikiza Directors: Richard Attenborough Dead Cert (1974) As a surprise, two horse owners decide to ride their animals themselves in a steeplechase. But Bill Davidson's horse "Admiral" behaves weirdly, and falls hard after an obstacle. Bill dies from his injuries. His friend Alan York suspects the animal wa... Actors: Scott Antony Judi Dench Michael Williams Directors: Tony Richardson Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) Arthur, one of Britain's angry young men of the 1960s, is a hardworking factory worker who slaves all week at his mindless job for his modest wages. Come Saturday night, he's off to the pub for a loud and rowdy beer session. With him is Brenda, his g...

Actors: Albert Finney Shirley Anne Field Rachel Roberts Directors: Karel Reisz ‎The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) directed by Tony Richardson • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd Review by Steve G ★★★★ One of the many themes running through The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner is that, as long as you're adept at a sport of some kind, then the establishment will give you a pass at every turn. When I went to grammar school, I was a pretty decent cricketer. I bowled medium pace nibblers and was good enough to be on the school squad. Except I chose not to be. Not because I didn't like playing cricket, far from it. I just would rather not spend my Saturdays stood on the playing fields of Greater Manchester, fearful of diving in dog shit trying to stop a boundary. I would much rather stay at home and play on the Commodore… 2 There is a necessity to act upon the growing issues that plague within society, and during a period in modern British history and reflected upon its nation’s cinema, the sense of rebellion that runs within the veins of its streets.

Youth that resist the values and mindsets of the former, seemingly in desperate need for a world that is better catered to them, leading them to alternative and notorious modes of profit. This was an atmosphere captured in films like Quadrophenia, If.…, and A Clockwork Orange, where sometimes its thematic edge is bled into the craftsmanship of the product. This was an edge and atmosphere that was reflected in Tony Richardson’s The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, in a… Review by Robert Beksinski ★★★½ This film is almost like 60's British indie cinema replicating the realism and angst of the French New Wave. It could also be seen like a Cool Hand Luke for the younger generation as well. Nonconformity being one of the film's biggest and most rebellious themes but unfortunately it seems applied a little too thick for any redeeming message or hope to shine through. Maybe it is just a film of a teen putting the middle finger up to the world without a care. I enjoyed it for the film's aesthetic the most as I did not wholly connect to the story.

Tony Richardson crafts it in a psychological manner to where the flashbacks and edits speak as an off… Review by Joe Harris ★★★★ Quintessentially British and unflinchingly nihilistic, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner more than lives up to the sweet melancholia that permeates the film's title. Tom Courtenay's Colin is stood up as a figurehead of Britain's undercurrent of young, working-class convicts and, much like with Alan Clarke's Scum, Richardson proceeds to explore the relationship between his young protagonist and the incarcerating borstal system he finds himself living within. Contrary to many prison films of its ilk, The Loneliness... subjects itself less on the revolutionary attempts of its inmates, opting to focus more on class imbalance and the lack of social identification for its unkempt band of adolescents. The presence of Tom Courtenay is undeniable throughout; in a performance fuelled with… Review by Steve G ★★★★ One of the many themes running through The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner is that, as long as you're adept at a sport of some kind, then the establishment will give you a pass at every turn. When I went to grammar school, I was a pretty decent cricketer.

I bowled medium pace nibblers and was good enough to be on the school squad. Except I chose not to be. Not because I didn't like playing cricket, far from it. I just would rather not spend my Saturdays stood on the playing fields of Greater Manchester, fearful of diving in dog shit trying to stop a boundary. I would much rather stay at home and play on the Commodore… ‎The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) directed by Tony Richardson • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd Review by Steve G ★★★★ One of the many themes running through The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner is that, as long as you're adept at a sport of some kind, then the establishment will give you a pass at every turn. When I went to grammar school, I was a pretty decent cricketer. I bowled medium pace nibblers and was good enough to be on the school squad. Except I chose not to be. Not because I didn't like playing cricket, far from it. I just would rather not spend my Saturdays stood on the playing fields of Greater Manchester, fearful of diving in dog shit trying to stop a boundary.

I would much rather stay at home and play on the Commodore… 2 There is a necessity to act upon the growing issues that plague within society, and during a period in modern British history and reflected upon its nation’s cinema, the sense of rebellion that runs within the veins of its streets. Youth that resist the values and mindsets of the former, seemingly in desperate need for a world that is better catered to them, leading them to alternative and notorious modes of profit. This was an atmosphere captured in films like Quadrophenia, If.…, and A Clockwork Orange, where sometimes its thematic edge is bled into the craftsmanship of the product. This was an edge and atmosphere that was reflected in Tony Richardson’s The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, in a… Review by Robert Beksinski ★★★½ This film is almost like 60's British indie cinema replicating the realism and angst of the French New Wave. It could also be seen like a Cool Hand Luke for the younger generation as well. Nonconformity being one of the film's biggest and most rebellious themes but unfortunately it seems applied a little too thick for any redeeming message or hope to shine through.

Maybe it is just a film of a teen putting the middle finger up to the world without a care. I enjoyed it for the film's aesthetic the most as I did not wholly connect to the story. Tony Richardson crafts it in a psychological manner to where the flashbacks and edits speak as an off… Review by Joe Harris ★★★★ Quintessentially British and unflinchingly nihilistic, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner more than lives up to the sweet melancholia that permeates the film's title. Tom Courtenay's Colin is stood up as a figurehead of Britain's undercurrent of young, working-class convicts and, much like with Alan Clarke's Scum, Richardson proceeds to explore the relationship between his young protagonist and the incarcerating borstal system he finds himself living within. Contrary to many prison films of its ilk, The Loneliness... subjects itself less on the revolutionary attempts of its inmates, opting to focus more on class imbalance and the lack of social identification for its unkempt band of adolescents.

The presence of Tom Courtenay is undeniable throughout; in a performance fuelled with… Review by Steve G ★★★★ One of the many themes running through The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner is that, as long as you're adept at a sport of some kind, then the establishment will give you a pass at every turn. When I went to grammar school, I was a pretty decent cricketer. I bowled medium pace nibblers and was good enough to be on the school squad. Except I chose not to be. Not because I didn't like playing cricket, far from it. I just would rather not spend my Saturdays stood on the playing fields of Greater Manchester, fearful of diving in dog shit trying to stop a boundary.

I would much rather stay at home and play on the Commodore… The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner [VHS] [1962]: Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay, Avis Bunnage, Alec McCowen, James Bolam, Joe Robinson, Dervis Ward, Topsy Jane, Julia Foster, Ray Austin, John Brooking, John Bull, Walter Lassally, Tony Richardson, Antony Gibbs, Michael Holden, Alan Sillitoe: Amazon.co.uk: Video The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner [VHS] [1962] Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock. Product details VHS Release Date: 14 April 2003 Run Time: 99 minutes Product Description Product Description 1960s British drama which centres on Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay), a cynical working class youth, who finds himself in a boys' reformatory for robbing a bakery. The governor in charge of the reform school (Michael Redgrave) preaches to his inmates that exercise and physical challenge can permanently destroy a boy's rebellious streak.

But Colin is fortunate enough to be on the boss's good side due to his natural running prowess and is offered the chance to train for a race against the local public school. Tensions build as the big day approaches and after a lot of time spent thinking on his lonely runs, Colin might just reconsider his naturally rebellious instincts. Customer Reviews By A Customer on 7 Aug. 2005 Format: DVD Ever since I first saw this film, I found it unforgettable. It is based on a short story by Alan Sillitoe, and does a wonderful job of bringing the unique atmosphere of his story to the screen (Sillitoe wrote the screenplay himself). There is a lot to admire in this film: the b&w cinematography (its power especially evident in the lyrical running sequences);the realistic presentation of the environment of the English working class at the time; brilliant acting, especially in the scenes of the confrontations between the - both masterful - Tom Courtenay and Michael Redgrave. All these ingredients provide for a richly textured study of the fine complications of emotion, experience and self-analysis.

I would, of course, be in some ways inclined to agree that this film is outdated, but the main theme, that of the titular loneliness of the individual caused by the inadequacy of human means of communication, is something that can be still be felt in the modern times. Although the movement that spawned this film, the British Free Cinema, lasted for only a brief period of time, "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner" has become the key British film of the 60s and a masterpiece of world cinema that,if you are a lover of classic films,you cannot allow yourself NOT to have. 59 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By R. Pearce on 26 Mar. 2007 Format: DVD Good acting , good direction and an accurate storyline. This workmanlike british film of the fifties is enjoyable and interesting. By far the biggest atribute , in my own personal eyes , is its accuracy and authenticity to the borstal system.

Being a borstal officer during this period , many of the situations and incidents contained within the film are equal to many I have encountered over the years. The "feel" of the film is very authentic indeed. Good performances by Redgrave , Courtney and a fledgling John Thaw . Not exactly a film to relax with but nevertheless enjoyable Comment 25 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By A Customer on 6 Mar. 2005 Format: DVD I don't understand why another reviewer has said that this film is dated. The school system may not be the same, but the battle of wills that plays out in the film is being played out not just in every school, but on every factory floor, every office, every lab, football team, choir, everywhere. This is one of the supreme human stories and if you don't have this film, you have no excuse. It's an element of what makes people people. 1 Comment 35 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By Mark Barry HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on 23 April 2009 Format: Blu-ray This is the fully restored British Film Institute version of Tony Richardson's 1962 classic - and it's beautifully done - clean from start to finish. Even as the credits roll - it's spotless - a truly fantastic restoration job. Because the clean up is so good it also pummels home the austerity of post-war England in almost every scene, while the black & white film stock and the hand-held camera work only add to its gritty and downbeat feel. We also get to properly see the intensity of Tom Courtney's extraordinary performance - all working class defiance and mind games. Another noticeable improvement is the music. The brass band stuff that accompanies every running shot is very punchy now - its either military or patriotic - or both. It acts as a sort of sneering backdrop, like "If..." almost... The internal Borstal scenes are well done, as is Tom's appallingly claustrophobic home life - all that family repression and rage building up to his final racing sabotage.

There are also many famous faces in there - John Thaw, James Bolam, Michael Redgrave - even a cameo by Edward Fox as runner number 7 towards the end. Having said all of that, it's not a film you warm to easily - it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea to sit down to this unrelenting feast of "it's grim up north..." The extras are interesting too. First there's a commentary on the movie (On or Off whichever you want), second is a sort of "making of" named after the principal cameraman "Walter Lasally Video Essay" in which he explains why certain shots were filmed in certain ways. He also references other Richardson work. Read more › 4 Comments 19 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By Captain Pugwash on 18 May 2009 Format: DVD Verified Purchase Tom Courtenay is the archetypal 'Angry Young Man' in this Sixties kitchen sink drama. Made in the heyday of British cinema it is a true classic and arguably the finest of its genre.

The disaffection, depression and disenfranchisement of a working-class Northern lad with no prospects apart from poverty or jail, are the cement in a bleak but necessary piece of film-making. With strong support from Michael Redgrave, James Bolam and James Fox, amongst others, this is one of those films you really ought to see at least once. Powerful, emotive and gripping stuff. The DVD extras on here are pretty good too, as mentioned above. It's worth mentioning that the film is also in its original black and white; hence the DVD cover pictured above. Comment 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By Deb on 27 Dec. 2012 Format: DVD Verified Purchase I was prompted to buy this after seeing a powerful production in a local theatre. Sensitive updating, excellent acting and impressive athletic strength of the main character made it vibrant, and exciting to watch. The film, in comparison is clearly from the time in which it was written, and a significant part of our culture. I'd recommend it to those with an interest in sport, equality, and British film.

Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.: Amazon.co.uk: Alan. Sillitoe: Books 4.0 out of 5 stars "It was marvellous what fourpence would do" 7 Jan. 2014 By R. M. Peterson - Published on Amazon.com Format: Paperback Verified Purchase That is the thought of ten-year-old Colin as he accompanies his cousin Bert to the Goose Fair, a traveling carnival. "If it's on'y a penny a ride then we've got two goes each," he calculates. But he also is plagued by guilt, because if he instead used the fourpence to buy ten Woodbine cigarettes and gave them to his father, then his father would not brood and abuse his mother that night. But Bert prevails on Colin to contribute the fourpence as their stake for an evening of fun.

Then, by stealing, begging, cheating, and sneaking onto rides, they manage to extend their stay at Goose Fair for hours, until the merry-go-round operator sets a trap and pitches Colin from the spinning roundabout. That's one of the nine stories of working class life in the 1930's in northern England, much of which is based on Alan Sillitoe's boyhood in Nottingham, England. But for the lowest class of English society, the precise location is irrelevant: "[E]very city's the same when you come to weigh it up: the same hostels full of thieves all out to snatch your last bob if you give them half the chance; the same factories full of work, if you're lucky; the same mildewed backyards and houses full of silverfish and black-clocks when you suddenly switch on the light at night." It's a bleak and bitter existence. Still, many of the characters have a sense of honor and dignity -- only it's not the honor of the upper classes of England, or as one of them calls the nation, "the poxetten land of hope and glory".

World War II is approaching, but the "war" Sillitoe's folks are more preoccupied with is the class war between the haves and the have nots, or the "In-law blokes" versus the "Out-law blokes". As for that World War, this is what Colin and Bert sing on their way home in the dark from the Goose Fair: "We don't want to fight in a Tory war Die like the lads before Drown in the mud and gore We want to go to work." THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER is a powerful collection of stories. The title story is the best known, owing largely to the 1962 film of the same name, directed by Tony Richardson and starring Tom Courtenay and Michael Redgrave. While it's a very good story, I liked four other stories even more, one of them being "Noah's Ark", the story of Colin and Bert at Goose Fair. If the collection were limited to those five stories, my Amazon assessment would be a solid five stars.

But the remaining four stories are less worthy, although I thought only one of them to be less than ordinary (one in which Sillitoe is far too heavy-handed in his indictment of conventional authority). Still, along with Sillitoe's novel "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER deserves a lasting place in English literature of the working and lower classes. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful 4.0 out of 5 stars Stories Of Despair And Social Alienation in mid 20th Century England 12 April 2014 By R. J. Marsella - Published on Amazon.com Format: Paperback Verified Purchase Alan Stilltoe was a fine writer who really exposed the grimness of life in postwar industrial England through characters who either endure lives of quiet desperation or inner rebellion. The title story in this collection is well known since it was made into a film in the 60s and it falls into the later category. The prime character is a youth living in a grim rainy gritty city in England who is caught after a robbery and sent to a Borstal where he discovers his talent for running.

He then uses this to set up a rebellious tale that sets the individual against the establishment, a theme that is repeated in much of Stilltoe's work. The other stories are very good and as a collection this short book is excellent for the quality of the writing and consistency of theme. Stilltoe's full length novel Saturday Night and Sunday morning is equally well done and worth exploring if you enjoy these stories. 5.0 out of 5 stars One of Britain's Best since 1945 5 July 2016 By michael kanellos - Published on Amazon.com Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase A funny insightful take on people living miserable lives in postwar England. He's not read as much now and that's a shame 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner 3.7 out of 5 stars 25 Format: Mass Market Paperback| Change Your rating( Clear )Rate this item 9 people found this helpful 4.0 out of 5 stars"It was marvellous what fourpence would do" ByR. M.

Petersonon January 7, 2014 That is the thought of ten-year-old Colin as he accompanies his cousin Bert to the Goose Fair, a traveling carnival. "If it's on'y a penny a ride then we've got two goes each," he calculates. But he also is plagued by guilt, because if he instead used the fourpence to buy ten Woodbine cigarettes and gave them to his father, then his father would not brood and abuse his mother that night. But Bert prevails on Colin to contribute the fourpence as their stake for an evening of fun. Then, by stealing, begging, cheating, and sneaking onto rides, they manage to extend their stay at Goose Fair for hours, until the merry-go-round operator sets a trap and pitches Colin from the spinning roundabout. That's one of the nine stories of working class life in the 1930's in northern England, much of which is based on Alan Sillitoe's boyhood in Nottingham, England.

But for the lowest class of English society, the precise location is irrelevant: "[E]very city's the same when you come to weigh it up: the same hostels full of thieves all out to snatch your last bob if you give them half the chance; the same factories full of work, if you're lucky; the same mildewed backyards and houses full of silverfish and black-clocks when you suddenly switch on the light at night." It's a bleak and bitter existence. Still, many of the characters have a sense of honor and dignity -- only it's not the honor of the upper classes of England, or as one of them calls the nation, "the poxetten land of hope and glory". World War II is approaching, but the "war" Sillitoe's folks are more preoccupied with is the class war between the haves and the have nots, or the "In-law blokes" versus the "Out-law blokes".

As for that World War, this is what Colin and Bert sing on their way home in the dark from the Goose Fair: "We don't want to fight in a Tory war Die like the lads before Drown in the mud and gore We want to go to work." THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER is a powerful collection of stories. The title story is the best known, owing largely to the 1962 film of the same name, directed by Tony Richardson and starring Tom Courtenay and Michael Redgrave. While it's a very good story, I liked four other stories even more, one of them being "Noah's Ark", the story of Colin and Bert at Goose Fair. If the collection were limited to those five stories, my Amazon assessment would be a solid five stars. But the remaining four stories are less worthy, although I thought only one of them to be less than ordinary (one in which Sillitoe is far too heavy-handed in his indictment of conventional authority). Still, along with Sillitoe's novel "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER deserves a lasting place in English literature of the working and lower classes.

4 people found this helpful 3.0 out of 5 starsI enjoy character stories and they are well-written gloomy fare but ... ByNicola Mansfieldon May 25, 2016 3.5/5 A collection of stories with the running theme of life for the working class British man pre & post-WWII. The main focus of each piece is a character study, with their being little to even no plot. I enjoy character stories and they are well-written gloomy fare but still I must admit they just really didn't do anything for me as a whole. Fortunately, I understood the historical and societal era the tales depicted as this is where and how my father grew up. Even though the book has a brief biographical afterword about the author I do wish there had been an Introduction which introduced us to his writing. 1. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner - A novella taking up 29% of the entire book, this story has no plot but is the running commentary of the thoughts of a 17yo in an institution for juvenile delinquents as he trains for the annual sports day competition representing the institute as their long-distance runner.

I'm guessing this takes place in the late 1950s, the youth contemplates on why he will always be of the criminal element, doesn't ever plan to change and is quite proud of the fact. His thoughts all have to do with the British class system and his contempt for anyone in authority or "lords and ladies". I didn't care for the youth at all as he was a petty thief with petty ideas of "sticking it to the man." That said, the story made me think of my dad who I do respect greatly and was by no means ever petty nor a criminal, but he was raised the same as this youth. My dad was born during WWII in Yorkshire and this youth used some slang making me think he came from the same region. This youth was a Teddy Boy, as was my dad though for him it was more of a fashion statement than the accompanying rebellious behaviour. This youth's family were working class and the father died of cancer contracted from the factory industry he worked for. My father's family was the same and *his* dad died of lung cancer caused by working in the textile mills.

A well-written story which touched me in a certain personal way but I didn't particularly like or agree with anything it was trying to say about man and society. (3/5) PS - I've since learned these stories take place in Nottingham, which is south of Yorkshire, but the characters use a lot of words and turns of phrase I'm familiar with. 2. Uncle Ernest - A character study. A depressing story of Ernest, an upholsterer, survivor of WWI, suffering from shellshock but no one knows not even him. He lives a lonely life, working which he's successful at, and spending the profits at the pub, he's always dirty. He has no reason to live, thinking of his drudgery of life, no friends, no family. Then one day two hungry little girls come into the diner where he eats lunch and sit at his table. He feeds them and it becomes a regular affair, the elder of the two is aggressive and takes advantage of him eventually getting presents for themselves as well as food. But Ernest is simple and now has a reason to live, he loves these girls like daughters, they are the light of his life.

People begin to notice and one day the police come to him saying they've been watching and tell him it isn't right for a man his age to be giving money and presents to little girls. He must stop and never see them again or he'll end up before the magistrate. So Ernest turns dim and walks back into a pub with the glasses of ale welcoming him back. Well-written gloomy study of a typical type of man from this time in Britain. (4/5) 3. Mr Raynor the School-Teacher - This story looks at Raynor, a teacher who sits on his high stool looking through the window lusting after the drapery shop girls across the street. It's no secret as he tunes out his class often. He is particularly remembering an 18yo who left a few weeks back as she was killed. Raynor occasionally returns attention to his current class of final year 14yo boys and eventually straps the most belligerent one which turns into a tussle but Raynor holds his own and maintains an order for his class. Raynor is certainly not likeable, but he is probably a common example of a teacher from this era and place in Britain.

We come to note that as a teacher he understands his boys and isn't a bad teacher when all is said and done. There is also plenty to think about regarding the girl and her death. (4/5) 4. The Fishing-Boat Picture - A sad story of love that takes place before WWII. A young couple marries; the woman is headstrong and cocky while the man is a nonconfrontational reader. They argue a lot and six years later the woman runs off with a painter. They remain legally married. Ten years later she turns up at his doorstep, characteristically changed and visits him once a week thereafter during the war until her death. He became happy in his quiet way after she left him but after her death, he finds out the suffering life she lead during those years. He examines their relationship, and love, and perhaps how they could have done something to make it work. A bleak but soul-searching story. My favourite so far. (5/5) 5. Noah's Ark - Two boys with only a few pence set off for the fair that's arrived in town. We learn a lot about the boys and their backgrounds as they walk along.

Once at the fair, the streetwise boy shows the other all the tricks to come up with money at such an event and they steal, find, trick, and beg themselves enough to have a great day. The Noah's Ark is what we commonly refer to as a carousel and the one shows the other how to ride it for free. This is the main thing the most honest boy had wanted to experience at the fair.He get's on the ride but the attendant is onto him and chases him the entire ride. Everything ends well, but it leaves you with a bittersweet feeling that people make the most of what they have, but dishonesty gets its just reward in the end. (3/5) 6. On Saturday Afternoon - This is about a man who tries to hang himself. But it's actually about the narrator reflecting back on an incident that took place when he was 10 years old and he watched, even abetted, a stranger trying to hang himself. We know little of the man but get to know the narrator's life and circumstances, working class poor. We learn a lot about the narrator's dad, the family's anger and lot in life.

It's illegal for this man to have tried suicide and he is arrested, sent to hospital, because his life is not his own, The narrator disagrees about this and makes a case. I disagree as our lives are certainly not our own, they belong to God, and while not a cause to be arrested anymore, suicides should be treated with mental health resources. I did like the narrator's reasoning on why he would never kill himself because of his "stick-to-itiveness". Well-written, a good gloomy topic but again I don't agree with the sentiment it tries to make. (4/5) 7. The Match - Most of the story rambles on about a "football" match and the home team loses like they always do. The two mates talk about it as they walk home; they live next door to each other. One is newly married, in love with a pretty pregnant wife. The other, Fred, has three children ages 14 and down. The last bit of the story describes the domestic unrest and abuse going on in the home as his friend and wife hear the ends of it next door. Too bad all the sports just zoned me out on this one. (2/5) 8.

The Disgrace of Jim Scarfedale - Well, this is a sorry meandering story that narrates certain events and the eventual outcome of Jim Scarsdale by a 15yo neighbour who spied in a secret cranny to hear every word that went on in his house. Jim was a mamma's boy, tied to his mam's apron springs who one day in his 40s announced he was getting married. It only lasts six months and he returns home to mamma. But what happens to him in the end, is a shocker. Quite a bit of social commentary and eventually focussing on whether his upbringing connects to his crimes in the end. A bleak story but I probably enjoyed this as much if not better than "The Fishing Boat Picture". (5/5) 9. The Decline and Fall of Frankie Buller - This a sad story of a mentally challenged man-boy. W e don't know what's wrong with him. The time is between the wars and his father won a medal in WWI and was returned shellshocked. Frankie, clearly 10 years older than the neighbourhood 15yos is obsessed and fascinated with war.

He's a good tactician and leads his gang into victory over other neighbourhood gangs. The narrator was one of those 15yo boys. He then tells us of meeting up with Frankie again when he visits home, the final time realising Frankie has had electric shock therapy. I like depressing stories like this but felt disconnected from not getting any sense for the characters. (3/5) A Biography of Alan Sillitoe by Ruth Fainlight - Written by Sillitoe's widow, this is a brief biography of the events of his life. There are pictures included. However, it sheds no light on his stories or his writing. I'm assuming there may biological elements as before WWII he quit school at 14 to work in a local factory. (not rated) Alan Sillitoe, Plays, Essays Alan Sillitoe : biography 4 March 1928 - 25 April 2010 Sillitoe left school at the age of 14 having failed at the entrance examination to grammar school and worked at the Raleigh factory for the next four years, spending his free time reading prodigiously and being a 'serial lover of local girls'.

He then joined the Royal Air Force, albeit too late to serve in World War II. He served as a wireless operator in Malaya during the Emergency. After returning to England, he was discovered to have tuberculosis and spent 16 months in an RAF hospital. Pensioned off at age 21 on 45 shillings a week, he lived in France and Spain for seven years in an attempt to recover. In 1955, while living in Mallorca with American poet Ruth Fainlight, whom he married in 1959, and in contact with the poet Robert Graves, Sillitoe started work on Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, which was published in 1958. Influenced in part by the stripped-down prose of Ernest Hemingway, the book conveys the attitudes and situation of a young factory worker faced with the inevitable end of his youthful philandering. As with John Osborne's Look Back in Anger and John Braine's Room at the Top, the novel's real subject was the disillusionment of postwar Britain, and the lack of opportunities for the working class.

It was adapted as a film by Karel Reisz in 1960, with Albert Finney as Arthur Seaton; the screenplay was written by Sillitoe. Sillitoe's story The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, which concerns the rebellion of a borstal boy with a talent for running, won the Hawthornden Prize in 1959. It was also adapted to film, in 1962, this time directed by Tony Richardson and starring Tom Courtenay. With Fainlight he had a child, David; Susan was later adopted. He lived at various times in Kent, London and Montepellier. In the 1960s, he was celebrated in the Soviet Union as a spokesman for the oppressed worker in the West. Invited to tour the country, he visited several times in the 1960s. To honour him, he was asked to address the 1968 Congress of Soviet Writers' Unions where he denounced Soviet human rights abuses many of which he himself had witnessed. In 1990, Sillitoe was awarded an honorary degree from Nottingham Trent University.

The city's older Russell Group university, the University of Nottingham, also awarded him an honorary D.Litt in 1994; in 2006, his best-known play was staged at the university's Lakeside Arts theatre in an in-house production. Sillitoe wrote many novels, and several volumes of poetry. His 1995 autobiography, Life Without Armour, was critically acclaimed on publication, and offers a view into his squalid childhood. In an interview Sillitoe claimed, "A writer, if he manages to earn a living at what he's doing – even if it's a very poor living, acquires some of the attributes of the old-fashioned gentleman (if I can be so silly)."Wood, Ramsay,"Alan Sillitoe: The Image Shedding the Author",Four Quarters, La Salle College, Philadelphia, 1971 In 2007 Gadfly in Russia, an account of his travels in Russia spanning 40 years, was published. In 2008 London Books republished A Start in Life as part of its London Classics series and to mark the author's 80th birthday.

Sillitoe appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on 25 January 2009. His long-held desire for The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner to be remade for a contemporary filmgoing audience was never achieved despite strong efforts. The film was blocked by Natasha Richardson, who inherited the rights to the book from her father. Danny Brocklehurst was set to adapt the book and Sillitoe gave his blessing to the project. The Richardson estate and Woodfall films refused this request. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1997. Plays Three Plays, London: Allen, 1978 Contains The Slot-Machine, The Interview, Pit Strike Essays Mountains and Caverns: Selected Essays, London: Allen, 1975 Words Broadsheet Nineteen, by Sillitoe and Ruth Fainlight. Bramley, Surrey: Words Press, 1975.

Broadside “The Interview”, London: The 35s (Women’s Campaign for Soviet Jewry), 1976 Israel: Poems on a Hebrew Theme, with drawings by Ralph Steadman; London: Steam Press, 1981 98 copies. Alan Sillitoe’s Nottinghamshire, with photographs by David Sillitoe. London: Grafton, 1987 The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.: Amazon.co.uk: Alan. Sillitoe: Books 4.0 out of 5 stars "It was marvellous what fourpence would do" 7 Jan. 2014 By R. M. Peterson - Published on Amazon.com Format: Paperback Verified Purchase That is the thought of ten-year-old Colin as he accompanies his cousin Bert to the Goose Fair, a traveling carnival. "If it's on'y a penny a ride then we've got two goes each," he calculates. But he also is plagued by guilt, because if he instead used the fourpence to buy ten Woodbine cigarettes and gave them to his father, then his father would not brood and abuse his mother that night.

But Bert prevails on Colin to contribute the fourpence as their stake for an evening of fun. Then, by stealing, begging, cheating, and sneaking onto rides, they manage to extend their stay at Goose Fair for hours, until the merry-go-round operator sets a trap and pitches Colin from the spinning roundabout. That's one of the nine stories of working class life in the 1930's in northern England, much of which is based on Alan Sillitoe's boyhood in Nottingham, England. But for the lowest class of English society, the precise location is irrelevant: "[E]very city's the same when you come to weigh it up: the same hostels full of thieves all out to snatch your last bob if you give them half the chance; the same factories full of work, if you're lucky; the same mildewed backyards and houses full of silverfish and black-clocks when you suddenly switch on the light at night." It's a bleak and bitter existence. Still, many of the characters have a sense of honor and dignity -- only it's not the honor of the upper classes of England, or as one of them calls the nation, "the poxetten land of hope and glory".

World War II is approaching, but the "war" Sillitoe's folks are more preoccupied with is the class war between the haves and the have nots, or the "In-law blokes" versus the "Out-law blokes". As for that World War, this is what Colin and Bert sing on their way home in the dark from the Goose Fair: "We don't want to fight in a Tory war Die like the lads before Drown in the mud and gore We want to go to work." THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER is a powerful collection of stories. The title story is the best known, owing largely to the 1962 film of the same name, directed by Tony Richardson and starring Tom Courtenay and Michael Redgrave. While it's a very good story, I liked four other stories even more, one of them being "Noah's Ark", the story of Colin and Bert at Goose Fair. If the collection were limited to those five stories, my Amazon assessment would be a solid five stars.

But the remaining four stories are less worthy, although I thought only one of them to be less than ordinary (one in which Sillitoe is far too heavy-handed in his indictment of conventional authority). Still, along with Sillitoe's novel "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER deserves a lasting place in English literature of the working and lower classes. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful 4.0 out of 5 stars Stories Of Despair And Social Alienation in mid 20th Century England 12 April 2014 By R. J. Marsella - Published on Amazon.com Format: Paperback Verified Purchase Alan Stilltoe was a fine writer who really exposed the grimness of life in postwar industrial England through characters who either endure lives of quiet desperation or inner rebellion. The title story in this collection is well known since it was made into a film in the 60s and it falls into the later category. The prime character is a youth living in a grim rainy gritty city in England who is caught after a robbery and sent to a Borstal where he discovers his talent for running.

He then uses this to set up a rebellious tale that sets the individual against the establishment, a theme that is repeated in much of Stilltoe's work. The other stories are very good and as a collection this short book is excellent for the quality of the writing and consistency of theme. Stilltoe's full length novel Saturday Night and Sunday morning is equally well done and worth exploring if you enjoy these stories. 5.0 out of 5 stars One of Britain's Best since 1945 5 July 2016 By michael kanellos - Published on Amazon.com Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase A funny insightful take on people living miserable lives in postwar England. He's not read as much now and that's a shame 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Question: Which 1962 film, directed by Tony Richardson from a script by Alan Sillitoe, is about a boy (played by Tom Courtenay) in Borstal and his defiance of the accepted norms of British society?
Answer: The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner