JohnHowardReid Copyright 13 July 1951 by Roberts Pictures, Inc. A production of Enterprise Studios released through United Artists. U.S. release: 13 July 1951. New York opening at the Paramount: 20 June 1951. U.K. release: 22 October 1951. Australian release: 7 December 1951. Running time varies: 78 minutes (U.S.); 79 minutes (Australia); 80 minutes (U.K.).SYNOPSIS: Mixed-up fugitive killer forces an average New York family to hide him in their home.NOTES: Garfield's last film. Although he testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1951 as a "co-operative witness", he refused to name names and was black-listed in Hollywood. He returned to New York where he starred in the successful 1952 revival of Clifford Odets' Golden Boy on Broadway. He died of cardiac arrest in the house of a friend at Gramercy Park on Wednesday morning, 21 May 1952. He was 39 or 40 years old.The names of director John Berry and co-screenwriter Hugo Butler were removed from the film shortly after its release, due to black-listing.Domestic gross: $849,465.32.COMMENT: Not by any means the minor film, casually dismissed by many critics. Screenwriters Endore and Butler have attempted to bring off a difficult feat. The action highlight of the film (an excitingly staged pay-roll robbery) takes place in the very first reel. Thereafter the script could well have petered out in a boring anti-climax. That it does not is due as much to the taut, believable writing as to skilled playing and tight direction.Garfield, in a tailor-made role, gives almost the epitome Garfield portrayal. His Nick Robey is a born loser, at odds not only with society and his surroundings, but with himself. Shelley Winters, in a complex, well-motivated role, is a believably sympathetic counterpoint. Wallace Ford and Gladys George are also most effective - as is the great Norman Lloyd in all-too-brief spot as Garfield's partner. The script provides each of these players with finely rounded characterizations.If the basic situation is now thoroughly familiar (thanks to Desperate Hours and numerous spin-offs), it still has a freshness and vibrancy here that make its imitators look stodgy and slow. The pace is fast, the editing crisp. Moreover, director, photographer and production designer have a genuine feel for the realistic locations and know how to use them atmospherically and effectively. The sharp, moody black-and-white cinematography is the work of James Wong Howe.OTHER VIEWS: "Without doubt, Garfield's single most impressive performance on film." - Howard Gelman, The Films of John Garfield."One of the very best pictures I have done." - James Wong Howe in Hollywood Cameramen by Charles Higham.

Ed-Shullivan John Garfield plays a troubled and confused robber named Nick Robey whose problems are further exasperated as he is unemployed and lives at home with his mother who is not very loving or understanding. So Nick is trying to figure out what to do with his life when he is literally pushed out of his bed and onto the street by his pestering mother and he is greeted by a waiting shark named Al Molin (played by Norman Lloyd best known for his TV role as Dr. Daniel Auschlander in the 1982-88 hospital drama St. Elsewhere) who has talked Nick into a surefire plan of robbing a manufacturing plant of their weekly payroll.The robbery does not go as it was planned but Nick does escape with a briefcase full of $10K cash but he needs a place to hide after shooting a cop while getting away from the robbery. Nick decides to hang out on the beachfront in an indoor public pool where he accidentally collides into a novice and naive young female named Peggy Dobbs played brilliantly by Shelly Winters.As Nick's head is swirling with where to hide and when to make his getaway his paranoia comes to a head and he convinces the naive Peggy Dobbs to allow him just to walk her home. Poor naive Peg agrees to have Nick walk her home and she invites him into her upstairs apartment which Peg shares with her parents and younger brother Tommy. John Garfield lives an isolated existence both physically and more importantly emotionally. When the pressure of the police potentially closing in on him becomes far too much for him to bear Nick misled by his delusional paranoia he makes a decision that he will keep the four (4) Dobbs family members hostage in their upstairs apartment until the heat dies down and he can figure out how and when to make his getaway.John Garfield plays the paranoid plant robber on the run with great emotion and fear. His screen performance portrays a young man who just seems lost and wanting for someone, anyone, to show him some semblance of love and understanding. So Nick reaches out to his mother but even she turns him down. The only one left that Nick believes he can even remotely rely on anymore is this young naive girl Peg who he is holding as a hostage with the rest of her family. Emotions are running at a fervor pace throughout the scared Dobbs family and over the next 48 hours young Peg continues to have empathy for Nick as she realizes he is lost and has no one in his life. The climax of this film is well done and reflects the troubled times of the 1940's and 1950's when film noir and guns went hand in hand with emotion and struggling families.I give the 1951 black and white John Garfield film "He Ran All the Way" a decent 6 out of 10 rating.

wes-connors After a heist goes wrong, cop killer John Garfield (as Nick Robey) is on the run. Taking cover in a public swimming pool, Mr. Garfield meets plain Shelley Winters (as Peg Dobbs). Flattery gets him everywhere; and, Garfield uses Ms. Winters for getaway cover. Starved for the manly affection, Winters mistakes his advances for interest. Soon, Winters has Garfield in her apartment, to meet the family. When he feels the police closing in, Garfield holds up in Winters' apartment, holding the family hostage. Desperate hours ensue… It's difficult to understand Winters' continued naivety; and, the "family held hostage" plot doesn't ring quite true. Still, Garfield's paranoia, and Winters' character development make it well worth watching. Sadly, this was Garfield's final film; he died within a year, at age 39. Director John Berry and photographer James Wong Howe make it look great. "He Ran All the Way" boasts a fine supporting cast, led by Wallace Ford. And, the ending grows with an exciting, thought-provoking intensity. ******** He Ran All the Way (6/19/51) John Berry ~ John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford, Selena Royle

fimimix John Garfield ("Nick Robey") started his stage-career at a very early age and with an unusual talent of really getting into his characters. Unfortunately, Hollywood didn't do too well in casting him in better roles. Because he was so young, he was somewhat of a "pretty boy", except his youth was spent on the tough streets of NYC. He had the experience behind his tough-guy roles. During his stage-career - pre-Hollywood - he was a sure winner for "Golden Boy", a dramatic story of a young violinist with just as much punch in the boxing-ring. That role didn't come till much later; William Holden played the original. When Garfield finally played it, he studied with Isaac Stern (who did the real fiddlin'). Garfield's acting was truly convincing; this would have been a wonderful, final film. It was not to be. He moved back and forth between NYC and Hollywood, which couldn't cast him right, although he was a major star at his death. Good looks and a beautiful smile will get you lots of places."He Ran all the Way" was another version of minor crime-stories for so many of Hollywood's young actors. Garfield had an edge over most of them, because he was a very good actor. Unfortunately, a very weak heart and extreme good looks done him in.......he died at 39. TCM did an original "letterbox," with his daughter doing the narration, with lots of pictures.Director John Berry was excellent following the plot written by black-listed Dalton Trumbo (original book, Sam Ross) following the ritual of early cops-and-robbers films. "Robey" pulls-off a petty robbery; he wounds a cop; his partner gets shot; "Robey" begins running into the crowd on the streets. Garfield did an excellent job of portraying a frightened crook with major paranoia. He follows the crowd into a public swimming-pool where he meets sexually repressed "Peggy Dobbs" (Shelley Winters). Predictably, he winds-up in her home, taking her family hostage for a hide-out. "Peggy's" mom and dad (Wallace Ford, Selena Royle) seem to be really glad some guy has finally found her attractive; they don't know how to handle the hostage situation, but did very good acting. Again predictably, "Peggy" falls for "Robey", but is torn between terror for her family and love for him. It becomes apparent that "Robey" was pretty-much finished with running......Although Garfield threw himself into this role, his disappointment in its finished product - and his constant philandering - he most probably knew his career was coming to an end. The movie-industry dropped him when the committee hunting-down communists among Hollywood stars disclosed he had had dealings with those radicals for a long period, and his wife was a party-member. He refused to testify, but did not learn that Clifford Odets testified for him - he died first. Many careers and lives were ruined by The House un-American......Too handsome, genuine too macho-hunky made John Garfield a misfit for Hollywood. He excelled in the roles he was given there, but realized his niche was on the stage in NYC. Who knows how many great films he could have made, had not Hollywood and "the committee" done a job on him. Watch this film with respect for a very good actor whose potential was barely shown. "He Ran all the Way" was Garfield's last run.