Little Fugitive
Directed by Ray Ashley, Morris Engel, and Ruth Orkin
Written by Ashley, Engel and Orkin
1953/USA
Little Fugitive Production Company
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
This early no-budget indie film turned out remarkably well.
Mother, a widow, is raising her two boys alone. They are Lennie, who is maybe twelve years old, and Joey, who is six. Lennie is long accustomed to baby sitting duty and is as gracious about it as most pre-teens, which is to say not very. He has been given some money for his birthday and the plan is to go to Coney Island with some buddies and have fun. But Grandma gets sick and Mother must go away for the day so Lennie is stuck again caring for Joey.
One of Joey’s friends decides it would be hilarious to pull a trick on Joey. They tell the kid that they have a real gun and let him shoot it, telling him to be very careful. He fires and Lennie falls down “dead” and smeared with ketchup. The gullible Joey is convinced that he must flee from the cops.
Joey takes some money Mother left for Lennie and gets on the subway. He ends up in Coney Island where he has a fine time. We see him at batting practice, on the beach, and playing various games. He is nuts about horses and soon figures out that he can get the money to take some pony rides by collecting bottles for the refund. He remains unfazed until his anxious brother can retrieve him.
The filmmakers found a real talent in little Richie Andrusco and it is his utter naturalness that makes the film. The other actors, presumably amateurs, are a bit more forced but not too bad. This is more a cinema verite documentary of New York childhood than an actual story. I like it a lot. It is amazing to think of a time where a six-year-old child could feel perfectly safe wandering around through throngs of New Yorkers.
Trailer
