The Stranger in Between (AKA “Hunted”)
Directed by Charles Chrichton
Written by Jack Whittingham from an idea by Michael McCarthy
1952/UK
Independent Artists/British-Filmmakers
First viewing/YouTube
[box] I love the camera and it loves me. Well, not very much sometimes. But we’re good friends. — Dirk Bogarde[/box]
This is an excellent movie about a couple of lonely souls on the road. That one is the other’s kidnapper is almost incidental.
Merchant seaman Chris Lloyd (Dirk Bogarde) has recently returned home from the sea. One of his first actions is to murder someone. During the movie, we gradually find out why. Six-year-old Robbie (John Whitely) stumbles upon him and the corpse shortly after the deed has been done. In a panic, Chris scoops up the boy and flees. Chris is quite rough with the boy at first but soon discovers that his charge has no desire whatsoever to return home. After awhile, the child’s biggest concern is that Chris not abandon him.
And it doesn’t take long before Chris realizes his mistake in seizing Robbie. He has no money to feed him, or himself, and is constantly reminded that the boy is hungry and tired. He does come in handy as a lookout on a few occasions. The police are hot on Chris’s trail the entire time. Finally, the two set off on foot on an arduous cross-country journey to Scotland where Chris has a brother he hopes to stay with. With Elizabeth Sellars as Chris’s wife and Kay Walsh as an innkeeper.
I love Dirk Bogarde and he is at his haunted, sensitive best in this movie. There is a sequence where he tells the boy a bedtime story that I thought was really moving. The child actor is pretty good as well. I was caught up in the suspense the entire time. This is one of those stories where you almost hope the criminal goes free. Recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TozyEzttOJc
Trailer
