The Running Man (1963)

An English pilot (Laurence Harvey) devises a plan to fake his own death so his American wife (Lee Remick) can get the insurance money. Everything seems to have worked out beautifully when they reunite in a Spanish coastal town. But when the insurance investigator (Alan Bates) on their case shows up on holiday, is it just coincidence ..... or does he suspect something? Based on the novel BALLAD OF THE RUNNING MAN by Shelley Smith and directed by Carol Reed. For the most part, this is a wonderful thriller in the Hitchcockian style. In a change of pace from his B&W dark suspense films like THE THIRD MAN, ODD MAN OUT and THE MAN BETWEEN, Reed and his director of cinematography Robert Krasker (ODD MAN OUT) shot this in wide screen scope (Panavision) and bright Eastman color accenting the handsome Spanish locations. But the ambiguous ending is very much in line with those movies as we don't get the usual happy ending. I've never cared for Harvey as an actor which makes his performance all the more believable (for a change) as his character is quite unlikable. Remick is quite effective as the conflicted wife who finds her husband's change after his "death" disturbing and Bates has a reserved charm as the bloke who falls in love with Remick and sets off a chain of events. With Fernando Rey, Eleanor Summerfield, Felix Aylmer, Ramsay Ames and Allan Cuthbertson.