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''Rabbit, Run '' is a 1970 American
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Jack Smight John Ronald Smight (March 9, 1925 – September 1, 2003) was an American theatre and film director. His film credits include ''Harper (film), Harper'' (1966), ''No Way to Treat a Lady (film), No Way to Treat a Lady'' (1968), ''Airport 1975'' (19 ...
. The film was adapted from
John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...
's 1960 novel by screenplay writer Howard B. Kreitsek, who also served as producer. The film starred
James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
as Rabbit Angstrom,
Carrie Snodgress Caroline Louise Snodgress (October 27, 1945 – April 1, 2004) was an American actress. She is best remembered for her role in the film ''Diary of a Mad Housewife'' (1970), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, Acad ...
as Rabbit's wife Janice, and
Anjanette Comer Anjanette Comer (born August 7, 1939) is an American actress. Early years Born in Dawson, Texas, to Rufus Franklin Comer, Jr., and Nola Dell "Sue" (Perkins) Comer, she attended Dawson High School. Comer gained acting experience at the Pasadena ...
as his girlfriend Ruth. The movie co-starred
Jack Albertson Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 ...
as Coach Marty Tothero, Arthur Hill as Rev. Jack Eccles, and Henry Jones and
Josephine Hutchinson Josephine Hutchinson (October 12, 1903 – June 4, 1998) was an American actress. She acted in dozens of theater plays and dozens of films, including ''Son of Frankenstein'' and ''North by Northwest'', as well as numerous television appearances ...
as Rabbit's parents.


Plot

In
Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...
, former high school basketball star Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom is dissatisfied with both his failure to find a career and with his loveless marriage to Janice, an alcoholic who is pregnant with a child neither of them wants. Following an argument with Janice, Rabbit looks up his old basketball coach Marty Tothero, who is now living in squalor. Marty decides that Rabbit needs a woman, and he introduces him to Ruth, a part-time prostitute. When Rabbit moves in with Ruth, Jack Eccles, the family minister, tries to persuade him to return to his wife, but Rabbit refuses. Eventually, Rabbit also becomes disenchanted with Ruth, and when Janice has her baby, Rabbit goes to the hospital and effects a reconciliation. For a time, they live in relative harmony, but Janice's insistence on a less active sex life leads to bitterness, and Rabbit again takes off. Janice resumes her solitary drinking, this time with tragic results; while in a drunken stupor, she accidentally drowns the baby. Learning of his child's death, Rabbit returns home and finds that everyone holds him responsible. At the funeral, Rabbit responds to his parents' and in-laws' accusing glances by screaming his innocence. Fleeing from the cemetery, he goes to Ruth's apartment; but Ruth, who is now pregnant with his child, refuses to let him in unless he agrees to divorce Janice and marry her. Although he promises to do so, Rabbit is still unable to make a commitment to anyone and runs away again.


Cast


Production

James Caan later said he did this film instead of ''
M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...
'', adding, "I was at odds — not screaming or fighting — with this guy, writer Howard Kreitsek... Some of the dialogue was horrendous. And I said, "I can't say this!" And they would say, "Well, John Updike wrote it!" So I said, "Well then get fuckin' Updike to play it!" It was just not good. The director ack Smightwas not good." It was the last in a series of financially unsuccessful films where Caan played the lead. Following a dispute over the cut of the film submitted by producer Howard B. Kreitsek, director Smight asked Warner Bros. and the
Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...
for his name to be removed from the film.


Release

The film, which was released by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
, had its world premiere in Updike's hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, on 28 October 1970. The film poster reads, "3 months ago Rabbit Angstrom ran out to buy his wife cigarettes. He hasn't come home yet." The reception by the Reading audience was poor and Warner Bros. aborted a wide release for the film, which didn't even play in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. As late as 1973, John Updike was still hoping that Warners would reshoot scenes he considered weak and re-release the film. NBC aired the film on '' NBC Monday Night at the Movies'' in January 1974.


References


Sources

* * * {{John Updike 1970 films 1970 drama films 1970 independent films 1970s English-language films Films about adultery in the United States American drama films Films about marriage Films based on American novels Films directed by Jack Smight Films set in Pennsylvania Films shot in Pennsylvania Warner Bros. films 1970s American films English-language independent films