''Running Brave'' is a Canadian

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

released in 1983 based on the story of

Billy Mills Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

, a member or the

Oglala Sioux The Oglala (pronounced , meaning "to scatter one's own" in Lakota language) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A majority of the Oglala live o ...

tribe located in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. Mills was born on the reservation, and later attended the University of Kansas where he was recruited by the Olympic running team and won the gold medal in the

1964 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this hon ...

for the 10,000 meter race. In one of the great upsets in sports history, Mills sprinted from third place for the win. Mills is still the only American in history to win the Olympic 10,000 meter run.

Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the sports films '' One on One'' (1977) and ''Ice Castles'' (1978). He subsequently ...

portrays Mills.

Pat Hingle Martin Patterson Hingle (July 19, 1924 – January 3, 2009) was an American character actor who appeared in stage productions and in hundreds of television shows and feature films. His first film was ''On the Waterfront'' in 1954. He often play ...

and a young

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

also star.

Production

The film was directed by

Donald Shebib Donald Everett "Don" Shebib (born 27 January 1938) is a Canadian film director. Shebib is a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada and CBC Televisi ...

, ultimately crediting himself with "D.S. Everett" due to an editing dispute. Billy Mills was actively involved in the making of this film.

Reception

The film is renowned for its accurate and sensitive depiction of Native culture.

Cast

Per

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

. *

as Billy Mills *

as Coach Bill Easton *

Claudia Cron Claudia Cron is an American actress and model who, while attending Parson's School of Design was discovered by Eileen Ford and signed to Ford Models. She appeared in ''Vogue'', and from 1979–1986 was under contract with Estee Lauder as the f ...

as Pat *

as Eddie *

Wendell Smith Wendell Smith may refer to: * Wendell Smith (sportswriter) (1914–1972), American baseball writer *Wendell Smith (actor) Wendell Smith is a Canadian actor born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. History Originally based in Nova Scotia, Wendell Smit ...

as Chris Mitchell

References

External links

* * * 1983 films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Donald Shebib Films shot in Edmonton Running films Films about the 1964 Summer Olympics Films about Olympic track and field Films set in 1964 1983 drama films Biographical films about sportspeople Cultural depictions of Canadian men Cultural depictions of track and field athletes 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-drama-film-stub