Copyright Statement - ResearchSpace@Auckland

339
‘Well done, New Zealand’ aside, this first major film of local enterprise is of
considerable technical excellence. Judged by world standards, the black-and-white
photography is superb.” Webster concurred with virtually all of Runaway’s reviewers
as to the high quality of the camerawork, and similarly felt that the script was the
Achilles heel of New Zealand film making: “The excellence of photography and
production mask some of the film’s deficiencies. Chief of these is the script.
Occasionally it is woefully inadequate.” Webster understood that the inadequacies of
the script had provided additional dramatic challenges for “the largely amateur cast”.
Like other reviewers, he was critical of the pauses during the dialogue sequences.
“Too often, nobody has enough to say. So the photographer must ensure that every
picture tells a story. Had the photography been only mediocre, especially in the many
big, wrinkle and pore-revealing close-ups, the thing would have limped badly at
crucial points.”
Webster’s emphasis on the acting was representative of the fact that local film
reviewers were more likely to have come from a theatre than a film background. He
complimented Gil Cornwall on his portrayal of “a self-made man of few scruples”.
Perhaps tongue-in-cheek, he noted that “Cornwall also makes a convincing job of
being, with dramatic suddenness, a corpse”. Nadja Regin provided “a polished
performance”, whereas Tanya Binning “shapely as a water-skier, does little more than
look in”. He commented on Kiri Te Kanawa “as a mildly flirtatious girl, who plays a
small part with grace”. Deirdre McCarron received special praise. “She gives a
warm, subdued and unvaryingly persuasive characterisation of a footloose girl [which
is] wholly admirable”. She was described as having provided an excellent foil for
Barry Crump who in turn “presents comically the accepted public image of his best
seller A Good Keen Man”. Colin Broadley, characterised as having “a superficial
resemblance to Steve McQueen” is damned with faint praise – “his work is
consistently near the standards of reputable professionals”. His performance was
partly excused by the script; “with a more workmanlike script he would probably
have made an even better impression.” Like nearly all New Zealand reviewers,
Geoffrey Webster speculated on the likely reaction of overseas audiences. He was
concerned about the extent to which “audiences abroad will understand our Maori-
Pakeha relationship” after a viewing of Runaway. Yet he acknowledged that “the
point is well made that in New Zealand racial discrimination is reprehensible”. And