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would have increased the dramatic power of the film which, “as it stands … is too
straightforward”. Downey presumably felt that Runaway should have thrown in its
lot more fully with “the art film” tradition. The review expressed the passionate
hopes that some New Zealanders had for the idea of a serious local film industry. Its
conclusion was carefully balanced:
Runaway is by no means a completely successful film. As a New Zealand
feature film we need not feel that it is an embarrassment to us. It is of
particular interest to a New Zealand audience because of what it tries to say.
And because of the technical competence, and occasionally the cinematic flair
with which it has been made, it gives promise of even richer things to come. 51
Unfortunately, thoughtful reviews such as Downey’s and the Listener’s were scarce.
The film appears generally to have fallen between two stools, satisfying neither
highbrow nor popular audiences sufficient to keep the film in the cinemas for a long
season. It opened in each city with a great burst of publicity, but this exhausted itself
after a few weeks since word-of-mouth was too mixed to sustain attendances.
Nevertheless, there was enough interest to attract a reasonable number of people. The
film ran for 3 weeks in Auckland and 3 weeks in Wellington – long enough to create
an impact, but only long enough to recoup two thirds of its production costs of
£57,000. 52 The next challenge for Runaway was to seek success overseas.