Review of Little Fugitive (1953) by Kendra J — 28 Mar 2010

One of the most wonderful little films ever made.

"Little Fugitive" follows the adventures of two young New York brothers during summer break in the early 50s. It's elder brother Lennie's 12th birthday and he resents having to take care of 7 year-old Joey, spoiling his plans to go to Coney Island with his friends. In a fit of irritation at little Joey, Lennie and his friends devise a plan to make Joey think that he's killed his older brother. Afraid that the police will now arrest him and send him to jail for murder, Joey steals the money that his mother left them for groceries and runs away on a train to Coney Island. Joey's exploits in Coney Island over the next two days are the main focus of the film.

From that description, I'm sure you're thinking that the film doesn't sound like anything interesting, but the beauty of "Little Fugitive" is in the way that the story is told. Most of the shots were taken with a hidden camera setup, giving the entire film a wonderfully candid and realistic quality. The joy and wonder of a small child left to their own devices in an amusement park is wonderfully tangible in the small intimate glimpses that we get of Joey throughout his day: eating enormous watermelon slices, grasping for brass rings on the carousel, desperately trying to knock all the bottles down with three pitches at one of the carnival games, watching fresh cotton candy being spun onto a paper cone.

As his day at the park progresses, the shadows begin to stretch and the beauty that only black and white film can capture is seen clearly in shot after shot of the old amusement park. The film reaches a point where a still shot from every scene wouldn't look out of place in any photography gallery, so artful is the cinematography.

Every time I see this film I see a little bit more and I marvel both at the depth and simplicity that this film contains.