The Loneliest Runner (1976)
- 1976
- ·74 min
A fourteen year old bed wetter runs home from school every day to retrieve the wet sheet his mother has hung from his bedroom window to punish him.
He races to get there before any of his friends pass the house.
This enforced training prepares him to become a competitive runner.
The script, by 'Michael Landon', is autobiographical.
- Actors
- Brian Keith·DeAnn Mears·Lance Kerwin·Melissa Sue Anderson
- Directed by
- Michael Landon
- Genre
- Drama·Sport
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Director
- Michael Landon
Primetime Emmy Awards 1977
- Outstanding Cinematography in Entertainment Programming for a Special
- Outstanding Film Editing for a Special
This TV movie is supposedly a flashback for champion runner John Curtis (adult: Michael Landon, 13 years: Lance Kerwin) back to the mid 1950's when 13 year old John has a chronic bed wetting problem. Unfortunately he has a rigidly controlling mother with a nasty cruel streak who choses to try and effect change by humiliating her son by hanging his soiled sheets out his window for all to see.
When I saw this film I was both horrified and encouraged. I was horrified because, at the time, I was a teen bed wetter myself and sitting with the family watching this made me feel very embarrassed.
Interesting. Unique.
