I wanted to but couldn't!

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Judge reinhold never did a serious role in his life...he acts like a child most of the time and a teenager the rest....this isn't a very comical plot but the zany antics by reinhold and wahl try hard to turn it into a comedy without success...the bad guys can't shoot, drive or make a roadblock...some serious destruction of some 1957 chevrolets makes it more like mayhem...

Suspected of being spies, two former military serviceman with a stolen box of hi-tech military equipment find themselves on the run from their own government in this action thriller set in the early 1960s. The time period is no coincidence, coming off as an intentional tie-in to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and all the paranoia of the military in the lead-up to it. What the filmmakers intended to say by linking their heroes' plight to the historic event is hard to work out though. The military are portrayed as extremely inept, constantly losing the two ex-servicemen after capturing them (the pair jump out of the back of a moving van at one point), so perhaps the intention was to hint at the notion of the Bay of Pigs failing due to the military being distracted when they should not have been? In any case, the movie unsteadily walks a fine line between serious thriller and straight-out comedy. With Judge Reinhold imitating a monkey in order to hitch a ride at one point (!), the film certainly has its humorous moments, but the action for the most part comes off as grim and serious. On the other hand, there is little sense of danger in the air since the military are really that inept here... and the list goes on. Most disappointing in any case is how seldom the servicemen actually use all the nifty gadgetry that they have smuggled out in the box. A captivating thriller could have easily been shaped through the pair eluding the military MacGyver style. Never to mind, 'Running Scared' is a film that certainly has its moments, but they far between if not necessarily few.

This was a good action packed movie without a lot of foul language. I watched this on HBO and can no longer find it anywhere to watch again. I fell in love with Judge Reinhold after watching this movie. Would love to own a copy of it. I am not sure why this movie was over looked and why I cannot find it when I search for it by title. I get annoyed when the only search comes up with the movie by Gregory Hines. Don,t get me wrong, that was a good movie but I would really like to find a copy of this one to own. I am wondering if this movie was so overlooked because it was released on HBO without any advertising as a couple of other movies have done. Like this movie Judge Reinhold has also been overlooked as a good actor. He is famous for his part in Fast Times at Ridgemont High but Running Scared really showed his talent as an actor.

1980's "Running Scared" hasn't been seen on the TV airwaves since its heyday in the 80s, and its ongoing obscurity is rather mystifying to me (I caught its HBO debut in 1982). After all, it boasts a terrific cast for a low budget actioner of the time, with rising stars Ken Wahl and Judge Reinhold supported by veterans such as Bradford Dillman, John Saxon, and Pat Hingle, all of whom contribute good performances. Still, it's the relatively unknown Annie McEnroe who steals the film as the tough rich girl who helps the unwitting fugitives fight back against the odds (she prevents things from becoming too grim). I first saw the pretty brunette topless in 1981's "The Hand," liked what I saw (who wouldn't?), then caught her in this, her feature debut after a pair of TV movies. She is so solid and dependable that I would have thought her career would skyrocket, but such was not the case (perhaps "Howling 2" really did turn out to be worse than I first believed). Other reviewers are throwing brickbats at this feature, and it's rather unfair, as it was never intended as anything more than the PG rated quickie it clearly is, delivering on everything promised (including the happy ending). Were it rated R, and failed to deliver on violence or nudity, that would be different. Catch it and find out what others seem to be missing. As for Annie McEnroe, thanks for the memories.