A lesser known Ealing comedy, Run for your Money tells the story of two Welsh miners who come to London having won a prize in a newspaper competition, which they need to collect in person. Some of the humour is more strained than in comparable Ealing films – think Whisky Galore, say – particularly in the stilted characterisation of the Welsh, but there is still much to enjoy as the two, somewhat naive young men, barrel around town being taken advantage of by spivs and swindlers of both sexes.
Hugh Griffith – perhaps best known now for his role in The Tiftield Thunderbolt – is very funny throughout and Alec Guinness is excellent, if underused, in a supporting role, and there is a cameo from the incomparable Joyce Grenfell.
There are some wonderful location shots, too, around Paddington, the Tower of London, Fleet Street and Holborn – as well as further afield Acton, Ealing and Twickenham. (Did I mention there was a subplot involving a rugby match?) It also has a great sequence shot on the London Underground, beginning at Holborn Station.
Run For Your Money is available from Amazon and elsewhere on DVD.
The other films I have written about under the Forgotten London Film series are: Night and the City, Pool of London, The Boy and the Bridge, London Belongs to Me, Waterloo Road, No Trees in the Street, The Happy Family, St Martin’s Lane, and Underground.
My brief introduction to the series is here.
Mathew Lyons 
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