The Runaways (1975 film)

The Runaways is a 1975 American made-for-television drama film directed by Harry Harris. Starring Dorothy McGuire, Van Williams, and Josh Albee, it follows a teenage boy and an escaped leopard.^[1] It first aired on the CBS network on April 1, 1975.

The Runaways
1986 VHS cover
Genre	Adventure Family Drama
Based on	The Runaways by Victor Canning
Written by	John McGreevey
Directed by	Harry Harris
Starring	Dorothy McGuire Van Williams Josh Albee
Music by	Earle Hagen
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Lee Rich
Producer	Philip Capice
Production locations	The Burbank Studios, Burbank, California
Cinematography	Russell Metty
Editor	Marjorie Fowler
Running time	76 minutes
Production company	Lorimar Productions
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	April 1, 1975 (1975-04-01)

It was the most viewed primetime program in the United States for the week when it debuted in April 1975.^[2]

The movie was adapted from a 1972 novel of the same name by British author Victor Canning.^[3][4] It was adapted for television by John McGreevey, one of the writers for The Waltons.^[5]

The film was originally intended to be two hours in length, but was trimmed down to 90 minutes, which created some gaps in the storytelling. The leopard used in the film was named Spot, and a jaguar named Clyde used for the running scenes.^[5]

The film was released on VHS in 1986.^[6]