NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (May 2020): Kino have transferred Stanley Kramer's The Runner Stumbles to Blu-ray. Although it was supposed to have been shot on 35mm, this 1.66:1 image quality looks more like video from a TV production. There is softness and a waxy quality, noise is apparent in some of the darker scenes (in the jail cell.) This is a dual-layered transfer with a max'ed out bitrate, but as I have no idea how this looked theatrically, I can only state the 1080P presentation is fairly underwhelming. Kudos, however, to László Kovács' cinematography. 

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 track (16-bit) in the original English language. The film doesn't have extensive audio effects. There is a score by Kramer-regular Ernest Gold (The Defiant Ones, Inherit the Wind, Cross of Iron, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, On the Beach, The Secret of Santa Vittoria) carrying marginal depth between the consistent dialogue. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

I really appreciated the Kino Blu-ray 's new audio commentary by film historian and critic Peter Tonguette who traces the career of Dick Van Dyke - identifying the actor as being typecast from his previous comedy and musical genres public remembrances. He references Carl Reiner. Tonguette articulates adeptly some negativism towards Stanley Kramer, his dated preachy cinema evolving to The Runner Stumbles, his last film. He reads from Van Dyke's autobiography and the actor's ambivalence to play the Father Brian Rivard role effectively - although Kramer was adamant in his choice. Peter Tonguette is slow deliberate and extremely articulate utilizing a solid vocabulary of descriptors for what he is addressing. Excellent. There are some trailers - none for the film.

The Runner Stumbles is a more than a half-baked murder mystery, courtroom movie or melodrama using non-linear timeliness to create suspicions surrounding Van Dyke's Father Brian Rivard character. It is, obvious, nothing like Stanley Kramer's large and lauded productions of the 60s. I'm a huge Dick Van Dyke fan and thought he did an admirable job with his stalwart role - Kathleen Quinlan is excellent. If there is a complaint is that the film really doesn't grab, you drawing you in with Kramer's usual mastery. It is there - in subtle doses - identified occasionally by Tonguette in his commentary. Saying that - it is entertaining and I did watch it with interest till the completion. The Kino Blu-ray has, more than the film, a worthy analytical commentary. There is value if you keep your expectations low for a 'Stanley Kramer' film. 

Gary Tooze