Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, The Running Man is part of a string of Hollywood blockbuster hits that Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in over the course of 1982 to 1994.
The film is the story of Ben Richards (Schwarzenegger) who is wrongfully accused of murdering several members of a protest and is sentenced to death. Set in the distant future of 2017, humankind has devolved into a violence-hungry society of convenience.
That atmosphere has produced the game show “The Running Man” which is hosted by Damon Killian, portrayed by real-life Family Feud emcee Richard Dawson. The reality series selects prisoners that are sentenced to death that have an appealing story and have the potential to captivate national audiences.
The contestants are then sent into a battle zone that consists of several destroyed blocks of Los Angeles where professionally trained killers, who are also fan favorites with pro-wrestling-style gimmicks and monikers, hunt them down intent on murdering them.
Long before entertainment sportsbooks ever offered odds on reality television competition shows, there was a fictional bookie that existed within The Running Man that was taking action throughout the proceedings.
At first, there were only betting lines available on which hunters would succeed. The lines on the entertainment prop bets began to shift, however, and Richards’ military training and muscular physique proved to be too much to overcome for the likes of Sub Zero, Buzz Saw, Fireball, and Dynamo.
After witnessing what Richards was capable of on the battlefield, fans of The Running Man began to root for him, and 100-1 odds on Ben to survive the affair was chalked up on the boards to the delight of the crowd of reality television bettors amassed stageside. While those odds are incredibly dire, Ben Richards appearing on the boards implies that victory is within the realm of possibility.
Ben Richards’ odds to survive The Running Man that are granted to him by the street bookies equate to a 1% chance of occurring, and will pay bettors $100 for each $1 they wager on him.
This additional action on Richards upsets Killian, and after one of his old stud hunters, Captain Freedom (played by WWE legend and former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura), refused to come out of retirement and eliminate all remaining contestants, the evil host decides to rig the game and spoil the bets.
Killian then infuses CGI elements into The Running Man to make it appear as if Richards finally succumbed to Captain Freedom. This causes all bets on Richards to fail, and when Ben reappears in the final reel to expose the fraud, it is Dawson who is then forced to run.
The film and novel have experienced longevity just based on them being an Arnold and King collaboration, and now there are whispers of a remake in the works. Our staff is hopeful that any effort to reboot The Running Man would include a bookie character so that we can include it in future reviews of the best sports betting movies of all time.
Learn more about the film and the potential remake by checking out the IMDB page for The Running Man, and be sure to watch it streaming on Vudu and Amazon Prime (premium subscription required).
