Einer weiß zuviel

Considering that this film is in the public domain AND I've never heard of it, I naturally assumed it would be a pretty crappy example of Film Noir. However, I was very pleasantly surprised and recommend you give this film a try. It's very well written and gives Ann Sheridan perhaps her best film role as a very noir-like 'dame'! In addition to her lovely performance, you have ubiquitous Robert Keith (a face you'll recognize but a name you will not) and Dennis O'Keefe.

The film begins with some ordinary guy walking his dog late at night. He just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, as he accidentally sees a witness against a mobster in an upcoming court case being murdered...and the guy with the dog clearly sees the killer. However, this guy is no hero and as soon as he gets a chance, he escapes from police custody as he does NOT want to be a witness--figuring that he'll be killed if he does give evidence in court. Here is where it gets interesting: when the cops locate this missing witnesses wife, she is less than helpful but also seems to care little for the guy. Sheridan is wonderful as the snappy-talking wife--and there is much more to it--much more. But I really don't want to go further, as it would compromise your enjoying the film.

The bottom line is that the film is wonderfully written, gritty and very exciting film. In addition, the film works well well because it is well-acted and directed. It is not a famous noir film but is among the best--and amazingly enough, all you need to do is follow the link on IMDb to download it for free.

I knew it. I knew if I keep watching films from my Film Noir gift box I would come up with some good titles. This is one of them. Solid performances by Ann Sheridan and the dependable Dennis O'Keefe, and written and directed by Norman Foster. The pacing is good and I even went along with the plot contrivance which serves as the climax of the picture. Annie was coming to the end of her glamour period in Hollywood films and she turns in a hard-boiled performance as a wife in search of her missing husband. Always thought Dennis O'Keefe was meant for better things than B programmers but he gets a good role here in an 'almost A' picture. Our current rating of 7.6 may be a little gaudy, but it's a good addition to my Film Noir collection.

Nice, isn't it, to come across a good movie when you weren't expecting one?

Lots of imaginative touches in this suspenseful noir. Catch the midget in the phone booth, the mannequins from heck, or the camera that pulls away from the climax. Director Foster sure didn't treat this as just another programmer. For that matter, neither did the producers who popped for atmospheric San Francisco locations plus an A-list cast. All in all, there would appear to be a backstory to this unusual production.

So who's going to help poor Sheridan now that a killer is searching for her estranged husband. Not the cops, since Keith is too ornery to sense her need. But then she comes across as a pretty tough cookie (as only Sheridan can) herself. And what about reporter O"Keefe. Is he really a help or just in it for himself. At first I thought the plot was a whodunit, but then it turns into a moody nail-biter, along the lines of urban classic DOA (1950). And what about those great SF locations that lend genuine atmosphere. Cameraman Hal Mohr does an expert job complementing the story with many of SF's exotic settings. In fact, the acting and production values manage to keep attention away from plot developments that at times are a stretch.

I guess my only real reservation is with the camera pull-away at the climax. It's imaginative and heightens suspense, but also dilutes the outcome that we never get to see. Still, however you take that, the movie itself remains an exotic slice of b&w, and a tribute especially to its director and cameraman.

(In passing-- why the title 'Woman' On The Run when it seems it's really a man.)

WOMAN ON THE RUN is an infinitely better and more rewarding movie experience now than when it was released in 1950. Saw it back then when I was a child and the only thing I remembered was the terrifically-exciting roller coaster sequence. Seeing it again on DVD makes me appreciate everything about it, a film noir classic. To make such a no-nonsense, concise and plausible crime thriller with a sensational finale today certainly seems to be asking for the impossible. Ann Sheridan, of a certain age, never sexier and looking like a million dollars, dominates the screen, as usual. She can do anything, but overact. She's the real thing. Scenes in this movie bear comparison to Orson Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL and Alfred Hitchcock'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. This is a gem - hard-boiled, splendidly-acted, written and photographed.

There's LOTS of snappy dialog in this film, all of it involving Ann Sheriden, & much of it involving Dennis O'Keefe as Danny Leggett or Robert Keith as Inspector Ferris. There are very few Film Noirs with a female lead, & this is one of them. Sheriden does a terrific job as the wife of a man on the run from the police & the mob. Is Ann faithful or faithless? Where's her husband? Does she care? These are some of the questions raised in the film. Lots of shadows, much of it filmed at night, but there are some sunny scenes. Look for #2 Son as one of the Chinese dancers. The dialog was so tart that it reminded me of `The Big Sleep,' & that's saying a lot. One big difference between that film & this, is that this film is a lot more easy to comprehend. I actually knew who they were talking about when they referred to `Susie' or `Ferris,' maybe because the number of characters in this movie were few, & their roles were very well defined. Exciting, suspenseful, good sense of humor, very well acted & directed. Too bad it's hard to find on video & it's never shown on TV. I rate it 9/10.