Hide-Out

About handsome, smartly-dressed "Lucky" Wilson (played by Robert Montgomery), ladies' man and racketeer who spends his time hitting up successful New York nightclubs for "protection" money and at the same time hits on every blonde he sees (even when it means dumping the current blonde he's with). When a couple of smart cops get someone to spill the beans on his rackets, Lucky is forced to leave town in a hurry and head for a hideout, but he gets himself shot on the way out and ends up getting picked up on the road by a Connecticut farmer, who bunks injured Lucky in his quite lovely family home/farm. The kindly family proceeds to nurse Lucky back to health, but Lucky just wants to get out of there - until he meets the farmer's beautiful daughter Pauline (Maureen O'Sullivan). Soon he's feeding the chickens, milking the cow, picking cherries, chopping wood, and performing other farm chores (all dressed in his nice white shirt and jacket) all in pursuit of the girl. And the family has NO clue that Lucky is a criminal!

Very entertaining film, with excellent performances by all including Elizabeth Patterson as the charitable farm wife/mom, and a young Mickey Rooney as the boisterous little brother/devoted rabbit farmer. Robert Montgomery is, as usual, charming and oh so attractive, and quite good at playing this gangster type role in addition to his usual roving playboy type - plus he has a good deal of chemistry with Maureen O'Sullivan here. I enjoyed the story in this and found the whole film to be very enjoyable. Well worth seeing.

It's a modest movie. Not a big deal. But it's got some things in it I like. First, it stars Robert Montgomery, and Maureen O'Sullivan, which though not a guarantee of a good movie, sure is a sign of promise. And in this case it pays off. Montgomery plays a racketeer who has to lam it to the countryside to wait for some heat to die down. The odd thing is, I could not really figure out what his "racket" was. There he is injured and stays with a family to recover, meeting and chumming it with the daughter. That's where the dividing line is. In the first part you are in precode gangster land. Then Montgomery wakes up in a four poster bed with a gingham bedspread - he has arrived in production code land. The plot's flimsy, for sure, on both sides of the line, but it's there to provide the opportunity for Montgomery and O'Sullivan to meet and chatter. And that's the main attraction. The banter between the simple, ingenuous, yet clear-headed and no-nonsense country lass, and the sophisticated, jaded, out-of-his-element city feller, as they get to know each other, like each other, and fall in love. The style of their exchanges has an informal, conversational feel, as if they were talking, not reciting lines.

Of course, the love story is accompanied by his character reformation into a good person, or one that looks to be in the future. But it's handled discretely, and if you ignore it, it doesn't spoil things. The supporting cast is a bunch of pros, so they know how not to step on things: Elizabeth Patterson and Whitford Kane as the ma and pa, Mickey Rooney-for once not insufferably irritating playing an insufferably irritating son, and Edward Arnold as the dogged cop. One other thing I like about the movie is that it achieves portraying a lively, energetic, spontaneous family scene without being noisy, discordant, and irritating. Something a lot of movies attempt, but fail miserably at doing.

"Hide Out" starts out focusing on a group of racketeers operating in Manhattan. We are introduced to Jonathan Wilson, who seems to be a key man to the organization. Jonathan is clearly a ladies' man, but his luck is about to change after he is seen pursuing the glamorous Baby. In a hilarious scene, Jonathan, has secured a ring side table to watch the beautiful Baby singing, as part of a night club act. He proceeds to ask her for a date that same night, without the singer missing a beat while she accepts his invitation. That also proves to be his own undoing because the police is closing after him.

The second part of this comedy, directed with style by W. S. Van Dyke, concentrates in how Jonathan, who has been wounded when he tried to flee his pursuers, is found on the side of the road by a Connecticutt farmer, Henry Miller. He takes him home, where the whole family takes an interest in making him well. The lovely Pauline Miller, a young teacher, likes "Lucky", as Jonathan calls himself. Life in the farm works its magic in this man and transform him when he falls in love with the beautiful Pauline.

Of course, we all know that crime doesn't pay, so when at the end of the film we see Det. MacCarthy come knocking on the Miller's door, we realize that Lucky must pay for his evil ways of the past, although he makes us feel, because of his transformation and the love he feels for the young woman, that somehow, he has vindicated himself by wanting to stay in the farm forever.

Robert Montgomery's appearance in the film makes it even better than what it should have been. Mr. Montgomery is excellent in his scenes with Maureen O'Sullivan, who is perfect as the young Pauline Miller. Pauline Patterson and Whitford Kane are the older Millers, and Mickey Rooney, who was about thirteen, but looks much younger, makes a valuable contribution as Willie Miller. Edward Arnold, one of the best character actors working in films at that time, puts an appearance as Detective MacCarthy.

The film, with a running time of 81 minutes, has the right length and involves us in it. W. S. Van Dyke directed with usual sure hand and got a lot out his great cast in this delightful film.

Yeah Yeah Yeah, I read about the Cliché's, but thats why I watch movies like these. I want a predictable ending, I want cliché's. I don't want to be emotionally challenged, I want to be entertained. A forgotten concept in todays movies. Occasionally weak acting and improvisation that lends a sense of realism. I like the mix between actual barnyard scenes and studio shots, probably technologically difficult in those times. Overall a very satisfying movie, and you gotta love Mickey Rooney as an ornery boy. I would have liked to see a sequel where the main character gets out of Jail and goes back. Marries the Girl, fixes the milk problem for Pa, and raises a passel of little piglets.

More than one movie was been made about a crook (or crooks in the case of couples) who leaves the city (usually, it's the Big Apple of New York) to go into hiding in a rural area. I've seen a few of them, and all but one that I can recall were comedy mysteries or crime pictures. Well, "Hide-Out" is an early one that stars Robert Montgomery and Maureen O'Sullivan, with a very large supporting cast.

Montgomery plays a sleezy, cocky, Jonathan "Lucky" Wilson. The cockiness fits Montgomery's normal film persona -- a smugginess in his constant quirky smile. It's a good story and film. While Wilson's conversion or change isn't quite believable, the performances by O'Sullivan as Pauline Miller, and those of the rest of her family and other supporting cast boost this film. Mickey Rooney is very good in this early role of his career as Pauline's youngest brother, Wiliam, who can't stand being called "Willie."

Old-time movie buffs and those interested in silver screen history will note and enjoy the roles of some of the great stock actors of mystery comedies. Here, Edward Brophy plays Detective Britt, Douglass Dumbrille plays nightclub owner DeSalle, and the dastardly appearing Henry Gordon plays The Boss, Tony Berrelli. Other comedy supporters are here as well, and do a good job - Herman Bing as Jake and Henry Armetta as Shuman.

Edward Arnold is one of the great supporting actors of Hollywood's golden era who never so much as received a nomination for any awards. Yet he could act in any genre, with a variety of characters and personas, and seem more natural in each role than anyone else. Arnold was superb in some great comedies and dramas. And, he could play mean and bad guys who came across tough as nails. Here he's a good guy, police detective and Lt. Mac MacCarthy who is hot on the trail of Wilson, his boss Berrelli, and the gang.

This is an enjoyable film, but younger modern audiences who have been brought up on fast action and speed in everything may not be able to slow down enough to enjoy it.