Woman on the Run (1950)

Inspector Martin Ferris: [questioning Mrs Johnson about her husband] Where does he generally go when he’s not at home? Eleanor Johnson: I haven’t the faintest idea. Inspector Martin Ferris: Who are his friends? Eleanor Johnson: I don’t know his friends. The dog is our only mutual friend.

There is something about Film Noir that keeps you coming back for more.  Is it the quick witty dialogue, the shadowy cinematography, the often simple suspense or just the charm of those B movies that were made during the prime noir period of the 40’s and 50’s?  Woman on the Run was thought to have been lost forever after a fire broke out at the Hollywood’s Universal lot in 2008 (a year after I visited) but a copy was located in the UK which had no sound and a sound source was located elsewhere and the result is the now restored DVD/Bluray of the film.

Woman on the Run is an unusual noir in that it doesn’t just contain elements that make a “noir” but also the rediscovery of romance which makes it kind of unique.  As the quote above indicates, the marriage between Eleanor Johnson (Ann Sheridan) and Frank Johnson (Dan O’Keefe) was not the best.  Communication had dwindled to almost nothing (as you will hear in the film) and the only real friend they had in common was their dog.  A sad state of affairs.  Anyway, whilst out walking the dog at night Frank witnesses a murder.  The police kindly point out that he needs their protection in case the murderer comes back again to seek his life, but Frank decides to run and hide out himself.  He sends his wife a cryptic note as to his whereabouts that only she would know the answer to.  Eleanor then slowly begins to rediscover her fond memories with her husband and comes to the realisation that he still loves her.  Assisting her in finding clues is a news reporter who wants the exclusive story from Frank when he is found but the Police are also on the case, following Eleanor’s every move.  Can she find her husband before the killer does?  

The Film Noir Foundation assisted in the funding to restore both this and the other “lost” classic Too Late for Tears and there was quite a bit of excitement in the film noir camp about these, especially Woman on the Run whose only copy available was on Youtube in very poor quality.  So now we have the restored movie and I must say that the movie is really good and worthy of such restoration.  As mentioned above, its unique in some of its qualities whilst still keeping within that film noir classification.  The acting is really good in particular that of Ann Sheridan (also co-Produced the film) who just breathes the character from the start right up till the rollercoaster ending.  I wouldn’t say it was among the top noir that I have seen, but certainly nowhere near the worst.  It’s just a good, solid and brisk (at 78min) all-rounder that leans a little closer to the drama/thriller side of things as opposed to full-blooded noir.  There are some neat camera angles and some shadowy scenes of San Francisco but I wouldn’t say it is as “noir” as the likes of “Kiss Me Deadly” or “Out of the Past”.

The DVD/Bluray double pack reviewed here is basically a copy of the “Flicker Alley” production that was brought out in conjunction with the Film Noir Foundation in USA.  It has been released by Arrow Academy in the UK and can be purchased from the usual places like Amazon.co.uk and Zavii.com.  The image quality is really good though it does have speckles scattered throughout but it’s not too distracting.  The audio is good in its uncompressed format for Bluray.  The DVD, included in the pack, was not used for the review.  The package also comes with the following extras:

• Audio commentary by author, historian and “noirchaeologist” Eddie Muller
• Love is a Rollercoaster: Woman on the Run Revisited featurette
• A Wild Ride: Restoring Woman on the Run featurette
• Noir City – a short featurette on the annual Noir City Film Festival
• Image Gallery
• Reversible Bluray cover featuring both the original and new artwork (the new is shown above)

Overall the movie is a really good watch for those who like films from this period and is therefore highly recommend it but if you are coming in cold to noir, there are certainly better noirs to choose from such as Night of the Hunter, Murder, My Sweet, Dark Passage and In a Lonely Place.  Personally, I really enjoyed the film and it was as good as the hype surrounding the new restoration.  If you’re a noir fan, go for it.  If you just want to check it out, try putting up with the youtube version to see if it’s something you would like to fork out the $$ for.

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