Woman on the Run

Last updated
Woman on the Run
Woman on the Run.jpg
Film poster by Reynold Brown
Directed by Norman Foster
Screenplay by Alan Campbell
Norman Foster
Ross Hunter (dialogue)
Based on"Man on the Run"
1948 story in American Magazine
by Sylvia Tate
Produced by Howard Welsch
Starring Ann Sheridan
Dennis O'Keefe
Cinematography Hal Mohr
Edited byOtto Ludwig
Music by Arthur Lange
Emil Newman
Color process Black and white
Production
company
Fidelity Pictures Corporation
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • November 29, 1950 (1950-11-29)(New York City)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Woman on the Run is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by Norman Foster and starring Ann Sheridan and Dennis O'Keefe. [1] The film was based on the April 1948 short story "Man on the Run" by Sylvia Tate.

Contents

The film exists in the public domain and was restored and preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Plot

In San Francisco, artist Frank Johnson observes the gunshot murder of an important trial witness by a gangster seeking extortion money. Noticing Frank, the murderer takes shots at him. When the police arrive, inspector Martin Ferris learns that Frank, the sole witness, could identify the killer in a lineup, so he detains Frank to be given protective custody. When Frank sees bullet holes in the chest area of his shadow on a nearby wall and realizes how close he had come to death, he panics and surreptitiously escapes the police.

Ferris learns from Eleanor Johnson, Frank's wife, that the marriage is greatly strained and that Frank has disclosed little about his life to her. She informs Ferris that Frank has a longstanding habit of running from situations and events.

Reporter Danny Legget insinuates himself into Eleanor's life and assists her in the search for Frank. Danny makes romantic advances, but Eleanor rediscovers her feelings for Frank the longer that he is away. Ferris and the police are also seeking Frank, and undercover officers tail Eleanor wherever she goes.

At a Chinese nightclub that Frank frequents, a waiter gives Eleanor a note left by Frank. In the letter, Frank tells Eleanor that he will send a letter to his workplace informing her of his location. Danny learns that Suzie, a Chinese dancer, has a sketch of him that was given to her by Frank, so he steals the drawing. Soon after, Suzie falls from a window to her death, and the nightclub staff cannot believe that she would commit suicide.

At another bar, Eleanor finds another clue in Frank's painting on the wall. At Frank's workplace, a department store, Eleanor finds the letter, which states that Frank is at "the place where he first lost her." Eleanor realizes that the location is on the beach near an amusement park. Eleanor and Danny rush to the beach, where Frank is finishing a large sand sculpture.

With Eleanor taking a terrifying roller coaster ride to elude the police, Danny is revealed as the villain as he confronts Frank at gunpoint. Eleanor rushes to the scene upon hearing a gunshot and sees Danny's body floating in the water. She is tearfully reunited with Frank.

Cast

Production

Ann Sheridan was announced as the female lead in January 1950, with the film's working title as Man on the Run. [2] In February, it was reported that the producers were facing problems with the script and had changed writers. [3]

Sheridan was reported to have negotiated to receive a large portion of the film's profits and was paid $150,000 for her work. [4] Twentieth Century-Fox paid Fidelity Pictures $50,000 to delay production of the film while Sheridan completed work on Stella . [5] Rumors circulated that she was ill after having transitioned directly from Stella to Woman on the Run, which she vehemently denied. [6]

Production for Woman on the Run began in early May. [7] The film was shot on location in San Francisco, although some night scenes set in San Francisco were filmed in the Court Hill section of Los Angeles. [8] The amusement park and roller coaster scenes were filmed at Ocean Park Pier in Santa Monica. [9] Sheridan, who had a great fear of roller coasters dating back to a childhood accident at an amusement park, took eight full rides on the Ocean Park Pier roller coaster during the course of filming the sequence. [10] [11] Filming wrapped in mid-June 1950. [12]

Ross Hunter worked as dialogue director for the film as well as for several other films starring Sheridan at Universal. [13]

According to film noir historian Eddie Muller, much of the film's dialogue was improvised, a rarity for the era, and no continuity script was completed. [14]

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Bosley Crowther wrote:

Since it never pretends to be more than it is, "Woman on the Run" ... is melodrama of solid if not spectacular proportions. Working on what obviously was a modest budget, its independent producers may not have achieved a superior chase in this yarn about the search by the police and the fugitive's wife for a missing witness to a gangland killing. But as a combination of sincere characterizations, plausible dialogue, suspense and the added documentary attribute of a scenic tour through San Francisco, "Woman on the Run" may be set several notches above the usual cops-and-corpses contributions from the Coast ... "Woman on the Run" will not win prizes but it does make crime enjoyable. [15]

Los Angeles Times reviewer Philip K. Scheuer wrote:

For a Hitchcock-type thriller ... 'Woman on the Run' is really quite a presentable little affair, directed (after one of the talkiest openings on record) with fair imagination by Norman Foster, who also collaborated on the screen play. His roller-coaster finish, at any rate, demonstrates what applied cinematics can do to make the spectator breathe hard over a situation which, if he were thinking hard instead, would quickly establish itself as coming mighty close to the preposterous. [16]

Restoration

In 2003, a pristine print of the film was located in Universal's vault, but it was destroyed in the 2008 Universal lot fire. The film was thus believed to be lost, with the only extant copies being numerous poor-quality VHS transfers typical of public-domain films. However, the film's negative and soundtrack were found in the British Film Institute's collection, and the Film Noir Foundation and Hollywood Foreign Press Association funded a complete restoration by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The restored film premiered in August 2015. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Parker</span> American actress (1922–2013)

Eleanor Jean Parker was an American actress. She was nominated for three Academy Awards for her roles in the films Caged (1950), Detective Story (1951), and Interrupted Melody (1955), the first of which won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. She was also known for her roles in the films Of Human Bondage (1946), Scaramouche (1952), The Naked Jungle (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), A Hole in the Head (1959), The Sound of Music (1965), and The Oscar (1966).

<i>Interrupted Melody</i> 1955 film by Curtis Bernhardt

Interrupted Melody is a 1955 American musical biopic film starring Eleanor Parker, Glenn Ford, Roger Moore, and Cecil Kellaway. Directed by Curtis Bernhardt, it was filmed in CinemaScope and Eastman Color, and produced for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by Jack Cummings. With a screenplay by Lawrence, Sonya Levien, and William Ludwig, the operatic sequences were staged by Vladimir Rosing, and Eileen Farrell provided the singing voice for Parker. It tells the story of Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence's rise to fame as an opera singer and her subsequent triumph over polio with her husband's help

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Sheridan</span> American actress and singer (1915–1967)

Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films San Quentin (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) with James Cagney and Bogart, They Drive by Night (1940) with George Raft and Bogart, City for Conquest (1940) with Cagney and Elia Kazan, The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) with Bette Davis, Kings Row (1942) with Ronald Reagan, Nora Prentiss (1947), and I Was a Male War Bride (1949) with Cary Grant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexis Smith</span> Canadian-born American actress (1921–1993)

Margaret Alexis Smith was a Canadian-born American actress, pin-up girl and singer. She appeared in several major Hollywood films in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Award in 1972 for the Stephen Sondheim-James Goldman musical Follies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Flags Magic Mountain</span> Theme park in Valencia, California

Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a 209-acre (85 ha) amusement park located in Valencia, California, 35 miles (56 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newhall Land and Farming Company and Sea World Inc. In 1979, Six Flags purchased the park and added "Six Flags" to the park's name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intamin</span> Liechtensteiner design and manufacturing company

Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other establishments. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement installations". The company has corporate offices across the world, including three in Europe, three in Asia, and two in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Blyth</span> American actress

Ann Marie Blyth is an American retired actress and singer. For her performance as Veda in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film Mildred Pierce, Blyth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema, and became the earliest living acting Academy Award nominee upon the death of Angela Lansbury in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lizabeth Scott</span> American actress and singer (1922–2015)

Lizabeth Virginia Scott was an American actress, singer and model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency, known for her "smoky voice" and being "the most beautiful face of film noir during the 1940s and 1950s". After understudying the role of Sabina in the original Broadway and Boston stage productions of The Skin of Our Teeth, she emerged in such films as The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), Dead Reckoning (1947), Desert Fury (1947), and Too Late for Tears (1949). Of her 22 films, she was the leading lady in all but three. In addition to stage and radio, she appeared on television from the late 1940s to early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GhostRider (roller coaster)</span> Ride at Knotts Berry Farm in California

GhostRider is a wooden roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It is located in the Ghost Town section of the park, south of the main entrance. Manufactured by Custom Coasters International, GhostRider is the tallest and longest wooden coaster on the West Coast of the United States, measuring 4,533 feet (1,382 m) long and 118 feet (36 m) tall. The ride follows an L-shaped double out and back pattern, with a station themed to a mining building. There are three trains, each themed to a different precious metal, though only two are in use at any given time.

<i>Rollercoaster</i> (1977 film) 1977 American disaster-suspense film directed by James Goldstone

Rollercoaster is a 1977 American disaster-suspense film directed by James Goldstone and starring George Segal, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda and Timothy Bottoms. It was one of the few films to be shown in Sensurround, which used extended-range bass frequencies to give a sense of vibration to the viewers during the coaster rides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Cochran</span> American actor

Steve Cochran was an American film, television and stage actor. He attended the University of Wyoming. After a stint working as a cowboy, Cochran developed his acting skills in local theatre and gradually progressed to Broadway, film and television.

<i>Dark City</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by William Dieterle

Dark City is a 1950 American film noir crime film starring Charlton Heston in his Hollywood debut, and featuring Lizabeth Scott, Viveca Lindfors, Dean Jagger, Don DeFore, Ed Begley, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and directed by William Dieterle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Sullivan (American actor)</span> American actor (1912–1994)

Patrick Barry Sullivan was an American actor of film, television, theatre, and radio. In a career that spanned over 40 years, Sullivan appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s, primarily as a leading actor after establishing himself in the industry, and later as a character actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twisted Colossus</span> Roller coaster at Magic Mountain

Twisted Colossus is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Originally designed and built by International Amusement Devices, the roller coaster opened as Colossus, a dual-tracked roller coaster, on June 29, 1978. It was the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the world and the first with two drops greater than 100 feet (30 m). Colossus became well known after appearances in film and television, including the box-office hit National Lampoon's Vacation and the made-for-TV movie Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. For 19 years, it was the park's main attraction until the opening of Superman: The Escape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goliath (Six Flags Magic Mountain)</span> Steel roller coaster

Goliath is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, California. Manufactured by Giovanola of Switzerland, the hypercoaster is located in the Goliath Plaza section of the park and opened to the public on February 11, 2000. Its sub-tropical theme is characterized by ancient ruins of the Mayan civilization. The ride is nearly identical to Titan at Six Flags Over Texas, but it lacks a 540-degree upward helix prior to the mid-course brake run and features a slightly shorter track layout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Park</span> Amusement park in California

Pacific Park is an oceanfront amusement park located in Santa Monica, California. The park, located on the Santa Monica Pier, looks directly out on the Pacific Ocean, in the direction of Catalina Island. It is the only amusement park directly located on the West Coast of the United States located on a pier and LA's only admission-free park. There are a total of thirteen rides in Pacific Park, including the world's first and only solar-powered ferris wheel that provides a view of the Pacific Ocean and a roller coaster that circles the majority of the park. Pacific Park is also home to 14 midway games and over-the-ocean food and retail outlets. It has appeared in over 500 movies and television shows such as Fat Albert, Hannah Montana, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Kidsongs, 90210, Bean, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as the popular video game Grand Theft Auto V. In 2020, it featured in the opening ident for the sky television channel Sky Comedy. It is operated by Premier Parks LLC.

The Pike was an amusement zone in Long Beach, California. The Pike was founded in 1902 along the shoreline south of Ocean Boulevard with several independent arcades, food stands, gift shops, a variety of rides and a grand bath house. It was most noted for the Cyclone Racer (1930–1968), a large wooden dual-track roller coaster, built out on pilings over the water.

This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various Universal-owned theme parks, amusement parks, or water parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.

<i>Silver River</i> (film) 1948 film by Raoul Walsh

Silver River is a 1948 American western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan and Thomas Mitchell. The film is based on a Stephen Longstreet story that was turned into a novel. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros.

<i>Red, Hot and Blue</i> (film) 1949 film by John Farrow

Red, Hot and Blue is a 1949 American musical comedy film directed by John Farrow and starring Betty Hutton, Victor Mature, William Demarest and June Havoc. It was released by Paramount Pictures. Hutton plays an actress who gets mixed up with gangsters and murder. Frank Loesser wrote the songs and plays a key role. The film has no connection to Cole Porter's play of the same name.

References

  1. ↑ Woman on the Run at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films .
  2. ↑ Hopper, Hedda (1950-01-13). "Ann Sheridan's Next Movie to Be a Comedy with Cops and Gangsters". Chicago Tribune . p. 6, Part 2.
  3. ↑ Gwynn, Edith (1950-02-09). "Edith Gwynn's Hollywood". The Cincinnati Enquirer . p. 7.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Erskine (1950-03-18). "In Hollywood". Dunkirk Evening Observer . Dunkirk, New York. p. 7.
  5. ↑ Graham, Sheilah (1950-03-28). "Hollywood". The Scranton Times . p. 21.
  6. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (1950-05-12). "Jan Sterling to Play Tierney Rival; Story Shapes for Kirk Douglas". Los Angeles Times . p. 9, Part II.
  7. ↑ "Production Schedule". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News . 1950-05-05. p. 17.
  8. ↑ "Filmland Briefs". Los Angeles Times . 1950-05-11. p. 16, Part II.
  9. ↑ Barron, Mark (Oct 15, 1950). "ALONG BROADWAY: Roller Coaster 'Throws' Texas' Ann Sheridan". Los Angeles Times. p. D10.
  10. ↑ Sloan, Lloyd L. (1950-05-20). "Gary Cooper to Produce Full-Length Ski Film". Los Angeles Evening Citizen-News . p. 9.
  11. ↑ Parsons, Louella (1950-05-26). "Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten Will Be Teamed". Los Angeles Evening Citizen-News . p. 23.
  12. ↑ Johnson, Erskine (1950-06-15). "Pipple Talk Too Much Says Dizzy-Hats Carmen". The Ottawa Citizen . p. 29.
  13. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (Aug 7, 1950). "'Red Badge' Off-Beat Casting Revel; Bruce Cabot Does Top Bad Man". Los Angeles Times. p. B9.
  14. 1 2 Metz, Nina (2015-08-27). "'Woman on the Run' a noir treasure that was nearly lost". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  15. ↑ Crowther, Bosley (1950-11-30). "The Screen: 3 Films Have Premieres Here". The New York Times . p. 42.
  16. ↑ Scheuer, Philip K. (1950-10-30). "Ann Sheridan Woman on Run in Thriller". Los Angeles Times . p. 11, Part II.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.