Woman On The Run (DVD)

Woman On The Run is a film noir from 195? Staring Ann Sheridan and Dennis O’Keefe. It tells the story of Frank Johnson, an average citizen who is unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is out walking his dog at night when he sees a murder take place and becomes the main witness for the Police. Fearing for his life he goes on the run.

His wife Eleanor (Sheridan) seems to care very little about the circumstances ...
...killer.

Woman On The Run is a bit of a misnomer of a title as it is the man who is on the run not the woman, though I guess you could say that as Eleanor is trying to avoid the Police she is on the run from them in a sense. Or it could just be that Man On The Run doesn’t have quite the poetic ring to it, especially for a film noir. Of course the fact that its female characters often define a Film Noir may also had something to do with ... more

Woman On The Run is a film noir from 195? Staring Ann Sheridan and Dennis O’Keefe. It tells the story of Frank Johnson, an average citizen who is unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is out walking his dog at night when he sees a murder take place and becomes the main witness for the Police. Fearing for his life he goes on the run.

His wife Eleanor (Sheridan) seems to care very little about the circumstances of her husbands’ disappearance, or even that he is in potential danger.
When a newspaper reporter, Danny Leggatt (O’Keefe) finds out there is a major story in the making he starts following Eleanor, eventually teaming up with her to help her find her husband and the killer.

Woman On The Run is a bit of a misnomer of a title as it is the man who is on the run not the woman, though I guess you could say that as Eleanor is trying to avoid the Police she is on the run from them in a sense. Or it could just be that Man On The Run doesn’t have quite the poetic ring to it, especially for a film noir. Of course the fact that its female characters often define a Film Noir may also had something to do with it getting this title!
Eleanor is certainly an archetypal femme fatale, or at least starts off like one. She is sultry, sexy, intelligent and very strong willed, everything a film noir woman should be. Ann Sheridan, who was also in the Noir classic The Glass Key, has her character wrapped up tightly. She nails the tough, uninterested side of Eleanor’s character just as easily as she shows off her softer emotional side.
O’Keefe’s Danny is a strong character as well, he and Eleanor have a good rapport but he is second fiddle the dominant female, even when he is persuading her to let him help her out and getting himself more and more involved in the search for Frank. Seemingly having the power in the relationship you just know that Eleanor is the stronger one, even if the worry about her husband is letting her get led by the reporter at times.

Most of the film is centred on these two characters, again a main element on most Noirs is that the male/female protagonists are the focus of the story, and the way they play off each other, manipulate each other and often drag the more innocent one of the two deeper into trouble is almost a clichéd element of the genre.

Woman On The Run gives us all this and more. Although starting off as a fairly unlikeable character the dialogue and script are of such quality that as Eleanor explores San Francisco looking for her man she grows on you. She changes from a woman who seemingly cares very little about her missing husband to someone who will do anything to find him.

The highlight of the movie though is the climatic sequence around and under the old wooden rollercoaster that is on the pier. The first hour of the film is all leading towards a tense adrenaline rushing final 15 minutes where Danny and Eleanor are trying to get to the amusement park on the pier and find Frank.
As a viewer you know the killer is there to and it is all a matter of who finds Frank first… friends, killer or police. As the characters rush around the bustling crowds the tension mounts and you sit on the edge of your seat, wondering who will find Frank first.
The use of the rollercoaster is original and adds a novel touch to the end sequence of the movie. When some of the cast are on the ride you wonder what is going to happen, will someone get thrown off, will there be an accident or will everything all be okay? The view the characters have gives them a more panoramic view of the pier. It is a great idea and raises the tension levels to incredible heights just through the camerawork and choice of angles.

While the film overall is good it is the last 15 minutes that makes it worth watching. The rest is enjoyable film noir hokum which would have been nothing overly special, even with the great performances by Sheridan and O’Keefe, but that end sequence makes it a truly classic example of the noir/thriller genre.

WOTR is newly available (as of April 2009) on DVD from Glass Key, a division of Revolution Films (Revfilms.com) as part of their plans to release 54 of the most sought after, and previously unavailable, Film Noirs onto DVD.
The RRP seems to be £9.99, which is way too much considering the dubious quality of the film transfer, but is available from Amazon for £6.98, which is a much better price. At that price it is just about worth buying if you love the genre though a charge of £5 would probably be more appropriate.
 

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