Woman on the Run

Starring: Ann Sheridan, Dennis O'Keefe, Robert Keith, John Qualen, Frank Jenks, Jane Liddell, Steve Carruthers (uncredited)
Directed by: Norman Foster
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama, Film Noir
1950

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: When her husband witnesses a murder and flees, a woman (Ann Sheridan) must piece together the mystery to find her husband before the murderers or the police do.

Review:

Tim: I sat down to watch Woman on the Run almost entirely because I'm an Ann Sheridan fan. I haven't seen a ton of her movies (5 before this one), but I've enjoyed her performances in them. This is a smaller, easily forgotten movie. Had Sheridan not received top billing, I easily would have missed this. As is, I'm glad I watched the film. It's a solid movie with some definite strengths. The story might be fairly derivative, but there were a few nice unique aspects to the movie. This isn't the most memorable film, but it's a good one.

What I appreciated most about this film noir is that it starred a strong female lead. Those didn't come along nearly enough back in the 1950s (nor do they today). I enjoyed that this movie centered around a woman searching for her missing husband. It put her character in the driver's seat. It helps that Ann Sheridan is in the lead role. She projects strength and calm. One thing I really like about Sheridan is that she feels more authentic than the most glamorous actresses of her day. She feels more relatable, like she's actually lived through hardships. That grounded quality is ideal for a character like this one. Now, as much as I did enjoy Sheridan's performance here, I didn't quite love it. She was really good, but I was interested in her plight verses emotionally invested in it. Still, she gives a strong performance as this fast-talking, independent woman. It's certainly one of the big strengths of the film.

The supporting cast is good, too. Dennis O'Keefe gave a strong performance as a determined reporter. His role wasn't quite what I expected and he brought multiple levels to the character. It certainly required more than a little effort from him and he rose to the occasion. Robert Keith was so important to the film in his supporting role and he brought some levity and realism to the part. His scenes were among the better of the film and my interest always picked up when he came on screen.

The story was a good one. It certainly follows some familiar paths, but there were some unique twists to it as well. As mentioned, I appreciated that the protagonist was a woman. The story has some nice, unexpected moments to it. I thought I knew where it was going, but it certainly shifted the landscape a bit. That was really good. I also loved the fast-talking, snappy dialogue. It certainly held my interest and there were more than a few terrific lines in the movie. The screenplay was exceptionally strong, especially in the dialogue department.

I will say that I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. I generally tend to dislike movies that have climaxes in amusement parks. I'm not sure if this is just a coincidence or not, but it's never as thrilling or exciting as the movie believes. That's the case here, too. There's a weird scene on a roller coaster that was so annoying, it totally missed the mark. It felt like a forced conclusion that needed to be rewritten.

Now, I enjoyed Woman on the Run. The film is quite short, at 1 hour, 17 minutes, so it definitely doesn't overstay its welcome. It's a fun movie to watch, but it ultimately felt like it was too budget-focused to tell the story the way it should have been told. Sure, it feels focused, but it's obviously a small movie. At times it felt too small, that it would have been better with a bigger budget. Still, this movie is a success, a film I'm glad I've seen, and it's further proof that Sheridan was something special.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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