Woman On The Run (1950) is an effective and underrated film noir that’s under 80 minutes and has made me a fan of main star Ann Sheridan (who was also a silent co-producer on it). When her husband (Ross Elliott) witnesses a murder while walking their dog, he reports it to the police but gets cold feet when he realises the victim was testifying on an infamous mobster, so he goes on the run. While the police stick close to his weary wife (Sheridan), she tries to elude them while looking for her missing husband, teaming up with a sleazy news reporter (Dennis O’Keefe). Set in San Francisco with a great combo of location shooting and rear screen projection, we follow Sheridan’s character as she learns about her husband – their marriage is on the rocks with their dog the main thing keeping together. This is the 1950s, so the underlying theme is her learning to not be such a cold fish (and that her loser artist husband is actually a sweetheart), but Sheridan is so good as the character, weary looks and snarky one-liners in her trench-coat. There’s some warmth to these archetypes, even the killer gets a human moment of indecision. There’s great banter, a wisecracking cop (Robert Keith), good background characters, that friendly dog, some strong plot twists and a great climax set at an amusement park at night. Directed by Norman Foster and based on a short story by Sylvia Tate. Dialogue written by Ross Hunter (who would go on to produce Magnificent Obsession and Pillow Talk) and apparently Sheridan and O’Keefe contributed to their own lines as well. Streamed it on Kanopy but also available on YouTube. Recommended.
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