Ann Sheridan is a "Woman on the Run"

Woman on the Run (1950) is an American film noir directed by Norman Foster and starring Ann Sheridan and Dennis O’Keefe. Members of the supporting cast include Robert Keith, John Qualen, Ross Elliot, and Frank Jenks. The cinematography was by Hal Mohr (Captain Blood, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Phantom of the Opera).

Frank Johnson (Elliot), a down-on-his-luck painter is a witness to a murder while walking his dog. Because Frank got a good look at the killer, the police are anxious to get him into protective custody. Frank having second thoughts about possibly testifying against the killer goes missing. Inspector Martin Ferris (Keith) finds Johnson’s wife Eleanor (Sheridan) and tries to get her to reveal where he is hiding. The problem is that Eleanor has no idea. Ferris soon discovers that things between Eleanor and Frank aren’t perfect so maybe Eleanor is in no rush to find Frank. Enter Daniel Legget, a local reporter who tries to help her find her husband if he can get an exclusive on the story. During Frank’s absence, Eleanor learns things about her husband that she didn’t know anything about including a heart condition that he is taking medication for.

Will Frank eventually show up safe and sound, or is he doomed to die at the hands of the killer he saw the night he was walking his dog?

Norman Foster (1903 – 1976) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Foster was a stage film actor. Foster was a popular film actor during the pre-Code era. One of his popular pre-Code efforts was Rafter Romance (1933) co-starring Ginger Rogers. During his directing career he directed several films in the Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto series. He directed feature films including Kiss the Blood off My Hands (1948) starring Joan Fontaine and Burt Lancaster and Rachel and the Stranger (1948) starring Loretta Young, William Holden, and Robert Mitchum. He also directed the Zorro and Davey Crockett television series for Walt Disney. Foster was married to Claudette Colbert from 1928 to 1935.

Ann Sheridan (1915 - 1967) was an American actress and singer. Her movie career began in 1934 where she appeared in 19 films! Her roles were all small and mostly unbilled, but she appeared in another 20+ films before she was signed to Warner Bros. in 1938. She was given better roles and was groomed for major stardom. The studio dubbed her “The Oomph Girl,” a title she hated but helped contribute to her popularity. During World War II she was a popular pin-up girl. As a star, Sheridan starred in Angels Wash Their Faces (1939), Castle on the Hudson (1940), It All Came True (1940), They Drive by Night (1940), City for Conquest (1941), and The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942). During this time she starred opposite Warner’s top leading men including John Garfield, James Cagney, and George Raft. Her biggest success during this period came with Kings Row (1942), a film in which she received top billing over Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, and Betty Field. Sheridan made the transition to television and was starring in the weekly western series, Pistols 'n' Petticoats (1966-67) when she became sick with cancer. She died on January 21, 1967, at the age of 51.

Dennis O’Keefe (1908 – 1968) was an American film actor. O’Keefe started out as a film extra in 1931 under the name Bud Flanagan. He had a small role in Saratoga (1937) which led to a contract with M-G-M. At that studio, they changed his name to Dennis O’Keefe. He left M-G-M in 1940 but found work in low-budget films. In the mid-1940s, he was under contract to producer Edward Small. During this time, he made the film-noir classics T-Men (1947) and Raw Deal (1948). A heavy smoker, O’Keefe died of lung cancer at the age of 60.

Ann Sheridan and Dennis O'Keefe

Woman on the Run trivia

• The film was restored by Eddie Muller's own organization Film Noir Foundation and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Charitable Trust. in 2008.
• Ross Hunter who would go on to be the producer of melodramas like Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Imitation of Life (1959) was the dialogue director.
• Ann Sheridan hoped that this film would revitalize her career after she bought out her contract at Warner Bros. She also was hoping for a hit because she had a finacial stake in the film as well.
• The film was shot on location in San Francisco.

To watch the film on YouTube, click the link below.

To join the discussion on September 5, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and link to the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. Was the on-location shooting in San Francisco a plus?
2. Having a female protagonist in a film noir isn't the norm. Does the film work with Ann Sheridan as the central character?
3. What did you think of the film's cast? The film has some great character actors in it. Did you have any favorites?
4. Did you have a favorite scene or piece of dialogue?
5. Was there anything about this film that surprised you?
6. When the truth was revealed did it make sense to you?

10 Things You May Not Know About Deanna Durbin

Deanna Durbin (1921 – 2013) was one of the biggest stars of the 1930s and 1940s. She had an international fan club that was the largest in the world. With her beautiful soprano voice and genuine charm on screen, Durbin endeared herself to a generation of film fans. Her fame is still celebrated today.

1. Durbin was born in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada. In 1923 her parents moved the family—Deanna had an older sister, Edith (b. 1909)—to Southern, California, and became United States citizens.

A very young Deanna Durbin

2. In 1935 she was signed to a six-month contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but her option was dropped in 1936. The studio had another girl singer named Judy Garland.

3. In 1936 she signed with Universal Studios, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, at the tender age of 14. Her starring role in Three Smart Girls (1936) made her an overnight sensation and put Universal in the black.

4. Durbin auditioned for the voice of Snow White, but Walt Disney thought her voice sounded “too old” for the part. She was 15.

5. She was one of Anne Frank’s favorite movie stars. If you visit the Frank house in Amsterdam, Holland, you will see pictures of Durbin on Frank’s bedroom wall.

Deanna Durbin with Gene Kelly from Christmas Holiday

6. In 1938, Durbin received an Academy Juvenial Award for “bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth.” 

7. When Durbin was kissed by Robert Stack in First Love (1939), the press dubbed it “The kiss heard around the world!”

8. In 1941, Durbin starred in what many consider her best film, It Started with Eve, costarring Charles Laughton and Robert Cummings.

9. During her reign at Universal, Durbin always received top billing.

10. In 1947, Durbin was the highest paid woman in America. She retired the next year (at age 27), never to work in show business again.

"Jane Eyre": A Golden Age Classic

A recent article in The New York Times featured a story on the new film version of Jane Eyre directed by Cary Fukunaga. Charlotte Brontë’s novel, first published in 1847, has been filmed at least 18 times, according to Charles McGrath, the author of the Times piece. Brontë’s classic Gothic romance set the standard, and in many cases the rules, for romantic literature. So it isn’t hard to understand why the story of a poor orphan girl who ultimately finds love and happiness has fascinated filmmakers and filmgoers alike for generations.

Huxley, Houseman, and Stevenson
It’s interesting to note that Fukunaga grew up watching the 1943 film version directed by Robert Stevenson starring Orson Welles as Rochester and Joan Fontaine as Jane. Like Fukunaga’s version, it’s not a strict adaptation of the novel. The screenplay written by Aldous Huxley, John Houseman, and Stevenson has a literary quality that captures both the novel’s spirit and tone. That literary quality is bolstered by the extraordinary black and white cinematography by George Barnes, who framed every scene as if it were a painting.

Peggy Ann Garner, as the young Jane, takes her punishment at Lowood School

“Desperately Appealing”
Peggy Ann Garner plays the young Jane who is sent to Lowood School by her cruel Aunt Reed, played by Agnes Moorehead. Young Jane’s sad experiences at the strict boarding school are heartbreaking. Under the tyrannical leadership of schoolmaster Mr. Brocklehurst (Henry Daniell), Jane and her friend Helen (played by an unbilled Elizabeth Taylor), are exposed to many indignities. The performances in these early scenes are very affecting. Bosley Crowther in The New York Times said Garner “…is desperately appealing as the tortured child, Jane, and Henry Daniell is monstrously sadistic as her evil schoolmaster.”

Although her looks were downplayed, Joan Fontaine still made a beautiful Jane Eyre.

When Jane becomes an adult (Fontaine), she decides to make her own way in the world as a governess. When she arrives at Thornfield Hall, Jane is overwhelmed by the estate, but intrigued by her new master, Mr. Rochester (Welles). Hired as a governess for Adele Varens (Margaret O’Brien), Jane is conscientious and caring.

The studio reused old sets and props to give Jane Eyre its rich look.

Creativity on a Budget
The film shot during World War II was constrained by the budget limitations that the studio imposed on the production team. By recycling older sets and using props and furnishings on hand at Twentieth Century Fox, the producers created an atmosphere that is both lush and mysterious. The deep shadows and sharp focus give the film its unique texture; it’s the Hollywood dream factory at its creative peak.

The movie title in the opening credits was stamped on a book.

The Novel Version
Part of the appeal of the novel is the voice of the narrator, Jane. The 1943 film starts out with a shot of the first page of Jane Eyre with Fontaine’s voice-over reading of the text. Unlike the novel, where Jane is clearly the main character, Rochester is given almost equal status in the Stevenson version. As played by Welles, Brontë’s brooding hero is bigger than life; if he had been paired with a less competent actress, his characterization might have overshadowed Fontaine's Jane.  

Joan Fontaine won an Academy Award for her role in Suspicion costarring Cary Grant.

Fontaine on a Roll
Jane Eyre was Fontaine’s fourth major film role after her breakout performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940). An Oscar winner for another Hitchcock classic, Suspicion(1941), Fontaine’s career was flying high. Welles on the other hand was no longer the boy wonder of Hollywood. RKO suspended his contract, which almost put it out of business. Welles’s overspending on the back-to-back financial failures Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons greatly lowered his marketability in Hollywood. It’s somewhat amazing that he was offered the role of Rochester and even more amazing that he would get top billing over the more famous Fontaine, who played the title character!

Orson Welles as Mr. Rochester and Fontaine as Jane Eyre

Stevenson Was in Control of Jane Eyre
Much has been said about Welles’s influence on the film’s production, some suggesting that he was really the director. According to Fontaine's memoir, No Bed of Roses she discounted that notion. Fontaine said that slowly, but surely, Stevenson took charge of the film in spite of Welles’s attempts to run the show. Stevenson had a distinguished directorial career that goes back to the early 1930s. His films from the studio period include the 1941 version of Back Street starring Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullavan. He directed many major movie stars including the likes of Robert Mitchum and Ava Gardner. Stevenson really hit his stride when he signed on with Walt Disney. Stevenson’s first three films for Disney are considered classics, including Johnny Tremain and Old Yeller (both 1957) and Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959), which featured a young Sean Connery. He reached his box office and creative peak with the Oscar-winning Mary Poppins (1964). Stevenson’s output at Disney made him one of the most commercially successful directors during the 1960s and 1970s.

Director Robert Stevenson around the time Jane Eyre was being filmed

Timeless Appeal
I think the reason the Stevenson version is so successful is the way it expresses the longing and yearning of the main characters in their search for love and acceptance. Fontaine’s Jane is vulnerable, but strong; you identify with her ultimate goodness of character. Through Fontaine’s characterization her yearning becomes our yearning; we want her to find happiness. If Welles’s Rochester is a bit over-the-top, Fontaine’s more subtle performance evens things out. In spite of the overpowering Welles, it’s still Fontaine’s picture. Jane Eyre is the star and we do love Jane.