Woman in Hiding (1950)

Wonderful Movie

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Simply Perfect

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It's hard to go wrong with the great Ida Lupino. This thriller's no exception. Deborah's husband (McNally) is ungallantly trying to kill her so he can get his hands on the mill her dead father left her. But she crashes her car into a river trying to get away, and now everyone except hubby thinks she's dead. Cleverly, he offers big bucks to anyone with info on her whereabouts. So well-meaning Ramsey (Duff) thinks he's doing her a favor by contacting the husband with the info. What's a frightened Debbie to do since hubby is one mean, relentless dude.The movie may not be anything exceptional, but it's got its share of chills, especially the tangled mill scene. That sequence is very well directed for action, and I really like the unexpected wrinkle with Monahan (Dow). Then too, those boisterous conventioneer scenes add noisy color that also proves lucky for Debbie. The woman-in-danger part is one tailor made for the expert Lupino, and she makes it unusually convincing. McNally too, makes a persuasive menace, especially when he's beating the bushes while she cowers beneath. But I do think the script could have come up with a better angle for Debbie & Ramsey's first meet-up since that newsstand gig seems much too tame for a macho actor like Duff.Anyway, it's a super-slick production from Universal that gets a real lift from Lupino who would go on to film an even better woman-in-danger film the following year, Beware, My Lovely (1952).

This review is replete with spoilers. The plot-line of this movie is ridiculous. It begins with the car going into the drink, and the voice-over saying something like, "They think I'm dead. I'll have to stay 'dead'". Why? Why not come forward and tell everyone what has happened? She thinks they won't believe her? A quick examination of the car will reveal that it's been tampered with.Another major plot hole is where she flees to another town and then acts like Richard Kimble. She hasn't committed any crime, so why is she so afraid of everyone, especially the police? Then, the husband manages to convince the fellow who's been dogging her that she is "ill". Why is Duff so ready to believe that she is "ill"? I suppose it's understandable, since no one has ever murdered a spouse for gain.Then, when the husband finally gets his clutches on her, he informs her that he is going to put her in an institution, because she is "ill". It can't be that easy to put someone in an institution just because it is to someone else's benefit.The whole thing is a crock.

Selden Clark, the ambitious manager of a mill in North Carolina, has an interest in getting the business, something that the owner, John Chandler, would never agree to do. Instead, Selden, who has an affair going on with the pretty Patricia Monahan, decides to get rid of his boss by killing him in what appears to be an industrial accident at the plant. Selden then makes a play for Deborah Chandler, the daughter who never liked him, capitalizing on her vulnerability at a crucial time in her life.As the two get married, Selden proposes a honeymoon up in the mountains. His sole purpose is to kill her as well, thus getting the business all to himself and restart his affair with Patricia again. To Selden's surprise he, and his new bride, find Patricia waiting for them in the cabin. Patricia tries to kill him without success. Things do not go well with his plan to kill Deborah, as she manages to survive the accident her new husband provoked when he rigged the car brakes. Selden, who senses Deborah survives the accident, and is still alive, when her body never surfaces, decides to offer a reward to anyone that will know her whereabouts.Deborah ends up in Raleigh trying to find Patricia Monahan, to prove that Selden tried to kill her. In the process, she attracts the attention of Keith Ramsey, a former soldier that is working his way to California. When he sees her photograph in a pictorial magazine, Keith gets interested because he has seen Deborah at the newsstand where he is employed. Thinking he is doing her a favor, he calls Selden, who gets confirmation that she is still alive.Michael Gordon directed "Woman in Hiding", which is based on a novel by James Webb. The material was adapted by Oscar Saul and Roy Higgins. The result is a satisfying film that is seldom seen these days. We were lucky in watching a pristine print recently shown on a cable channel, a DVD transfer, probably. This satisfying drama relies on the strength of the cast that makes it worth a look by serious fans of the genre. Ida Lupino, always delivered, as it is the case here. Her Deborah proves to be a likable heroine because the viewer identifies with her plight. Stephen McNally does a fine job with his Selden, a bad guy that does not get any sympathy. Howard Duff appears as Keith and Peggy Dow as Patricia Monahan.Veteran cinematographer William Daniels captures in vivid images the work of Michael Gordon. "Woman in Hiding" will not disappoint.

This is a little known classic from the film noir era of the '40's and early '50's. I had the privilege of seeing this movie listed in the TV guide only once and that was in the summer of 1984 on one of the local cable stations. Luckily, we had just purchased our first VCR and recorded it for posterity. I can watch this one over and over again without getting tired of it.It's a simple plot with the usual sex-crime-greed ingredients that were common in these film noirs. And the cast is super! Howard Duff, Ida Lupino, Stephen McNally, John Litel, Peggy Dow and Taylor Holmes round off the principals featured in this movie. Also, look closely for Jerry Paris (of Dick Van Dyke fame)standing by the magazine counter! Steve McNally plays Selden Clark, manager of a local mill owned by John Litel. McNally has a tryst with Peggy Dow and conspires to get control of the mill by pushing Litel off a catwalk inside the mill, then marrying the owner's daughter (Lupino), bumping her off and living happily ever after with Dow. Being the case with film noir, this doesn't pan out exactly as Selden Clark anticipates! Sure, he marrys the daughter, but she finds out (too late) that this guy is a psychotic bum. She manages to get away from him by stealing away in her 1946 Ford convertible (nice car!), but her brakes don't work due to some mechanical failure caused by her neer-do-well new husband. She manages to leap from the car before it crashes into the river. Everyone thinks that she's dead, but the body can't be found.Selden is convinced that she's still alive somewhere and puts up a $5,000 reward for anyone who can produce her. Enter Howard Duff. Duff plays the catalyst in this film; at first thinking that she is a victim of amnesia, cheerfully (and alas) returning her to Selden. He then comes to his senses and manages to rescue her from Selden's clutches. It has a happy ending with Duff and Lupino getting married, as they actually did in real life.It is amazing that this movie continues to be ignored. Many think that Ida Lupino was great in the early '40's in such films as They Drive By Night and High Sierra, but she was actually better by the late '40's and early 50's (The Man I Love, Road House, On Dangerous Ground, Private Hell 36) and was about to earn the distinction of being Hollywood's first female director (The Hitchhiker, The Bigamist, Not Wanted, Outrage). She was an incredible lady.This chestnut is practically impossible to find even in bootleg form. Like many of the film noirs of this time period, Woman in Hiding continues to be neglected. This film certainly deserves to be recognized and marketed to the unsuspecting public. It seems that I have the only copy in captivity and it's not going to leave my collection any soon! Seriously folks, if you notice this one listed in the TV Guide, make a copy for your own personal collection. You won't be disappointed.