Woman in Hiding (1950)

Deborah Chandler's rejected suitor, Selden Clark, manages the factory of her father, who dies: did he fall or was he pushed? But charming Clark manages to win her over and marry her. On the... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Gordon

Writers:

Oscar Saul (screenplay), Roy Huggins (adaptation),

Stars:

Ida Lupino, Stephen McNally, Howard Duff

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ida Lupino	...	Deborah Chandler Clark
Stephen McNally	...	Selden Clark
Howard Duff	...	Keith Ramsey
Peggy Dow	...	Patricia Monahan
John Litel	...	John Chandler
Taylor Holmes	...	Lucius Maury
Irving Bacon	...	'Pops' Link
Don Beddoe	...	Fat Salesman
Joe Besser	...	Salesman with Drum
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Gould	...	Train Conductor (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Deborah Chandler's rejected suitor, Selden Clark, manages the factory of her father, who dies: did he fall or was he pushed? But charming Clark manages to win her over and marry her. On the honeymoon, Clark's former girl Patricia intervenes and opens Deborah's eyes, alas too late. Now Clark tries to kill Deborah. Believed dead by all but Clark, she flees. But drifter Keith Ramsey recognizes and follows her. Can she trust him? Can he believe her?

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Thriller | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'araignée

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on November 30, 1950 with Howard Duff and Ida Lupino reprising their film roles.

User Reviews

Manages Its Share of Chills

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).