Woman in the Dark

This one came in the DVD collection and is the only reason the watch it.The best that can be said is that it is a good cast wasted. Hard to believe Dashiell Hammett had a hand in this uninteresting film. It was Pre-Code and had a few half-hearted attempts to inject sexual innuendo which would pass unnoticed nowadays. I give it 3 due mainly to an uninspired script and an outlandish storyline. The cast headed by Ralph Bellamy and Fay Wray try mightily. Melvyn Douglas is the heavy in this one and Roscoe Ates is on hand as comic relief but adds nothing - not even humor - to the proceedings.

I hope no one went to great lengths to restore this picture - it wasn't worth it and I can't recommend it.

I've known of Ralph Bellamy for most of my life. During the fifties and sixties, he was a bit of a staple in television dramas and had a fairly extensive movie career. Rediscovering him in some of these old films, he appears to have a quality that was utilized. He was frequently used as a very masculine character, a kind of dominator of women. He seems to be characterized as a person who once he makes his mind up, won't listen to anyone. This is no exception. He has been framed and put in prison for manslaughter, his temper getting the best of him. It isn't long before he is in trouble again, hooking up with Fay Wray (who really was quite beautiful) and alienating a few people in his community. The problem with all this is that we are expected to believe that people will act in such knee jerk ways, not looking at evidence. Of course, the good guys don't help because instead of pleading their cases, they just take off. Shootings occur and people end up making deals when a simple explanation would have probably circumvented the whole thing. This is a sort of pleasant movie, but not worth a whole lot. There is some pretty bad comic relief that only distracts from what is supposed to be serious.

"Woman In The Dark" holds a certain curiosity value: a bunch of big-name actors appear in an obviously penny-pinching production. Fay Wray is soooooooo gorgeous - you can't take your eyes off her, and you don't want to, either. She and the other actors certainly invest more into this film than the producers did. ** out of 4.

Out on parole, John Bradley (Ralph Bellamy) has no intention of returning to prison. His first night home, he is visited by Helen Grant (Nell O'Day) whose father is the sheriff. It was over Lil that John got into a brawl that ended in a man's death. John is encouraging her to leave when a woman, Louise Loring (Fay Wray) dressed in a white gown arrives at his house. She's hurt her ankle trying to get to the train station - and away from Tony Robson (Melvyn Douglas). Louise thought that Robson lent her money for her singing career - but it was an investment and he wants a return that isn't monetary.

Robson is there with a drunk friend (Reed Brown Jr.) who kills the dog that accompanied him (setting my teeth on edge), goes after Louise, is hit by John, and sustains a concussion, though John thinks he's dead. Tony informs the sheriff, and John and Louise go on the run to his cellmate Logan's (Roscoe Ates) place. It goes from there, with the police showing up yet again.

This is an okay movie, with the comedy coming from the visit at the Logan's -- he's an ex-jewel robber who is dying to get his hands on the jewels Robson gave Louise. Bellamy's career in films spanned 59 years, and his stage career spanned thirty. Here he's 30 years old, playing a somewhat laconic role, though flirtatious with Louise - his sonorous voice making him instantly recognizable.

Fay Wray was supremely beautiful and does a good job as Louise - though why anyone would walk in total darkness through what looked like woods to get to a train station is beyond me. I've seen too much true crime, I guess.

There was nothing special about this film, it was just nice to see the beautiful Wray and handsome Bellamy as a young man.

"Woman in the Shadows" AKA "Woman in the Dark" (1934). It's not a bad lighthearted crime drama - would have been much better without the comedy - would be better as a serious piece but it's not bad as it is. It's not a complicated story - it's simple but effective for what it is.

John Bradley is a man out of prison for manslaughter. He decides to live alone - he simply wants to be alone because he's afraid of his own bad temper hurting someone again. And for a man that wants to be alone he sure attracted a lot of company and that company leads him to fear he's killed someone again so he and his newfound female company goes on the run together.

And for a tough guy that doesn't like chicks to well because they are trouble he sure turned out to be a soft romantic.

5/10