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Movie star John Nelson (Allan Lane) is tired of his studio contract and the publicity that he's been getting. Studio head Maurice Tenwright assigns wannabe actor Matt Ryan (Frank Albertson) to be his Stooge. Matt has to handle John and ensure no bad publicity. His girl Ann Wray (Eleanor Lynn) actually writes publicity for the studio. Everybody is attending a casino party when the cops raid the joint. A shot rings out and Tenwright is found dead. Matt becomes the main suspect. As he is about to be arrested, he makes a run for it with Ann.

This is ok. I don't necessarily care about Matt Ryan. The first half hour isn't much. The little skit comes out of nowhere. Then the shot happens. I can't believe that Matt ran. He doesn't seem the type and it's crazy that Ann willingly follows him. I don't like the progression of the mystery, but that's fine.

Now comes Frank Albertson, a still young man who has been trying to crack Hollywood for several years. He's just been fired from his contract with his studio, and he's broke. Leading man Bradley Bradley Page kindly offers him a job as his assistant. Albertson uses the industry term: stooge. If Page needs any embarrassing situation taken care of, there's Albertson to clear it up or take the blame. Page is a kindly fellow, but he has his own worries. He''s a leading actor with the studio, but his last two pictures have been stinkers, and he's convinced that the studio bosses want him gone in favor of younger, cheaper talent. At a party one of the executives tells him just that. Then the cops raid the joint, the executive is shot in the uproar, and when police captain Jonathan Hale shows up, all the movie people point their fingers at Albertson. His girlfriend, Eleanor Lynn, helps him get away and they go on the run.

It's a remarkably hard-hearted and cynical view of the motion picture industry. Usually studio executives are portrayed as often comic nice guys, trying to shepherd an unruly bunch of artists through some sort of production that won't lose money. Here, the executives are cold-hearted men who take a cold satisfaction in destroying careers.... and the stars are just as bad. I'm sure there was something of that in the story Richard Wormser as the basis of this film. But credit Dalton Trumbo for portraying the higheru ps as almost sociopaths, and Leslie Goodwins, who usually did comedies, for directing it that way. With Adrienne Ames, Russell Hicks, Paul Guilefoyle, Ward Bond, Johnny Arthur, and George Irving.

Mystery Romantic Comedy Drama A cute little piece of fluff worth viewing when you just want a quiet, pleasant diversion for the evening. A young man is falsely accused of killing another at a party and with the help of a young woman flees to give himself time to think and the two end up falling for each other while hopping trains and forcibly renting a car to elude the pursuing police. Not bad at all! 2 out of 4 stars

A studio stooge & the publicity girl who loves him become FUGITIVES FOR A NIGHT after he's accused of murdering an unpopular movie producer.

One of the most interesting aspects of this minor mystery is the decidedly negative view it takes of the film business. Filmed at RKO (here called Apollo Studios), Dalton Trumbo's screenplay portrays the entire organization to be populated by thoroughly unpleasant people. This probably explains the absence of cameo appearances by any big stars.

The behind-the-scenes glimpses at the studio are very interesting, but the real reason to enjoy the film now is the energetic performance of Frank Albertson, as the resourceful, fast-talking stooge. Here is an actor who showed all the talent & charm early in the 1930's to have taken him straight to major stardom, but the breaks didn't fall his way. He continued working into the 1960's top-billing in B films or giving hardy support in secondary roles. He is best remembered as Jimmy Stewart's rich buddy Sam Wainwright in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946).

The rest of the cast also does well with their roles: Eleanor Lynn as the perky publicity gal; Allan Lane & Adrienne Ames as conceited stars; Bradley Page as an older actor on the way down; Russell Hicks as the unfortunate producer; Paul Guilfoyle as an obnoxious gossip; and Jonathan Hale as the police captain. Movie mavens will recognize Ward Bond as a drunken gambler & Johnny Arthur as a suspicious service station owner.