Fugitives for a Night

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

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.

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.