L'évadée

Maureen O'Sullivan is "Woman Wanted" in this 1935 film starring Joel McCrea, Lewis Stone, Louis Calhern, Robert Greig, and Adrienne Ames. O'Sullivan as Ann is found guilty of murder, but en route to the prison, a car accident gives her a chance to escape. She jumps into the nearest car, being driven by Tony Baxter (Joel McCrea), an attorney with an eye for the ladies. A group of mobsters, led by Louis Calhern, know she didn't do it, but they also think she knows where $250,000 in bonds are, so they are after her as well as the police.

"Woman Wanted" comes off as a light film because of the interjected comedy supplied by Robert Grieg, who plays Tony's butler, a sweet scene in an empty diner between Tony and Ann, and Tony's efforts to hide Ann from his fiancée Betty (Ames). It's a pleasant enough film because of the cast, but there really isn't anything special about the plot.

The revelation here is the beautiful Ames. I've seen untold thousands of films, not just ones I've reviewed on IMDb, and this was the first time I'd seen her. Her beauty was very much of the young Crawford or Loretta Young, and she was a good actress. Unfortunately she died when she was 39, having left films 7 years earlier to become a commentator and devote herself to bond rallies and war charities. Looking around the Internet, there are certainly people who appreciate her great beauty and sense of style.

You can see O'Sullivan, McCrea and the rest in better films. This is a nice chance to see Adrienne Ames.

Maureen O'Sullivan was beautiful. She was a fine actress as well. And Joel McCrea was one of the most handsome, versatile actors of the 1930s and forties. He did well settling into Westerns after that but I always feel it was the movie world's loss.

These two don't have a whole lot of chemistry here but they work well individually. Louise Calhere is as always fine as a sleazy underworld figure, too.

The cinematography of Charles Clarke -- not someone generally associated with film noir in later years -- is beautiful. It employs a lot of exciting shadows.

The movie is part crime drama, part romance, and a little bit comedy. My preference is for movies that stick with one or another of these genres. But "Woman Wanted" works on its own terms: It has sinister moments. It's suspenseful. And we root for the lead couple.

This 1935 movie is similar to the later television series and the hit movie "The Fugitive." In this one a female rather than a male is found guilty of a murder she did not commit. Rather than an unplanned train derailment, a planned car wreck sets Ann Gray free. Ann Gray is played by the seductive Maureen O'Sullivan, Tarzan's Jane and Mia Farrow's mother, in a light-hearted manner much in the same way she played Jane. The wreck was orchestrated by mobster Smiley Gordon who is the real killer. The much underrated actor Louis Calhern portrays Smiley with skill and daring. Tony Baxter, Joel McCrae when he was still playing comedic romantic leads, at first unwittingly aids Ann in her escape from so-called justice and hides her away in his apartment. There is a hilarious scene at this point in the film when Tony's on-again off-again fiancée unexpectedly shows up and he has to hide Ann not only from the police but also from his girlfriend. Enter Peedles, Tony's Butler (Robert Greig), who has a delicious time keeping the two separated so the girlfriend Betty Randolph (Adrienne Ames) won't discover the other woman. The law then shows up complicating Peedles' job even more. Now he has to hide both women from the long arm of the law. The wonderful Edgar Kennedy as bumbling House Detective Sweeney is before the camera much too briefly but does get a chance to create a little mayhem for everyone concerned.

Another fun scene takes place in a closed diner where the now two fugitives, Ann and Tony, take shelter following a chase by mobsters during a thunder storm. Ann finds some apple jack and proceeds to get looped. Tony pretends to be the cook when the gangsters arrive and serves them hamburgers that he and Ann intended to eat. The local constable shows up after the hoods leave. He gets pie-eyed too.

This is one of those neat little films where loose ends get tied much too soon making for a fairly abrupt ending, as if the writers ran out of ideas and decided to wrap things up quickly. Still a very watchable comedy drama with some great acting thrown in to make it even more entertaining.

Innocent Maureen O'Sullivan is waiting while the jury decides whether to find her guilty and hang her, while mobster Louis Calhern tells attorney Charles Lane he's not going to pay for an appeal. Instead, he arranges for her escape, and she jumps into business lawyer Joel McCrea's roadster.

It sounds like the sort of movie that RKO was producing at this time, but this is MGM, and so it has a lot of fine actors, including Lewis Stone, Edgar Kennedy, and Robert Greig as McCrea's inevitable put upon gentleman's gentleman. Even with George Seitz directing, this is pretty weak stuff as screwball. While Greig is funny, everyone else takes the plot points very seriously. There were at least seven screenwriters on this, credited and not, and it loks like almost all the juice was squeezed from it. There are a lot of uncredited people attached, like producer Phil Goldstone, which makes me think no one wanted to be known for it.

Ann Graves (Maureen O'Sullivan) is a woman on the run that has been accused of murder who hitches a ride with hot shot lawyer (Tony Baxter). The movie has several interesting characters that makes the journey interesting and entertaining. Maureen O'Sullivan is fantastic and charming and Joel McCrea is a perfect pairing for her. This movie is only 1 hour 15 minutes and if you like classic movies it will be well spent.

Victor J.