Pretty Good

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

This film is wound a bit too tight for its own good. Mostly because of the incredibly intense performance from Ida Lupino who manages to almost melt the screen. It is a relentless one-note onslaught of jangled nerves and jitters.What's needed here is a contrasting scene or two to let things settle a little. There are some good moments but the anxious anxiety quickly destroys the drama and we are off to the races once again. The hotel convention scene is almost unbearable in its loud and ridiculous rendering of a confrontational setup that is suppose to be suspenseful and claustrophobic.The ending looks ominous enough and the factory setting has a film-noir feel that is missing in most of the film and the subtlety of shadows would have been a welcome relief from the persistent, pulsating, and predictable performances.

As the opening credits roll, newly wedded Ida Lupino (as Deborah Chandler) desperately tries to stop herself from crashing her car. In an attempted murder, the brakes have been disabled. We see the car drive off a North Carolina bridge and listen to Ms. Lupino's ghostly narration. But don't assume she's dead, or that the accident ends the story… After the prologue fails to uncover a dead body, we begin earlier. Inheriting a profitable mill upon the subsequently suspicious death of her father, Lupino marries the plant's general manager Stephen McNally (as Selden Clark). Apparently, they were a long-term couple; the wedding is the first of several implausible story developments. Lupino asks, "Why didn't I see it?" Don't know...When they arrive at Mr. McNally's mountain cabin for a honeymoon, sexy Peggy Dow (as Patricia Monahan) is waiting. She reveals herself as McNally's "little business trips" lover and is understandably furious with Lupino's presence. After husband and lover smack each other around, Lupino decides she wants the marriage annulled, but McNally refuses. Lupino runs off, changes her name to "Ann Carter" and tries to hide from her homicidal husband. She meets handsome and helpful Howard Duff (as Keith Ramsey), but he isn't sure who is telling the truth. Beautiful black-and-white photography by William Daniels, effective direction from Michael Gordon and engaging performances make "Woman in Hiding" well worth following.******* Woman in Hiding (12/27/49) Michael Gordon ~ Ida Lupino, Howard Duff, Stephen McNally, Peggy Dow

This review is replete with spoilers. The plot-line of this movie is ridiculous. It begins with the car going into the drink, and the voice-over saying something like, "They think I'm dead. I'll have to stay 'dead'". Why? Why not come forward and tell everyone what has happened? She thinks they won't believe her? A quick examination of the car will reveal that it's been tampered with.Another major plot hole is where she flees to another town and then acts like Richard Kimble. She hasn't committed any crime, so why is she so afraid of everyone, especially the police? Then, the husband manages to convince the fellow who's been dogging her that she is "ill". Why is Duff so ready to believe that she is "ill"? I suppose it's understandable, since no one has ever murdered a spouse for gain.Then, when the husband finally gets his clutches on her, he informs her that he is going to put her in an institution, because she is "ill". It can't be that easy to put someone in an institution just because it is to someone else's benefit.The whole thing is a crock.

Excellent movie full of suspense ,action-packed story with first-class actress Ida Lupino -who directed herself an excellent film noir:"the hitch hiker" 1953.In the first minutes ,you do think that it's a corpse that is speaking and that the movie will be a long flashback ,à la "Sunset Blvd" .The flashback is actually relatively short and then begins a long chase .This is really an absorbing tale which involves stairs where you jump or where you're pushed ,trains running in the night to put you away,people you try to trust and who betray you,people who try to help you but might ruin you.All that makes a thriller exciting.Recommended