While out walking his dog, Rembrandt, Frank witnessed the murder of a man in a parked car.  When spotted, he was shot at by the killer but missed.  When the police arrived, they explained that the victim was the only witness in a case and now they want to take him into protective custody.  Frank runs from the cops and when they check his home for his whereabouts, they find his wife Eleanor.  She is a hard woman who won’t rat on her husband but doesn’t think that he loves her anymore.  She decides that she needs to find her husband before the police so she sneaks out and gets the help of a willing accomplice from the papers, Daniel Leggett. 

 
WOMAN ON THE RUN is a noir film which is directed by Norman Foster who is best known for the work he did with Walt Disney on DAVY CROCKETT: KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER and DAVY CROCKETT AND THE RIVER PIRATES.  I’m very familiar with his work and a fan.  He definitely has a style.  Ann Sheridan does a wonderful job as the tough as nails wife who begins to melt when she realizes her husband is a secret romantic and has had a very full life.  It’s all in her delivery of her lines when she banters back and forth with Inspector Ferris and Daniel Leggit. 
 
This is one of those films that feels like its from the 1950’s and that’s a part of the charm.  Again, a lot of the feeling comes from Ann Sheridan’s character and her dialogue.  When everything comes together, this is a classic film and a bright spot in the dark genre.
 
Cast
-Ann Sheridan as Eleanor Johnson
-Dennis O’Keefe as Daniel “Dannyboy” Leggett
-Robert Keith as Inspector Martin Ferris
-Ross Elliott as Frank Johnson
-Frank Jenks as Detective Homer Shaw
-John Qualen as Mr. Maibus
-Steven Geray as Dr. Arthur Hohler

The video is a 1080p AVC transfer.
 
The remaster of this film is very good in bringing out the details from this old film.  There is a lot of speckling on the original negative and it carried over to the Blu-ray-ray. Its not distracting or enough to take away from the experience but it is worth mentioning. The director likes doing a lot of close ups of his actors and the details are a little softer in these shots.  There are also a lot of shots that look crisp and everything is visible down to the clothing material.  The nighttime shots are inky and the details manage not to get lost in these darker scenes.  

The audio is an English LPCM Mono 48k mix.
 
WOMAN ON THE RUN has the original mono mix on the disc but upgraded for the Blu-ray release.  This means that the center channel does all of the work and the dialogue effects share the channel.  That being said, the mono track sounds excellent.  In a busy city like San Francisco, there is a lot of ambient noise and this mix seems to capture a lot of it with the dialogue seamlessly.  The audio is so clean that I forgot it was a mono track.  
 

Bonus Features:
-Love is a Rollercoaster: WOMAN ON THE RUN Revisited: This is a mini-documentary about the production of the film.
 
-A Wild Ride: Restoring WOMAN ON THE RUN: This featurette is about restoring the film itself.  
 
-WOMAN ON THE RUN Locations Then and Now: Brian Hollins or City Sleuth takes us around to the filming locations.
 
-Noir City: This is a mini-doc about the Noir City Film Festival presented by the Film Noir Foundation at the San Francisco’s historic Castro Theatre.
 
-Audio Commentary Track with author, cinema historian, and “noirchaelogist” Eddie Muller.
 
-24-Page Souvenir Booklet: This very cool booklet is filled with all kinds of cool things from the film such as poster art, lobby cards, rare photographs, and an essay by Eddie Muller.
 

Disc Details
1 Blu-ray Disc
 
Running Time
78 mins
 
Edition Ratings
Not Rated (passed)
 
Region Coding
Region Free
 
Video Resolution
1080p AVC
 
Audio Mixes
English LPCM Mono 48k
 
Subtitles
English SDH

WOMAN ON THE RUN is the perfect example of a 1950’s thriller done right.  Right from the start, the story pulls you in and makes you wonder who is the killer.  I love the characters and the actors portraying them.  The video and the audio have been remastered well and have given this film new life.  There are also a decent set of extras about the movie for the people who care about the process of filmmaking and restoration.  This is an easy recommendation from me.