Tonight's Movie: Woman in the Dark (1934): A Flicker Alley Blu-ray Review

Late last month I reviewed MIDNIGHT (1934), aka CALL IT MURDER, from the Flicker Alley set In the Shadow of Hollywood: Highlights From Poverty Row.

Tonight I return to that collection to review another of its four films, WOMAN IN THE DARK (1934). I thoroughly enjoyed this brisk 70-minute film, based on a story by Dashiell Hammett.

Fay Wray stars in the title role as Louise Loring, who stumbles through a dark and windy night to a cabin owned by John Bradley (Ralph Bellamy).

Louise is on the run from wealthy Tony Robson (Melvyn Douglas), who invested in her singing career but then wanted very personal repayment.

John has recently been paroled for manslaughter, and when Tony shows up looking for Louise, things don't go well. Tony is a slimy, evil man who will do surprisingly shocking things to have what he wants, and he wants Louise.

John comes to Louise's defense and ends up in a scuffle which leads him to think he could end up back in jail. He and Louise go on the run while Tony plots to make things very, very difficult for the couple.

Despite the crime-infested plot, WOMAN IN THE DARK has a warm and cozy feel for much of its running time. Bellamy comes off well in hero mode, causing me to wish he'd had this kind of role more often, and Wray is simply wonderful, appealing and incredibly beautiful.

Bellamy and Wray have a good rapport, including a lovely little sequence spending the night in a car as they make their way from the cabin to the apartment of his old cellmate (Roscoe Ates) and his wife (Ruth Gillette). Though their time on the run is relatively short, there's a reason this theme turns up time and again in movies, as it works very well to reveal character and develop a couple's relationship.

Wray's character might have made choices that landed her in a bad situation, but she's also got gumption; there's a great little moment where she fends off a lecherous attorney (Frank Otto) with a cigarette. She also puts herself on the line when she comes up with a plan to try to save John.

Douglas is absolutely evil in this one. Nell O'Day, later a leading lady opposite some of the best "B" Western heroes, does a nice job as a young girl with a crush on John who does her best to help him; the only problem is her father (Granville Bates) is the sheriff, and he hates John.

The cast is rounded out by Joe King, Reed Brown Jr., and Frank Shannon. The movie was directed by Phil Rosen and filmed by Joseph Ruttenberg, with a script by Sada Cowen.

WOMAN IN THE DARK was produced by Select Pictures and filmed at Biograph in New York. It was distributed by RKO.

The print is for the most part excellent. A couple of scenes are just a bit soft but overall I was impressed. The movie comes with a commentary track by Jake Hinkson.

WOMAN IN THE DARK is exactly the kind of movie I was hoping to discover in this set, and I'm looking forward to checking out the other two films, BACK PAGE (1934) and THE CRIME OF DR. CRESPI (1935).

Thanks to Flicker Alley for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

In the Shadow of Hollywood: Highlights From Poverty Row may be purchased at the Flicker Alley website as well as through retailers such as Amazon.

Tweet