''Female Fugitive'' is a 1938 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, directed by

William Nigh William Nigh (October 12, 1881 – November 27, 1955) was an American film director, writer, and actor. His film work sometimes lists him as either "Will Nigh" or "William Nye". Biography Nigh was born Emil Kreuske''Silent Film Necrology'', ...

. The film stars

Evelyn Venable Evelyn Venable (October 18, 1913 – November 15, 1993) was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as Grazia in the 1934 film ''Death Takes a Holiday''. In addition to acting in around two dozen films during the 1930s and 1940s, ...

, Craig Reynolds, and

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one ...

. It was released on April 15, 1938.

Plot

Peggy Mallory discovers that her husband, Jim, is part of a gang of truck hijackers, when she unknowingly drives the car which helps him and his gang escape. Disgusted, she leaves Jim, and finds work as the cook for artist Bruce Dunning. Initially she does not tell him the truth about herself, and the two fall in love. Eventually, she feels she cannot keep the secret from him and tells him all that has happened to her, after which he promises to protect her. Meanwhile her husband, who is still in love with her, has tracked her down after seeing a picture of her which was painted by Dunning. He arrives at Dunning's place to retrieve her, and in the confrontation it is made clear that Peggy was not an accomplice. Roberts, a

G-man ''G-man'' (short for "government man", plural ''G-men'') is an American slang term for special agent, agents of the United States Government. It is especially used as a term for an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). ''G-man'' i ...

who has also been tracking Peggy, has overheard the exchange. There is a gun battle in which Roberts kills Jim. With her name cleared, Peggy is now free to marry Bruce.

Cast

as Peggy Mallory * Craig Reynolds as Jim Mallory *

as Bruce Dunning *

John Kelly John or Jack Kelly may refer to: People Academics and scientists * John Kelly (engineer), Irish professor, former Registrar of University College Dublin *John Kelly (scholar) (1750–1809), at Douglas, Isle of Man *John Forrest Kelly (1859–1922) ...

as Red * Charlotte Treadway as Mrs. Bannister *

John Merton John Merton (born Myrtland F. LaVarre; February 18, 1901 – September 19, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1927 and 1959, mostly as a villain. He was the brother of filmmaker André de la Varre an ...

as Mort * Ray Bennett as Burke *

Reginald Sheffield Matthew Reginald Sheffield Cassan (18 February 1901 – 8 December 1957) was an English-American actor. Life He was born as Matthew Reginald Sheffield Cassan on 18 February 1901 in the St. George's, Hanover Square district of London, to Matth ...

as Doctor *

Emmett Vogan Charles Emmett Vogan (September 27, 1893 – October 6, 1969) was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934 to 1954, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time. In 1913, Vogan ...

as Leonard * Martha Tibbetts as Claire Bannister *

Lee Phelps Lee Phelps (born Napoleon Bonaparte Kukuck; May 15, 1893 – March 19, 1953) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 600 films between 1917 and 1953, mainly in uncredited roles. He also appeared in three films that won the Acade ...

as Roberts

Reception

The '' Daily News'' gave the film a lukewarm review, finding it disappointing, although they did compliment the work of Evelyn Venable. ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' likewise gave the film a mediocre review, calling it "acceptable", but again praised the performance of Venable.

References

External links

* * {{William Nigh American black-and-white films American drama films 1938 drama films 1938 films Monogram Pictures films Films directed by William Nigh 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language drama films