''Fugitive Lovers'' is a 1934 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Richard Boleslavsky Richard Boleslawski (born Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki; February 4, 1889 – January 17, 1937) was a Polish theatre and film director, actor and teacher of acting. Biography Richard Boleslawski was born Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki on February ...

. Released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, it stars

Madge Evans Madge Evans (born Margherita Evans; July 1, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American stage and film actress.Obituary ''Variety'', April 29, 1981. She began her career as a child performer and model. Biography Child model and stage actress B ...

and Robert Montgomery with a supporting cast of

Nat Pendleton Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir maste ...

, C. Henry Gordon, Ruth Selwyn, and

Ted Healy Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy th ...

and his Stooges, who are credited as "The Three Julians" in this production.

Synopsis

Letty Morris (

) is a New York dancer who's shunning the advances of smalltime gangster "Legs" Caffey (

). When he insists on taking her to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

despite her repeated rejection, she decides to sneak off on a bus to Hollywood; Legs intercepts her and boards the bus as well, determined to win her over. The bus is filled with colorful characters, including a singing trio The Three Julians (played by

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

) and exuberant tippler Hector Withington, Jr. (

). As the bus passes through (fictional) Eton, PA in the middle of the night, convict Paul Porter ( Robert Montgomery) makes his escape from the local penitentiary and hides amongst the luggage, swapping his prison clothes for ones of Withington's suits. During a stopover in

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

, Porter buys a seat on the bus, whereon Letty sits next to him to avoid Legs, who quickly deduces that the new passenger is Porter and threatens to turn him in. Withington gets off the bus and discovers Porter's outfit in his luggage, and informs the police; when Legs tells Porter, he quickly gets off the bus. Porter reunites with Letty in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

; they check into a hotel in separate rooms, waiting for the heat to die down to escape together, but Legs tracks Letty down. As they are about to leave, the police arrive and mistake Legs for Porter; he is about to correct them and lead them to Porter, but seeing Letty tear up, Legs realizes she is in love with Porter and allows the police to take him away. Letty continues on the bus alone, along with Detective Daly ( C. Henry Gordon), who pressures her for information on Porter and waits for him to rejoin her. A blizzard forces the bus to stop and the passengers are put up in bungalows; as the police close in, Porter steals the bus, and Letty joins him. As they escape, they happen on a crashed school bus filled with freezing children, and stop to help, but are then snowed in. The next day, the police arrive and rescue the children, and arrest Porter and Letty. However, due to Porter's bravery, he is given a pardon.

Cast

* Robert Montgomery as Paul Porter, aka Stephen Blaine *

as Letty Morris *

as Hector Withington, Jr. *

as Legs Caffey * C. Henry Gordon as Detective Daly *Ruth Selwyn as Babe Callahan *

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...

as one of the Julians *

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

as one of the Julians *

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...

as one of the Julians

References

* *
''Fugitive Lovers''
at ThreeStooges.net The Three Stooges films 1934 films Films directed by Ryszard Bolesławski Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1934 comedy-drama films American black-and-white films American comedy-drama films 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub