''Federal Fugitives'' (a.k.a. ''International Spy'') is a 1941 American film noir directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

. The film stars Neil Hamilton, Doris Day,

Victor Varconi Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi; March 31, 1891 – June 6, 1976) was a Hungarian actor who initially found success in his native country, as well as in Germany and Austria, in silent films, before relocating to the United States, where ...

, and Charles C. Wilson."Federal Fugitives".
''Mubi''. Retrieved: December 22, 2013.

Plot

Government agent Captain James Madison (Neil Hamilton) spots a man in Washington D.C. that he thinks is Otto Lieberman (Victor Varconi), a fugitive that caused an aircraft crash that killed eight people. Without Lieberman's knowledge, Madison manages to identify him by his fingerprints on a water glass. He then learns his address after having his regular cab driver, Chuck (Lyle Latell), follow him. Lieberman has now assumed the identity of Dr. Frederic Haskell and is working with Bruce Lane (Charles C. Wilson), a wealthy lobbyist suspected of dealing with foreign agents. The two men embark on a scheme to gain control of the aircraft plant owned by Henry Gregory (George M. Carleton). Gregory has invented a casting-process that uses plastic for some of the parts in an aircraft. Learning that Lieberman and Lane have met with Gregory, Madison also meets him and asks that he be introduced to them as Robert Edmunds, Gregory's partner in Los Angeles. Lane's assistant Rita Bennett (Doris Day), is caught up in the scheme, but falls for the government agent. Rita is afraid that Edmunds is going to be poisoned, but before she can warn him, she is struck down by a speeding car. After days in the hospital, she tries to carry out the warning, but the government agent is now at Haskell's hideout and about to take a poison pill. With Chuck and his friend Ox ( Frank Moran), Rita takes them to the hideout. They subdue the foreign agents while Madison pursues Haskell, who falls down an elevator shaft to his death. Finally, Rita and Madison embrace and kiss.

Cast

* Neil Hamilton as Capt. James Madison/Robert Edmunds * Doris Day as Rita Bennett *

as Otto Lieberman a.k.a. Dr. Frederic Haskell * Charles C. Wilson as Bruce Lane (as Charles Wilson) * George M. Carleton as Henry Gregory *

Frank Shannon Francis Connolly Shannon (27 July 1874 – 1 February 1959) was an Irish actor and writer. Career A stage actor and silent film pioneer, Shannon made his screen debut in 1913's '' The Artist's Joke''. He later appeared in dozens of film ...

as Col. Hammond * Betty Blythe as Marcia, Lane's sister *

Lyle Latell Lyle Latell (born Lyle Zeiem; April 9, 1904 – October 24, 1967) was an American character actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Pat Patton in the ''Dick Tracy'' film series. Biography Latell was born Lyle Zeiem on April 1904 in ...

as Chuck * Frank Moran as Ox, Chuck's Pal

Production

Principal photography for ''Federal Fugitives'' under the working title of ''International Spy'' took place in two weeks from mid-February 1941. After a stint in Great Britain, director William "One Shot" Beaudine returned to America in 1937 but had trouble re-establishing himself at the major studios. After working at

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, Beaudine found work on

Poverty Row Poverty Row is a slang term used to refer to Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the 1950s by small (and mostly short-lived) B movie studios. Although many of them were based on (or near) today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did ...

, working for studios specializing in low-budget films, such as Monogram Pictures and

Producers Releasing Corporation Producers Releasing Corporation was the smallest and least prestigious of the Hollywood film studios of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called "Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower Street in Hollywood where shoest ...

. Beaudine became a specialist in comedies, thrillers and melodramas making dozens for these studios. By the 1940s, Beaudine had a reputation for being a resourceful, no-nonsense director who could make feature films in a matter of days, sometimes as few as five.Marshall 2005, p. 321. Typical of the low-budget spy genre of the period that often linked together latest aviation technology, ''Federal Fugitives'' did not have the benefit of on-location or studio sound stage scenes to create an aviation milieu. The aircraft being depicted is the top-secret

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by t ...

in a scale model form.Pendo 1985, p. 203.

Reception

Shortly after release, ''Federal Fugitives'' was followed up by ''Emergency Landing'', another

B film A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

. Although only notable as one of a group of 1941 low-budget

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

s revolving around military aviation, the film was soon eclipsed by real-life events.Pendo 1985, pp. 20–21.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Marshall, Wendy L. ''William Beaudine: From Silents to Television''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2005. . * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. .

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Federal Fugitives 1941 films 1941 crime films American aviation films American crime films American black-and-white films Films directed by William Beaudine Producers Releasing Corporation films 1940s American films