Running Woman

Starring:Theresa Russell, Andrew Robinson, Anthony Crivello, Eddie Velez, Richard Joseph Paul, Robert LaSardo, Gary Graham, David McCurley, Melinda Songer, Gregory Norman Cruz, Seidy Lopez, Christopher Pennock, Jeffrey Scott Jensen, Castulo Guerra, Brian Lally, Jullian Dulce Vida, Todd C. Mooney, Faith Salie, Wes Hubbard, Gregg Binkley
Director: Rachel Samuels
Studio: New Concorde
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

So bad it's funny!

Shadows Run Black
Starring: Elizabeth Trosper , William J. Kulzer , Shea Porter , George Engelson , and Dianne Hinkler
Director: Howard Heard
Manufacturer: Live / Artisan
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000089767
Release Date: 2003-03-18

Description

In the deep, dark still of the night - SHADOWS RUN BLACK and only terror illuminates the darkness. There is a deranged killer on the loose, and his bloody killings give a new, gory dimension to the word "murder." After three college coeds are found brutally bludgeoned to death, Detective Sergeant Rydell King is brought in to investigate. Sergeant King discovers that the victims are from a group of four close friends - only one is left alive. Judy Cole has nowhere to hide - darkness will eventually fall and her terror will scream through the night. Turn around slowly - and beware when SHADOWS RUN BACK.

Customer Reviews:

So bad it's funny!.......2004-09-20

Here we have another cheap horror picture with a predictable ending about a mad killer who dons a mask and runs loose killing college coeds. So, what else is new?

Flat, emotionless, and wooden. These are only a few of the words I can come up with to describe whatever it was that the players in this flick were trying to pull off. The acting was so bad, in fact, that I think it gives lousy acting a bad rap. Such films are good to watch once in a while, I suppose, for research. That is, so that one can see just how bad bad acting can get. It can make one appreciate the slightly better films a little bit more. Flicks like "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Halloween" look like "Gone With The Wind" in comparison to this crap. It deserves the one star, however, for the simple fact that it kept me laughing my tail-end off the whole way through. It was clearly intended to be serious, and frightening, but came off as just being a comedy of moviemaking errors.

Average customer rating:

Dated, but Chilling Thriller
Hedy well-showcased in period potboiler
Hedy Lamarr's best performance. Check it out!

The Strange Woman
Starring: Jessie Arnold , Edward Biby , Olive Blakeney , Hillary Brooke , and Louis Hayward
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000286RTS
Release Date: 2004-12-21

Customer Reviews:

Dated, but Chilling Thriller.......2006-03-22

I'm a fan of Hedy Lamarr. The actress and the woman. You would not know from most of her vacuous film roles that this was a woman of enough substance to win a Nobel Prize. She was so often cast in blank roles that just skated on the surface of her beauty. This film gives you an inkling of her depth.
This is Hedy's Scarlett O'Hara, a bit melodramatic, a bit dated, but still a fascinating story, setting, and character study of an ice-blooded, selfish-to-the-bone, smart, manipulative, beautiful woman. Her famous Tondeleo in WHITE CARGO gives an idea of this depth... but that character is an outline compared to this full bodied Jenny. She is, of course, completely miscast as a small town frontier girl, but... the rest is a treat.
Rarely does a movie do justice to manipulative female characters, assuming it all relys on looks. This story shows how Jenny wraps everyone slowly around her fingers, men, women, anyone who can be of use. It also deeply explores the dichotomy of self-interest wrapped up in good deeds.
Her icy detachment is reminds me of Alida Valli as the accused murderess in Hitchcock's Paradine Case, another favorite. Every time I watch this DVD, I see more in it, more in her performance. An expansive story, interesting boom town setting, really solid, memorable performances. Heady stuff! ; )

Hedy well-showcased in period potboiler.......2006-01-02

Following a series of badly-received films, M-G-M allowed Hedy Lamarr to set up her own production unit inside the studio where properties could be developed that suited her style and abilities. THE STRANGE WOMAN was one of the films made during this time. This sudsy period melodrama stars Lamarr as Jenny Hager, a young woman whose wanton lusts and desires end up destroying three men - and eventually herself.

In 1800s Maine, Jenny emerges from her white-trash origins to become the wife of wealthy Isaiah Poster (Gene Lockhart), though the marriage is completely devoid of love and affection from Jenny's corner. She soon turns her attentions to her stepson Ephraim (Louis Hayward) and convinces him to kill his father, so that they may be together. But once the dirty deed has been done, Jenny turns her back on Ephraim and begins to zero-in on John Evered (George Sanders), the handsome new foreman. The fact that he is engaged to her supposed best friend (Hillary Brooke) doesn't faze Jenny in the least. It seems nothing will stop ruthless Jenny in her horrifying quest for love.

Hedy Lamarr is ideally-suited in bringing to life the monstrous yet captivating Jenny Hager. The cast surrounding Lamarr is well-appointed and the production design brings the rowdy 1800-era city of Bangor to thrilling life. The print from Alpha DVD is serviceable, with good contrast and clear sound for the most part.

Hedy Lamarr's best performance. Check it out!.......2005-12-02

Hedy Lamarr is frequently referred to as the most beautiful movie star of her era, and I'll certainly go along with that assessment. Yet she has rarely been given enough credit for her acting ability, and is usually dismissed as a limited actress. True, Hedy can't exactly be ranked alongside Bette Davis or Ida Lupino, but she still had a magnetic screen presence and could turn in a fine performance when given the opportunity. Many claim she gave one of her finest performances in THE STRANGE WOMAN (1946). I'd go so far as to say it's her all-time best.

In this melodrama set in 19th century Maine, Hedy (with an accent that hardly sounds like anyone from Maine) plays Jenny Hager, a self-aborbed young woman whose outward beauty belies a background of poverty and abuse. Jenny uses her alluring charms to attract the attention of Isaiah Poster (Gene Lockhart), an elderly merchant. After marrying Isaiah, Jenny seduces her weak-willed stepson Ephraim (Louis Hayward), which sets the stage for a tragic turn of events between father and son. Jenny later sets her sights on John Evered (George Sanders), who is engaged to one of Jenny's so-called close friends (Hillary Brooke). But even the cunning Jenny can't escape the cumulative effects of her past deeds.

While Hedy was excellent in films like H. M. PULHAM, ESQ. (1941), EXPERIMENT PERILOUS (1944), and SAMSON AND DELILAH (1949), I don't think she ever had a better showcase than THE STRANGE WOMAN. Her portrayal of Jenny Hager is more complex than a simple plot synopsis would indicate. Jenny is heartless in her manipulation of men, and ruthless in her drive to acquire wealth and prestige. And yet she can't shake the memories of her impoverished childhood; once she becomes rich, she uses her influence to help the downtrodden. Hedy often complained that the studios saddled her substandard assignments, but here she was able to exert control: she co-produced THE STRANGE WOMAN (based on a novel by Ben Ames Williams) and was responsible for hiring its director, Edgar G. Ulmer. Hedy's active participation in this production no doubt accounts for her strong, vibrant performance in the film. (Hedy wasn't always able to hide her disgust with other studio assignments; in some films, her boredom is palpable.)

THE STRANGE WOMAN is also one of the best efforts of its aforementioned director, Edgar G. Ulmer, who has attracted a cult following thanks to films like THE BLACK CAT (1934), BLUEBEARD (1944), DETOUR (1945), STRANGE ILLUSION (1945), and THE MAN FROM PLANET X (1951). THE STRANGE WOMAN touches upon several Ulmer themes: lust, greed, deception, ruthless ambition, the emptiness of material gain, and the inescapable hand of fate. THE STRANGE WOMAN would make a great double-bill with RUTHLESS (1948; currently unavailable on DVD), another top-notch Ulmer film dealing with a lead character (Zachary Scott this time) who schemes his way to the top. Ulmer also knew how to squeeze the most production value out of every dollar, and brings a far glossier look to THE STRANGE WOMAN than its moderate budget would normally allow.

THE STRANGE WOMAN features a powerhouse supporting cast that includes the always-reliable George Sanders (ALL ABOUT EVE), Louis Hayward (THE HOUSE BY THE RIVER), Gene Lockhart (who was adept at playing everything from mousy clerks to oily blackmailers), and Hillary Brooke (THE WOMAN IN GREEN, THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW). Yet, with no disrespect to these fine players, it's Hedy's show all the way.

The print quality of this Alpha Video release is very good, although there's an abrupt scene change around the 81-minute mark. This is evident in other circulating copies of the film, and I don't know if this is the result of a missing transitional fade or if some footage is missing. (Most sources list the running time as 100 minutes; this print runs 99.) Nevertheless, there's no harm done to the storyline, and it shouldn't deter anyone from purchasing a copy of this disc.

If you've never seen Hedy Lamarr, THE STRANGE WOMAN will be the perfect introduction to this lovely and underrated actress. If you've seen Hedy Lamarr and haven't been terribly impressed, THE STRANGE WOMAN will be a revelation.

Average customer rating:

Run...away

Running Woman
Starring: Theresa Russell , Andrew Robinson , Anthony Crivello , Eddie Velez , and Richard Joseph Paul
Director: Rachel Samuels
Manufacturer: New Concorde
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000077VQO
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Customer Reviews:

Run...away.......2000-10-21

Some movies are bad yet enjoyable on a silly, nonsenical level. Others are so stupdily conceived and executed they hold all the fascination of passing by a car wreck in slow motion. You simply can't believe what you're seeing. "Running Woman" is one of the latter. A low budget version of "The Fugitive" with a female hero doesn't sound too bad, right? Read on. Theresa Russell plays a art restorer who through complications that make my head hurt ends up accused of the murders of her son and a policeman and running away through the auspices of some Mexican Underground Railroad. Everybody in this movie, especially Russell, acts with a jaw-dropping combination of stupidity and illogic. The police bore in on her as a suspect with a disdain for legal procedure that would make Mark Fuhrman proud. Russell, though running mostly on foot, isolated from her home and near penniless, manages to wear a variety of clothes and wigs that seem to come out of thin air. This was made by one of Roger Corman's companies but even he can usually squeeze some kind of sleazy fun out of a scenario like this. This is so idiotic you can't even enjoy it. How idioitc? At one crucial point, the main villain fires a gun at someone who is holding a huge tank of nerve gas! The villain seems to be the only one surprised when his bullets hit the tank. Theresa Russell isn't the greatest actress in the world but she is still one of the loveliest and it's a shame she spends most of her career in worthless junk like this. Rent this only if you're in the mood to evaporate some brain cells.

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