In Fugitive Lovers (1934), a pre-Code comedy-drama a chorus girl fleeing a persistent gangster boards a cross-country bus to Los Angeles. There she meets and falls for an escaped convict. This leads to a tense chase involving both the police and the gangster.
Fugitive Lovers (1934) starring Robert Montgomery, Madge Evans, Nat Pendleton, Ted Healy, Three Stooges
Fugitive Lovers (1934) is a pre-Code comedy-drama directed by Richard Boleslavsky and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Robert Montgomery as Paul Porter (an escaped convict) and Madge Evans as Letty Morris (a chorus girl/dancer). There are notable supporting roles by Nat Pendleton as the gangster “Legs” Caffey, Ted Healy, and even an early appearance by The Three Stooges. Oddly, credited as “The Three Julians”.
Synopsis
Letty Morris, a New York dancer, flees the unwanted advances of a persistent gangster named “Legs” Caffey by boarding a cross-country bus headed to Hollywood (Los Angeles). Legs, however, discovers her plan and follows her onto the same bus.
Along the journey, the bus passes near a prison during a breakout. Escaped convict Paul Porter hides among the luggage, steals a suit from a drunken passenger (Hector Withington, Jr., played by Ted Healy), and eventually secures a seat on the bus. He and Letty form an alliance as both are on the run—her from the gangster, him from the law.
The eclectic group of passengers, including eccentric travelers like the singing trio The Three Julians, adds comic flavor to the trip. As police pursue Paul and Legs keeps a close watch on Letty, the two fugitives grow closer and fall in love amid the chaos. The story builds to a dramatic climax involving a blizzard, a daring rescue of stranded children, and a heroic act that ultimately leads to redemption for Paul.
The film blends romance, crime, and light comedy in a road-trip format (notably released just weeks before the similar classic It Happened One Night), though it mixes tones unevenly and is remembered today partly for its early Stooges cameo.
Cast of characters
- Robert Montgomery as Paul Porter, aka Stephen Blaine
- Madge Evans as Letty Morris
- Ted Healy as Hector Withington, Jr.
- Nat Pendleton (G. I. Stooge) as Legs Caffey
- C. Henry Gordon as Detective Daly
- Ruth Selwyn as Babe Callahan
- Moe Howard as one of the Julians
- Larry Fine as one of the Julians
- Jerry Howard as one of the Julians