Hold That Woman 2004 Horror Movie Review

Hold That Woman actually exceeded my expectations because a number of people didn’t think much of it. Yes, it’s a “B” movie for sure; but it’s not all THAT bad. The acting is fairly good although I hated to see poor James Dunn in this film; he was a good actor who worked with Shirley Temple at least twice prior to this film and he deserved better roles than the one he got in this picture. The plot moves along at a good pace and I can’t say I was bored; but I can’t say that it was as amusing as the DVD cover notes said it would be. The cinematography and the choreography aren’t too bad; but I do agree with reviewers who write that the sets were obviously fake and of very poor quality.


When the film begins, we quickly see that Skip-Tracer (a “repo” man) Jimmy Parker (James Dunn) is not exactly performing well on the job and his boss is making threats to fire him in 30 days if he doesn’t improve his ability to collect on his cases. We also learn that Hollywood star Corrine Hill (Anna Lisa) has been robbed of her diamonds and Skip-Tracers, Inc. is going to try to get her back those jewels. The boss’ favorite man Miles Hanover (Dave O’Brien) may well just get the case after Jimmy can’t even repossess a radio from Lulu Driscoll (Rita La Roy) without landing in jail on trumped-up charges.


But what only two or three people know is that Lulu fought Jimmy for the radio because it had Corrine’s jewels hidden inside of it! Lulu and her boyfriend Steve Brady (George Douglas) decide to do anything to hold onto those jewels and then sell them; but of course there’s another complication when a rival group of jewel thieves lead by “Duke” Jurgens (Paul Bryar) also wants the goods so that THEY can cash them in for the money!


Other reviewers are right to note that we get more plot twists than were truly necessary for the plot to be a good one; and sadly this weighs down the whole production. Jimmy Parker wants to marry his girlfriend Mary Mulvaney (Frances Gifford) so naturally we’re treated to seeing them buy a house and get furniture, etc. I have no idea why they added this; it only adds unnecessary details to the plot and it sacrifices true character development.


The DVD artwork notes advertise that there’s a “hilarious” chase scene when everyone is after the jewels (with even the cops joining in to catch what they think are merely people speeding down the road); but I never found it that funny. Sigh.


From here the plot can go anywhere. Who does wind up with those diamonds—and will Jimmy get them back somehow for Corrine? What if “Duke” and his gang get their hands on those jewels? And what about Corrine—will she mind the potentially very negative publicity? Watch and find out!


Hold That Woman could have been much better; but don’t automatically throw this one out. It’s not bad for fans of the rather talented James Dunn even if the quality of the print isn’t the best. It has lots of action, too. This gets three stars on my book; two stars for James Dunn who acts very well and one star more for the rest of what the movie has to offer.