Preston Foster is Johnny Saxon, a police detective whose girlfriend, Laura Mead (Belita), has been found guilty of jewel theft. Directed by Jack Bernhard, with a screenplay by prolific novelist and screenwriter Steve Fisher, The Hunted stars the always dependable Preston Foster and Olympic ice skater-turned-actress Belita. The Hunted, released by the "Poverty Row" studio Monogram Pictures (later Allied Artists Pictures) in 1948, is a solid B movie that is a perfect example of the gritty, low-budget films noir produced in Hollywood post-World War II. When Johnny returns to his apartment, he is glad to find Laura there waiting for him, and they embrace. While recovering in the hospital, Johnny learns that Laura has been exonerated of both Simon's murder and the Winston jewel robbery. Johnny eventually traces Laura to the diner, but when he arrives, she fires her gun at him and flees. Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Hollis is arrested for the murder of an informant, and he confesses he murdered Simon and framed Laura for it. A manhunt ensues, but Laura manages to elude capture and makes it to Arizona, where she gets a job as a waitress in a diner. Laura denies that she killed Simon, and when Johnny tries to arrest her, she knocks him unconscious and flees. One evening, Johnny learns that Simon has been murdered, and evidence is found to suggest that Laura may have made good on her promise to kill him. Johnny and Laura soon rekindle their romance and dream of living together in Paris. Joe, the bartender at Johnny's favorite bar, believes that Laura may have been unjustly accused of the crime and suggests that Johnny reconsider the facts. Harrison arranges to have Laura teach skating during the day, and perform on the ice at night. Johnny later finds Laura a room in a boardinghouse and takes her to see Paul Harrison, a skating rink owner, hoping that she will resume her promising career as an ice skater. Although Laura insists she does not know jewel thief Hollis Smith, the man who Johnny insists was her accomplice, Johnny believes that she is waiting for him to be released from prison so that she can collect her share of the heist. Laura, however, claims that she was framed by an informant who placed the stolen diamonds in her apartment and testified against her. Late that night, Johnny and Laura discuss their romantic past, but the conversation returns to Laura's crime when he accuses her of having used him as a front for her scheme to steal the Winston diamonds. Johnny returns home to find Laura there, anxious to stay, but when he mentions the robbery, she angrily maintains her innocence. Both men are interested in Laura's whereabouts because she threatened to kill them, and Johnny reminds Rand that Laura was unhappy with his work on her case and believed that he had betrayed her. Laura is also the reason why Simon Rand, the lawyer who defended her, shows up at Turner's office. Los Angeles police lieutenant Johnny Saxon visits parole officer Miss Turner to learn more about the recently paroled Laura Mead, a former ice skater with whom he was in love but was obligated to arrest four years earlier on robbery charges.
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