The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown [1957] [DVD]

Inspired by a true-life incident when actress Marie McDonald was purportedly kidnapped, then discovered wandering in the desert, this mild comedy tells a similar tale of a movie star (Jane Russell) kidnapped just before the release of her new film, The Kidnapped Heiress.

Predictably, no one will believe the incident is not a publicity stunt and, just as predictably, Russell falls for handsome kidnapper Ralph Meeker. Russell took the blame for the film's commercial failure, stating that she insisted on black and white rather than colour and told director Norman Taurog to play up the romance at the expense of comedy. Since the film was produced by her husband, her wishes were obeyed, though surprisingly she allowed herself to be photographed in an unbecoming blonde wig for the first half of the movie.

Romantic comedy starring Jane Russell. When glamorous movie star Laurel Stevens is kidnapped by two thugs, she thinks it's a publicity stunt - after all, her new film is called The Kidnapped Bride. But when she is imprisoned in a beach house, she realises the kidnappers are for real and are demanding a ransom from the film studio.