No Man of Her Own (1950 film)

Last updated
No Man of Her Own
No Man of Her Own 1950.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mitchell Leisen
Screenplay by Sally Benson
Catherine Turney
Based on I Married a Dead Man
by Cornell Woolrich
Produced by Richard Maibaum
Starring Barbara Stanwyck
John Lund
Phyllis Thaxter
Jane Cowl
Lyle Bettger
Cinematography Daniel L. Fapp
Edited byAlma Macrorie
Music by Hugo Friedhofer
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • May 3, 1950 (1950-05-03)
Running time
97 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

No Man of Her Own is a 1950 American film noir drama directed by Mitchell Leisen and featuring Barbara Stanwyck, John Lund, Phyllis Thaxter, Jane Cowl and Lyle Bettger. [2] Made and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the production is the second film Stanwyck made with director Mitchell Leisen. Its screenplay was adapted from Cornell Woolrich's 1948 novel I Married a Dead Man . Woolrich is cited in the film's opening credits by one of his commonly used pseudonyms, "William Irish".

Contents

Plot

Helen Ferguson, filled with dread, holds her baby as Bill Harkness reads a book. The phone rings, and police tell Bill that they are on the way to their home. She puts the child to bed, praying that the boy will not suffer for her mistakes and whispering that she was desperate.

A year earlier in New York, Helen is eight months pregnant, unmarried, and broke. She goes to her unfaithful boyfriend Stephen Morley, tearfully pleading for help as she stands in the hallway outside his apartment door. He refuses to answer, but slips under the door an envelope for her, one containing a five-dollar bill and a one-way train ticket to San Francisco. Retrieving the envelope, Helen pulls out the ticket, causing the money to fall to the floor, unseen. Helen, humiliated and exhausted, realizes she has no choice but to go to the station and board the train. Helen's train later crashes during the journey, and when she is found by authorities in the wreckage, she is mistaken for another pregnant woman, Patrice Harkness, who was killed in the crash. Helen gives birth to her child in the hospital and is accepted by the Harknesses, the family of the dead woman's husband, Hugh Harkness, who was also killed in the train crash. Since the family has never seen their son's new wife, they believe Helen to be her and, for the sake of her child, she does not reveal her true identity. The family decides her lapses of memory and uncertain behavior are aftereffects of the train wreck. With a better life provided for her son, Helen continues the ruse while Bill Harkness, who is the elder brother of the deceased Hugh, falls in love with her.

Helen's ex-boyfriend, the father of her child, tracks her down several months after the accident. Stephen was called in to identify the body at the morgue after the train accident, but instead of telling the truth, he said that the dead woman was Helen. After figuring out that she is living under an assumed identity and that she has wealthy in-laws, he blackmails Helen into giving him a check for $500 and marrying him. She gets a gun, goes to Stephen's office, where he is living, and finds him dead on his bed but fires the gun at him. Bill comes to the office and helps Helen dispose of the body and conceal evidence of her relationship with Stephen. Bill and his mother have realized that Helen is in trouble and, because they love her regardless of her past, will do anything they can to protect her.

Bill's mother dies of heart failure, but not before writing a letter that she gives to her maid, making her swear to give it to Helen only if police come for her. In the letter, Mrs. Harkness claims to have killed Stephen, which she could not have done. Three months later, when police find his body and the check Helen gave to him, they do come for her. Helen confesses to shooting him, but she is told that her bullet missed him and was found in his mattress, that a bullet of another caliber was found in his body, and that his girlfriend has confessed to shooting him. Bill and Helen embrace.

Cast

Credited

Uncredited

Reception

In his May 4, 1950 review of the film for The New York Times , Bosley Crowther generally compliments the principal cast's performances, but he pans both the structure and tone of the screenplay itself:

For the fact is that it is...a lurid and artificial tale, loaded with far-fetched situations and deliberate romantic clichés. And the script which Sally Benson and Catherine Turney prepared from a novel by William Irish ("I Married a Dead Man") makes a silly botch of same. This sort of female agonizing, in which morals are irresponsibly confused for the sake of effect, makes diversion for none but the suckers, we feel sure. [3]

The widely read entertainment trade paper Variety was far more upbeat in its review. After previewing the film in Hollywood on February 17, 1950–two and a half months prior to the feature's national release–the critic for Variety endorsed the film and drew special attention to the quality of Stanwyck's and Lund's performances and to the overall quality of the motion picture's production values:

"No Man of Her Own" combines an adult love story with melodrama, runs off with the intensity of a full-bloom soap opera, and is altogether satisfying screen dramatics...Barbara Stanwyck does a beautiful job of portraying the heroine...[and] John Lund wraps up his role as the man who falls in love with a girl he believes to be the widow of his dead brother. It's a fine job...Richard Maibaum's production does not miss on any phase of the story, whether drama or melodrama, and the lineup of behind-the-camera credits are in keeping. Donald L. Fapp's photography, the score by Hugo Friedhofer, editing, costumes, settings and art direction all figure importantly. [1]

Lionel Collier of Picturegoer reviewed the film positively. "The pot-boiler is extremely well acted and its clever cast, headed by attractive and talented Barbara Stanwyck, enables it to confound the moralists and prove that two or more wrongs can make a right, while, at the same time, handing out moving and occasionally gripping screen fiction. See it by all means, but fight shy of the heroine's way of life". [4]

Adaptations

The film is based on the novel I Married a Dead Man , which was also adapted for a variety of other screen productions, including the Japanese film Shisha to no Kekkon (1960), the Brazilian TV miniseries A Intrusa (1962), the Bollywood movie Kati Patang (1970), the French film J'ai épousé une ombre (1983), and by Hollywood again for Mrs. Winterbourne (1996) starring Shirley MacLaine, Ricki Lake and Brendan Fraser. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Stanwyck</span> American actress (1907–1990)

Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic screen presence and versatility. She was a favorite of directors, including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra, and made 85 films in 38 years before turning to television.

<i>Double Indemnity</i> 1944 American film by Billy Wilder

Double Indemnity is a 1944 American crime thriller film noir directed by Billy Wilder, co-written with Raymond Chandler, and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. The film was based on James M. Cain's novella of the same name, which ran as an eight-part serial in Liberty magazine beginning in February 1936.

<i>Hold Back the Dawn</i> 1941 film by Mitchell Leisen

Hold Back the Dawn is a 1941 American romantic drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen, in which a Romanian gigolo marries an American woman in Mexico in order to gain entry to the United States, but winds up falling in love with her. It stars Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard, Victor Francen, Walter Abel, Curt Bois, Rosemary DeCamp, and an uncredited Veronica Lake.

<i>To Each His Own</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Mitchell Leisen

To Each His Own is a 1946 American romantic drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Olivia de Havilland, Mary Anderson, Roland Culver and John Lund. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Charles Brackett and Jacques Théry. A young woman bears a child out of wedlock and has to give him up.

<i>The Mating Season</i> (film) 1951 film by Mitchell Leisen

The Mating Season is a 1951 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Mitchell Leisen, and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Charles Brackett, Richard Breen, and Walter Reisch, based on the play Maggie by Caesar Dunn. The ensemble cast stars Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins, and Thelma Ritter.

<i>Clash by Night</i> 1952 film

Clash by Night is a 1952 American film noir drama directed by Fritz Lang and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe and Keith Andes. The film is based on the 1941 play by Clifford Odets, adapted for the screen by writer Alfred Hayes. It is the first major film to credit Monroe before the title, albeit with fourth billing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lund (actor)</span> American actor (1911–1992)

John Lund was an American film, stage, and radio actor who is probably best remembered for his role in the film A Foreign Affair (1948) and a dual role in To Each His Own (1946).

<i>The Bitter Tea of General Yen</i> 1933 film

The Bitter Tea of General Yen is a 1933 American pre-Code drama war film directed by Frank Capra and starring Barbara Stanwyck, and featuring Nils Asther and Walter Connolly. Based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Grace Zaring Stone, the film is about an American missionary in Shanghai during the Chinese Civil War who gets caught in a battle while trying to save a group of orphans. Knocked unconscious, she is saved by a Chinese general warlord who brings her to his palace. When the general falls in love with the naive young woman, she fights her attraction to the powerful general and resists his flirtation, yet remains at his side when his fortune turns.

<i>The File on Thelma Jordon</i> 1950 film by Robert Siodmak

The File on Thelma Jordon is a 1950 American film noir drama film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Wendell Corey. The screenplay by Ketti Frings, based on an unpublished short story by Marty Holland, concerns a woman who pretends to fall in love with an assistant district attorney and uses him to escape conviction for the murder of her wealthy aunt.

<i>Remember the Night</i> 1940 film by Mitchell Leisen

Remember the Night is a 1940 American Christmas romantic comedy trial film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray and directed by Mitchell Leisen. The film was written by Preston Sturges and was the last of his scripts shot by another director, as Sturges began his own directorial career the same year with The Great McGinty.

<i>Kati Patang</i> 1971 film by Shakti Samanta

Kati Patang is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Asha Parekh as a woman pretending to be a widow, and her ensuing trials and tribulations opposite her charming neighbour, played by Rajesh Khanna.The film was a box office success. Parekh's performance as Madhavi was critically acclaimed and earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

<i>Mrs. Winterbourne</i> 1996 American film

Mrs. Winterbourne is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Shirley MacLaine, Ricki Lake, and Brendan Fraser. It is loosely based on Cornell Woolrich's novel I Married a Dead Man, which had already been filmed in Hollywood as No Man of Her Own (1950) starring Barbara Stanwyck, in Hindi as Kati Patang (1970) starring Asha Parekh, and in French as J'ai épousé une ombre (1983). The film was shot on location in and around Toronto, Ontario including Eaton Hall in King City, Ontario. It was the final production of A&M Films.

<i>You Belong to Me</i> (1941 film) 1941 film by Wesley Ruggles

You Belong to Me is a 1941 American romantic comedy film produced and directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. Based on a story by Dalton Trumbo, and written by Claude Binyon, the film is about a wealthy man who meets and falls in love with a beautiful doctor while on a ski trip. After a courtship complicated by his hypochondria, she agrees to marry him on the condition that she continue to practice medicine. His jealousy at the thought of her seeing male patients, however, soon threatens their marriage. The film was released in the United Kingdom as Good Morning, Doctor, and was remade as Emergency Wedding in 1950.

<i>The Mad Miss Manton</i> 1938 film by Leigh Jason

The Mad Miss Manton is a 1938 American screwball comedy-mystery film directed by Leigh Jason and starring Barbara Stanwyck as fun-loving socialite Melsa Manton and Henry Fonda as newspaper editor Peter Ames. Melsa and her debutante friends hunt for a murderer while eating bonbons, flirting with Ames, and otherwise behaving like irresponsible socialites. Ames is also after the murderer, as well as Melsa's hand in marriage.

<i>Stella Dallas</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by King Vidor

Stella Dallas is a 1937 American drama film based on Olive Higgins Prouty's 1923 novel of the same name. It was directed by King Vidor and stars Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, and Anne Shirley. At the 10th Academy Awards, Stanwyck and Shirley were nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role, respectively.

<i>Theres Always Tomorrow</i> (1956 film) 1956 film by Douglas Sirk

There's Always Tomorrow is a 1956 American romantic melodrama film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett. The screenplay by Bernard C. Schoenfeld was adapted from the novel of the same name by Ursula Parrott. The plot concerns a man's unhappiness with his domestic life and romantic relationship with a former employee. The film was produced by Ross Hunter for Universal Pictures, which had also produced the 1934 adaptation of Parrott's novel. It was released in the United States on January 8, 1956.

<i>East Side, West Side</i> (1949 film) 1949 film directed by Mervyn LeRoy

East Side, West Side is a 1949 American melodrama crime film, starring Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Van Heflin, and Ava Gardner. Based on the 1947 novel of the same title, written by Marcia Davenport, screenplay by Isobel Lennart, produced by Voldemar Vetluguin, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Bride of Vengeance</i> 1949 film

Bride of Vengeance is a 1949 American historical drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Paulette Goddard, John Lund and Macdonald Carey. Produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is set in the Italian Renaissance era. Ray Milland was originally cast in the film but refused the assignment, leading the studio to suspend him for ten weeks.

<i>All I Desire</i> 1953 film by Douglas Sirk

All I Desire is a 1953 American drama film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Carlson, Lyle Bettger, Marcia Henderson, Lori Nelson, and Maureen O'Sullivan. It is based on Carol Ryrie Brink's 1951 novel Stopover.

<i>I Married a Dead Man</i>

I Married a Dead Man is a 1948 novel by American crime writer Cornell Woolrich under the pseudonym William Irish.

References

  1. 1 2 "Brog." "No Man of Her Own", film review, Variety (New York City and Hollywood), February 22, 1950, p. 6. Retrieved via Internet Archive, May 8, 2022.
  2. ↑ No Man of Her Own at the American Film Institute Catalog .
  3. ↑ Crowther, Bosley. "THE SCREEN IN REVIEW: 'No Man of Her Own,' Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Opens at Paramount Theatre", film review, The New York Times , May 4, 1950, p. 32. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, Ann Arbor, Michigan; subscription access through The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library. Original review retrieved May 8, 2022.
  4. ↑ Collier, Lionel. "Previews and Reviews: No Man of Her Own". Picturegoer . June 3, 1950. pg. 16. Via Proquest.
  5. ↑ Thomas S. Hishak, American Literature on Stage and Screen: 525 Works and their Adaptations. McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers (2012). p. 99

Streaming audio

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.