No Man of Her Own

Leave it to Barbara Stanwyck and John Lund to make this film noir soap opera work on every level. Stanwyck, pregnant and unwed, meets another woman and her husband on a train, a wealthy woman going home to see her family. When the train is wrecked and the woman and husband killed, Stanwyck assumes her identity since the man's parents have never met her nor even seen a photograph of her. The plot gets thicker once Stanwyck assumes the dead woman's identity.

The picture combines the suspense of a film noir with some soap opera touches but Barbara's strong performance makes it all work. John Lund, Jane Cowl, Phyllis Thaxter, Richard Denning and Lyle Bettger are all fine in support. It's all based on a Cornell Woolrich novel called "I Married A Dead Man" with the usual touches of irony found in his work.

It's one of director Mitchell Leisen's better films (he did "To Each His Own", "Hold Back the Dawn", and many other interesting films.) Absorbing and well worth watching. Not a well-known film but it's one of Stanwyck's best.

Barbara Stanwyck plays Helen Ferguson--pregnant and penniless deserted by her ex Steve (Lyle Bettger). On a train she meets Patrice Harkness (Phyllis Thaxter) and her husband Hugh (Richard Denning). Patrice is also pregnant and going to see Hugh's parents who have never seen her before. Then the train crashes. Patrice and Hugh are killed and everybody mistakes Helen for Patrice. She goes along with it for her child. Then her ex shows up in town with blackmail on his mind.

Based on the excellent novel "I Married A Dead Man" by Cornell Woolrich. Now the plot is more than a little ridiculous but this movie (like the novel) is so beautifully done you don't notice. It's shot in beautiful black and white (which fits the mood) and has good acting--especially by Stanwyck. Technically she's too old for the role (she was 45 when she played this) but she's so good that you overlook it. She has a GREAT scene when she realizes what she has to do to get rid of Steve. The look on her face was perfect! When I first saw this in a revival theatre the audience laughed and applauded when that scene came on. The movie looks great with beautiful settings. Also fun to see Thaxter and Denning early in their careers. A very good unsung film noir. Recommended.

Do NOT see the 1996 redo movie called "Mrs. Winterbourne". They turn it into an (unfunny) comedy!

Barbara shines as the deceiving wife and does so much with her eyes. Jane and John are also very good. Strong script and not too overly sentimentalized for its era. A very enjoyable soaper with a great supporting cast. Gee, I miss all those great bit players of the thirties and forties. They added so much sparkle and credibility and a type of reassurance not seen in today's movies. Bravo to the entire cast in this little gem.

...and I say that with the highest form of flattery. This nail-biter is tightly directed, moves along at a nice swift pace and never drags for even a moment. Barbara Stanwyck gives one of the finest performances I have seen by her and the rest of the cast is all around excellent as well. After Helen Ferguson is left pregnant and penniless by her jerkoff of a boyfriend (the dreamy and steamy Lyle Bettger), a series of events leaves her mistaken for the widow of a rich man. The family takes her in and the brother of her alleged widow (played by handsome John Lund) falls in love with her and everything is hunky-dory - that is, until the jerkoff ex-boyfriend comes back and starts all kinds of trouble. The cherry on top of the whipped cream here is a lovely and sympathetic performance by Jane Cowl as the mother-in-law. A classic soapy film noir!

Top notch performances from Barbara Stanwyck and Jane Cowl make this film worthwhile. The plot's a bit silly - but these two extraordinary actors make it all seem utterly convincing. Moody cinematography and strong direction help too. Interesting to see the same story turn up a few years ago as "Mrs Winterbourne" with Ricki Lake and Shirley MacLaine in the Stanwyck and Cowl roles respectively. A less serious treatment, but also less successful.