Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalHispanic Heritage MonthIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Lost Boundaries

  • 1949
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
618
YOUR RATING
Richard Hylton in Lost Boundaries (1949)
Drama

A fair-skinned African American doctor faces discrimination in 1940s America. Unable to find work as himself, he reluctantly "passes" as white, building a successful life in New Hampshire un... Read allA fair-skinned African American doctor faces discrimination in 1940s America. Unable to find work as himself, he reluctantly "passes" as white, building a successful life in New Hampshire until WWII exposes his heritage.A fair-skinned African American doctor faces discrimination in 1940s America. Unable to find work as himself, he reluctantly "passes" as white, building a successful life in New Hampshire until WWII exposes his heritage.

  • Director
    • Alfred L. Werker
  • Writers
    • Ormonde Dekay Jr.
    • Maxime Furlaud
    • Eugene Ling
  • Stars
    • Beatrice Pearson
    • Mel Ferrer
    • Susan Douglas Rubes
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    618
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alfred L. Werker
    • Writers
      • Ormonde Dekay Jr.
      • Maxime Furlaud
      • Eugene Ling
    • Stars
      • Beatrice Pearson
      • Mel Ferrer
      • Susan Douglas Rubes
    • 34User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 4 nominations total

    Photos32

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 25
    View Poster

    Top cast33

    Edit
    Beatrice Pearson
    Beatrice Pearson
    • Marcia Carter
    Mel Ferrer
    Mel Ferrer
    • Dr. Scott Mason Carter
    Susan Douglas Rubes
    Susan Douglas Rubes
    • Shelly Carter
    • (as Susan Douglas)
    Robert A. Dunn
    • Rev. John Taylor
    • (as Rev. Robert A. Dunn)
    Richard Hylton
    Richard Hylton
    • Howard 'Howie' Carter
    Grace Coppin
    • Mrs. Mitchell
    Carleton Carpenter
    Carleton Carpenter
    • Andy
    Seth Arnold
    • Clint Adams
    Wendell Holmes
    Wendell Holmes
    • Mr. Morris Mitchell
    Parker Fennelly
    Parker Fennelly
    • Alvin Tupper
    Ralph Riggs
    • Loren Tucker
    William Greaves
    William Greaves
    • Arthur 'Art' Cooper
    Rai Sanders
    • Dr. Jesse Pridham
    • (as Rai Saunders)
    Leigh Whipper
    • Janitor
    Morton Stevens
    • Dr. Walter Brackett
    Maurice Ellis
    • Dr. Cashman
    Alexander Campbell
    Alexander Campbell
    • Mr. Bigelow
    Edwin Cooper
    Edwin Cooper
    • Baggage Man
    • Director
      • Alfred L. Werker
    • Writers
      • Ormonde Dekay Jr.
      • Maxime Furlaud
      • Eugene Ling
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews34

    7.0618
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    7bkoganbing

    The race closet

    On a famous Law And Order episode S. Eptha Merkerssen confronts a suspect who has passed for white asking him what it was like. It must be a unique experience. But it's one gay people for generations did with use of the closet. I think Mel Ferrer's real life character of Scott Carter would have identified with the closet. He was in fact in a race closet.

    Mel Ferrer got his first big break playing the lead who with his wife Beatrice Pearson is a light skinned black man, one who has 'good color' so he can pass. After losing a job at a hospital he was hoping to get Ferrer gets a position at a small Maine village, not unlike Bing Crosby coming to work to take over Barry Fitzgerald's practice in Welcome Stranger. But Bing wasn't exactly carrying the secret Ferrer has. He and Pearson never even tell their kids.

    It all comes crashing down when a background check on Ferrer disqualifies him from a Naval commission. The only place for black people in those days was mess stewards. The rest of the story is how Ferrer and his family deal with being ripped from the racial closet and the town around him.

    In the climax the town preacher Robert Dunn who was a real minister as well speaks for the town and how they deal with this knowledge about their trusted town physician.

    Mel Ferrer got his first big break in Lost Boundaries and while it's not quite a classic it holds up well for today's audience.

    Might be a good film for a gay black audience to view.
    9AlsExGal

    This film should be better known!

    This film is loosely based on the experiences of Albert Johnston, a black physician who could pass for white, and his light skinned wife, also African American.

    In the film, the protagonist is Dr. Scott Carter and his wife Marcia Carter. His wife's family has been passing for white their entire adult lives, and is not happy about Albert's decision to practice medicine openly, as a black man, for fear that the truth would come out about themselves.

    So Carter gets an internship in Georgia at a black hospital, but is rejected there because he looks so white. He goes back to Boston - where he graduated and where his wife's family lives - and tries for internships in white hospitals as a black man, with no success. Then he finally decides to "pass" for white long enough to finish his internship, and gets one in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. While there he saves the life of a doctor whose father, the town doctor in Keenan, NH, has just died. That doctor recommends him to take over his father's practice, even after Scott confesses his true race to him.

    Scott says this is only for a little while, until he can get some money in the bank and build a reputation, and then he will practice somewhere as a black doctor. Scott DOES build up the clinic in Boston open to all races named after a mentor with an old school buddy in his spare time. But time passes in Keenan. First a son is born then a daughter, both light skinned as their parents are, and although the reason is never given, it is probably because the Carters can give their children a life of opportunity that they could never give them if they were known to be black, that they continue the ruse for twenty years. Their son is attending a good college, their daughter is a typical teen with crushes and giggly friends. And then their secret gets out in a most unusual way.

    This is a very well done film with good acting, direction, and production values, with it being shot on location in New England. The sequence where the teenage son is told his heritage is particularly poignant, with him looking in the mirror and at his arms and hands, like he is seeing himself for the first time. The original material actually focused on the son.

    What is different about this film is that it is a tale of prejudice and what it takes to get around those prejudices in the north, where the opposition does not consist of organized violence and bullying and men on horseback with torches in the night. Instead it is quiet but firm social exclusion. And there are sympathetic white folks in the film - the preacher in Keenan, the doctor who gives Scott his big chance, and a cop in Harlem. But the societal boundaries that keep African Americans from succeeding and participating in all walks of life are still there.

    Producer Louis De Rochemont was originally going to make this film with MGM, but there were creative differences. I can only imagine that Louis B. Mayer somehow wanted to make it into a musical . Instead, Rochemont put up his own money and made the cinema gem that is this film. Highly recommended.
    6secondtake

    Dated and imperfect--but in the gaps are good reminders and insights

    Lost Boundaries (1949)

    This affected me more than I would have expected. I mean, the changes in how we see race and "race relations" since 1949 are huge. The acting is really solid, if not searingly intense (which it has room for). And the narrative is complex enough with a few turning points to make it all interesting.

    There is a sense as you watch that you're being shown a social issue and that the jury is already in. We know what we are supposed to feel, and we feel it. There is also a sense of something that doesn't happen much any more—the well known trick of "passing," which means being an African-American (usually) who is light skinned enough to "pass" as white. This is no small thing, since it required a social shift and truly living a "white" American's life, including both the advantages and the inner angst of having left behind your own roots.

    So it's important stuff, and good stuff. And it was more compelling in its details and acting than you might think, being both socially loaded and a bit low budget. The production standards are high, however, and the results make it worth watching. I frankly did more than confirm what I already knew about the era and race in America. I realigned a little, feeling more than reminded, but also a little educated.

    Yes, the approach here is outdated, and it ignores the true range of racism and hatred of the time, even in the supposedly enlightened New England setting here. But it has the truth woven into the stylized telling. If you think you already know all this, give it a look anyway. It's imprtant enough to try.
    samharmon23

    Lost Boundaries

    Lost Boundaries I felt was a really good film. Never would have even thought of something like it. The family had such good hearts and were caring and loving people who got along with everyone they met pretty much. No body knew they were actually African American though. If people had known they would not have had the life they lived for such a long time. He wanted to tell people. He did not want to have to keep his race a secret just so he would be treated differently. Its sad to think that people were really like that. This movie has a great ending however. You think for a little while that once their secret was revealed that they were going to be shunned by everyone. They were at first too except for the daughter with her boyfriend. He never let it bother him. She was more ashamed of it than he was which is also very sad. Those kids grew up just like all the other white kids thinking that being a Negro was a terrible thing and even though the son was kind to them and one of his best friends was Negro he was not pleased and was disgusted when he found out he was actually African American himself just very light skinned. But the town comes around when in church the preacher preaches about how that is not how God would do things. God loves everyone and treats everyone equally and it was at the end of the service that people let go of the grudge they had against different colors. They also kept him as their town doctor. I saw many things in this film that I would be appalled to see actually happen to day but that doesn't change the fact that that is how the times were then and just how people acted.
    8trvr_hffmn

    Miss the Golden Age

    Others have described Lost Boundaries very well here, so we will not retrace the plot. As we watched this movie on TCM, it again reinforced our feeling that the movie industry has in some ways lost its way today. From what we can see, while Lost Boundaries was well reviewed by contemporary viewers, it was not particularly recognized when it was made. Nevertheless, being a modest production of its time, it easily surpasses so many movies made today with far greater resources in terms of budget, "star power," and other means. When the industry focused on telling human stories with human beings, it was much more convincing. Today, there is so much focus on marketing, gimmickry, "star" power, and extraneous things like special effects and post-production polishing that it seems the stories lack that "human touch."

    We live in Hawaii, and recently saw "The Descendants" out of natural curiosity to see our home state featured, and our response, and that of others we know, was lukewarm. The story seemed to lack depth and any real investment of characters to any stakes (since it was in part about land and wealth), yet it is being touted for Best Picture and more. Clooney was already given Best Actor in the Golden Globes, and our belief is that the award is being rigged because he is a Hollywood favorite and insider. It is a typical Clooney job...glib and slightly sarcastic, and it baffles us that it merits any such recognition.

    Occasionally someone makes a great picture because talent is irrepressible and will always emerge, but now it seems to be in spite of the industry rather than because of it. It seems that the television producers seem to have passed the feature film producers in telling stories (Mad Men, Breaking Bad). Tell stories with people, about people, by people...please.

    More like this

    Boycott
    7.1
    Boycott
    Count the Hours!
    6.2
    Count the Hours!
    Without Pity
    6.6
    Without Pity
    Fourteen Hours
    7.1
    Fourteen Hours
    The Luck of Ginger Coffey
    6.8
    The Luck of Ginger Coffey
    Miracle in the Rain
    7.1
    Miracle in the Rain
    Home of the Brave
    7.0
    Home of the Brave
    For Heaven's Sake
    6.4
    For Heaven's Sake
    Black Gravel
    7.5
    Black Gravel
    Black Legion
    7.0
    Black Legion
    Deadline at Dawn
    6.8
    Deadline at Dawn
    The Sheepman
    6.8
    The Sheepman

    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Based on the lives of Albert and Thyra Johnston, who lived in New Hampshire in the 1930s and '40s.
    • Goofs
      When the townsfolk are "whispering" among themselves about the Carters being "colored", their lip movement doesn't match what's being said.
    • Connections
      Featured in Classified X (2007)
    • Soundtracks
      I Wouldn't Mind
      (uncredited)

      Music and Lyrics by Carleton Carpenter

      Performed by Carleton Carpenter

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 2, 1949 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Izgubljene granice
    • Filming locations
      • Barrington, New Hampshire, USA(Calef's Country Store)
    • Production companies
      • Louis De Rochemont Associates
      • RD-DR Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $250,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 39m(99 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.