Abandoned (1949)

Newspaperman helps girl find her sister's illegitimate baby, gets mixed up in baby-adoption racket.

Director:

Joseph M. Newman

Writers:

Irwin Gielgud (original screenplay), William Bowers (additional dialogue)

Stars:

Dennis O'Keefe, Gale Storm, Marjorie Rambeau

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Mark Sitko
Gale Storm	...	Paula Considine
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Mrs. Leona Donner
Raymond Burr	...	Kerric
Will Kuluva	...	Little Guy Decola
Jeff Chandler	...	Chief MacRae
Meg Randall	...	Dottie Jensen
Jeanette Nolan	...	Major Ross
David Clarke	...	Harry, Mrs. Donner's Chauffeur
Mike Mazurki	...	Hoppe
Sid Tomack	...	Humes, missing persons office clerk
Ruth Sanderson	...	Mrs. Spence
William Frambes	...	Scoop, cub reporter (as William Page)
Perc Launders	...	Detective Dowd
Steve Darrell	...	Detective Brenn

Storyline

An expose of the baby-profiteering racket as told through the story of an unwed-mother. whose family and friends start an investigation as to the whereabouts of her baby. This leads to and through an organized gang led by a society matron. The girl is found dead and while it looks like a suicide, the girl's sister and a newspaper reporter think it is murder.

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Plot Keywords:

sister | racket | baby | murder | newspaper reporter | 

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Taglines:

No name for her baby... only a Price!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 November 1949 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Abandoned Woman

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Passable Black Market Baby Crime Drama

Okay, Dennis Okeefe and Gale Storm deliver competent performances and Marjorie Rambeau is effective as the matronly but menacing madam baby broker, but this movie is surely most memorable as the sole instance in which a young Raymond Burr (merely stout here, but still not thin) gets the s$#@ kicked out of him, which alone makes it worth the price of admission. Painfully corny narrative framing sequence at the beginning and the end (where there is a big unintentional laugh), but by and large a straightforward and enjoyable minor noir. Hardly a masterpiece but worth a look when it pops up on AMC or TMC latenight.