No Man of Her Own (1950)

Helen Ferguson, pregnant, penniless and dumped by her boyfriend Steve Morley, takes the identity of the pregnant Patrice Harkness, when she and her husband are killed in a train crash. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Sally Benson (screenplay), Catherine Turney (screenplay),

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, John Lund, Jane Cowl

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Helen Ferguson / Patrice Harkness
John Lund	...	Bill Harkness
Jane Cowl	...	Mrs. Harkness
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Patrice Harkness
Lyle Bettger	...	Stephen 'Steve' Morley
Henry O'Neill	...	Mr. Harkness
Richard Denning	...	Hugh Harkness
Carole Mathews	...	Irma - the blonde
Harry Antrim	...	Ty Winthrop
Catherine Craig	...	Rosalie Baker
Esther Dale	...	Josie
Milburn Stone	...	Plainclothesman
Griff Barnett	...	Dr. Parker

Storyline

Helen Ferguson, pregnant, penniless and dumped by her boyfriend Steve Morley, takes the identity of the pregnant Patrice Harkness, when she and her husband are killed in a train crash. The rich Harkness in-laws, and their other son Bill, had never seen Patrice, so they accept her and her newborn son into their family. However Steve eventually finds her and starts to blackmail her.

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Plot Keywords:

pregnant | blackmail | train | expectant mother | inscribed ring | 

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1950 (Finland)

Also Known As:

I Married a Dead Man

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In-joke: Character played by Barbara Stanwyck is named Helen Ferguson; Helen Ferguson is real name of one of best-known Hollywood publicists of the era, who also represented Stanwyck.

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Quotes

Bill Harkness: [returns to car after dumping a dead body onto a moving train] He stayed on, caught on the catwalk or whatever it is, but his hat and... came off.
Helen Ferguson: Don't.

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Connections

Remade as Kati Patang (1970)

User Reviews

Another mistaken identity story...but a good one...

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.