Abandoned (1949)

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

Director:

Joseph M. Newman (as Joe Newman)

Writers:

Irwin Gielgud (story by), Irwin Gielgud (screenplay by)

Stars:

Dennis O'Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Mark Sitko
Gale Storm	...	Paula Considine
Jeff Chandler	...	Chief McRae
Meg Randall	...	Dottie Jensen
Raymond Burr	...	Kerric
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Mrs. Donner
Jeanette Nolan	...	Major Ross
Mike Mazurki	...	Hoppe
Will Kuluva	...	Little Guy Decola
David Clarke	...	Harry
William Frambes	...	Scoop (as William Page)
Sid Tomack	...	Mr. Humes
Perc Launders	...	Dowd
Steve Darrell	...	Brenn
Clifton Young	...	Eddie

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:

black market baby | pot boiler | female gang leader | cigarette smoking | police chief | 

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Taglines:

NO NAME FOR HER BABY...only a PRICE! (original posters and print ads-mostly caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1950 (Albania)

Also Known As:

Abandoned Woman

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Kerric: [to Mrs. Donner] I was just thinking how nice life used to be when I stuck to blackmail and petty larceny.

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Connections

Referenced in Love Is a Roller Coaster: Woman on the Run Revisited (2016)

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. At times a bit preachy perhaps and hardly a masterpiece but worth a look when it pops up on TCM late night.