A Woman's Secret

19491949
ApprovedApproved
1h 24m

Maureen O'Hara, Melvyn Douglas, Victor Jory, and Bill Williams in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Drama Film-Noir Mystery

Failed singer Marian Washburn confesses she shot her friend, successful singer Susan Caldwell, but her manager Luke Jordan and Detective Fowler doubt her story and cannot establish a reasona... Read allFailed singer Marian Washburn confesses she shot her friend, successful singer Susan Caldwell, but her manager Luke Jordan and Detective Fowler doubt her story and cannot establish a reasonable motive.Failed singer Marian Washburn confesses she shot her friend, successful singer Susan Caldwell, but her manager Luke Jordan and Detective Fowler doubt her story and cannot establish a reasonable motive.

Director
- Nicholas Ray
Writers
- Herman J. Mankiewicz(screen play by)
- Vicki Baum(from the novel "Mortgage on Life" by)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Maureen O'Hara and Gloria Grahame in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Maureen O'Hara and Melvyn Douglas in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Melvyn Douglas in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Grahame, and Oliver Blake in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Melvyn Douglas, Jay C. Flippen, Victor Jory, and Bill Williams in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Melvyn Douglas and Victor Jory in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Maureen O'Hara and Melvyn Douglas in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Gloria Grahame in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Jay C. Flippen and Mary Philips in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Maureen O'Hara and Gloria Grahame in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Maureen O'Hara in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Maureen O'Hara and Gloria Grahame in A Woman's Secret (1949)

Director
- Nicholas Ray
Writers
- Herman J. Mankiewicz(screen play by)
- Vicki Baum(from the novel "Mortgage on Life" by)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

Cloudburst

6.7

Born to Be Bad

6.7

The Adventures of Mark Twain

7.1

The Adventures of Mark Twain

Experiment Perilous

6.4

Experiment Perilous

Run for Cover

6.7

Knock on Any Door

6.7

Knock on Any Door

Pushover

7.1

Confession

7.3

Roseanna McCoy

5.7

The Purchase Price

6.4

The Purchase Price

Hell Bound

6.3

You Can't Get Away with Murder

6.4

You Can't Get Away with Murder

Susan is in the hospital with a bullet near her heart. Marian has told the police that she shot Susan in a rage as Susan was giving up singing. Marian and Luke found Susan when she was a failure. A singer with a limited range, she was a diamond in the rough which Marian and Luke taught how to walk, dress and talk. With the singing lessons, Marian had hoped that she would have the career that Marian would have had if she had not lost her voice. Even though Susan is a scatterbrain girl, Luke does not believe that Marian would have been capable of shooting her. Luke hopes that Detective Fowler will be able to find out the truth and free Marian. —Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>

writer producer hospital waiting room revolver desk sergeant gunshot victim 45 more

Taglines
- I had to stop her ... at any cost ... that's why I pulled the trigger !
Genres
Certificate
- Approved
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
Nicholas Ray and Gloria Grahame met while shooting this film. They were married in Las Vegas shortly after completing the film. They chose Las Vegas because Ray loved to gamble and to allow Grahame to get a quickie divorce (after the required six weeks of residency in Nevada) from actor Stanley Clements. The day the divorced was granted, the two married.

Goofs
In the flashback scene of the shooting, Gloria Grahame says "Maureen" instead of Marian, Maureen O'Hara's character's name.

Quotes
Luke Jordan: Where do you come from?
Susan Caldwell: Azusa. Azusa, California.
Luke Jordan: Azusa?
Susan Caldwell: It's kind of a made-up word. Different letters. They put them together - that's how they got the name. Everything from A to Z, USA. A-ZU-SA.

Crazy credits
Opening and closing credits are displayed on a page of sheet music.

Soundtracks
Estrellita
(uncredited)
Written by Manuel M. Ponce
Sung by Gloria Grahame (dubbed by Kaye Lorraine)

Top review

7/10

A Poor Mans 'All About Eve'

Maureen O'Hara loses her voice to one of those strange diseases that abound in movies, and drives a young woman (Gloria Grahame) as an understudy. That is where the fun begins. The story is told in flashback, and is reminiscent of All About Eve, although as if told in reverse. Melvyn Douglas is a forerunner of Addison de Witt and the viewer can see resemblances in the other characters. This is probably one of Gloria Grahames' best performances, with Melvyn Douglas giving a polished display and Jay C Flippen as the Police Inspector a delight. The end is a trifle weak, and slightly confusing, but this sleeper is a great little time filler. Don't expect it ever to appear in any list of greatest movies of all time however.

helpful•24

8

Cicerosaurus
Jun 16, 2005

Release date
- February 7, 1949 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Languages
- English
- French
Also known as
- Mortgage on Life
Filming locations
- Hollywood, California, USA
Production company
- RKO Radio Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- $853,000 (estimated)

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 24 minutes
Color
- Black and White
Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1

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Maureen O'Hara, Melvyn Douglas, Victor Jory, and Bill Williams in A Woman's Secret (1949)

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What is the French language plot outline for A Woman's Secret (1949)?

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