Paula (1952)

Distraught after her second miscarriage & learning definitively she could never have children Paula, while driving at night, accidentally injures a child. Confused and due to her commitment... See full summary »

Director:

Rudolph Maté

Writers:

James Poe (screenplay), Lawrence B. Marcus (story) (as Larry Marcus)

Stars:

Loretta Young, Kent Smith, Alexander Knox

Cast

Cast overview:
Loretta Young	...	Paula Rogers
Kent Smith	...	John Rogers
Alexander Knox	...	Dr. Clifford Frazer
Tommy Rettig	...	David Larson
Otto Hulett	...	Lieutenant Dargen
Will Wright	...	Raymond Bascom
Raymond Greenleaf	...	President Russell

Storyline

Distraught after her second miscarriage & learning definitively she could never have children Paula, while driving at night, accidentally injures a child. Confused and due to her commitment to attend a function that honors her husband she doesn't follow the child to the hospital as she thought she would. She attempts to tell her husband about the incident but has trouble finding the right time. Later, overcome with remorse, she looks to get close to this child and becomes a helper at the hospital. The child is an orphan with limited health care available. The doctor recognizes Paula's need to be useful and asks if she would become his speech therapist and guardian. She finds meaning and purpose in her life as she engages the little boy in intensive therapy necessary to recover his ability to speak. Will she be caught and punished, when the boy is able to speak, will he implicate her?

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | forename as title | miscarriage | female protagonist | deafness | 

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Taglines:

If you were Paula would you have stopped?

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mother

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Ranch, Verdugo Ave. and Pass Avenue, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paula drives a green 1951 Ford.

User Reviews

Paula-Speak Up Loretta-Morally Correct to Do ***

Loretta Young loses her baby and is told in the hospital that she will never be able to have children. Dr. Alexander Knox, who was so brilliant in "Wilson" tells her this. She is married to college dean Kent Smith. The latter never had much sex appeal or appeal of a leading man in any of his pictures.

While driving to join Smith at a pre-promotional party for him, Young accidentally hits 7 year old Tommy Rettig of "Lassie" fame. Rettig, with those sad eyes of his, evoked a lot of emotion here as he is unable to recover from the accident.

Not admitting to the police that she did this, Young instead volunteers at the hospital and takes in the boy and suddenly becomes a speech pathologist. She is guided by Knox who suddenly is an expert in this field anyway.

Young and Rettig pull out emotional stops in this film. You may want to question the criminal justice system in the nonetheless happy ending.