NO MAN OF HER OWN (1950) NOIR ALLEY. In a case of mistaken identity, one pregnant woman is presumed to be another, and is torn between confessing to her benefactors, and continuing the fraud, for the sake of her child.
Abandoned by the father of her child, Helen Ferguson (
Barbara Stanwyck) is taking a train & meets a young couple, & the man, gives up his seat. The wife, also pregnant goes with her into the ladies' washroom. Patrice Harkness (
Phyllis Thaxter), apparently afraid of losing her wedding ring, asks Ferguson to wear it, while she takes care of business in the ladies' room. Just the, the train suffers a boo-boo, and the next thing Ferguson knows, is she is in a hospital bed, and nurses are calling her Patrice Harkness. Apparently still under the effects of drugs, her mind is far from clear, but she feebly attempts to make clear who she actually is. By the time she is released from the hospital, she is still using the other woman's identity.
The Harkness family is happy to welcome their dead son's wife into their family, and the have plenty of money to give her and her newborn son a comfortable life.
The noir element comes into play when the father of her child comes, hoping to cash-in on the wealthy family's money, & his old girlfriend's desire to keep up the fraud.
If this had not been featured on NOIR ALLEY, I doubt I would have watched it. But, it was well worthwhile.
Oh, the word 'WOMAN' was on the wall outside the washroom. I had thought that WOMAN was rather recently used in place of LADIES. Likewise, that GENTLEMEN had been replaced by MEN. So, I thought it odd that in 1950 they used WOMEN rather than LADIES. Anyway, I recall, long ago, I was desperately seeking the MEN'S room, when I saw those 3 letters, M, E, & N; too late did I realize I had overlooked the 1st 2 letters, W & O.
