No Man of Her Own

Barbara Stanwyck Director: Mitchell Leisen Mitchell Leisen

Overview

A woman is torn between a comfortable lie and the painful truth in this drama. After she is abandoned by her unfaithful boyfriend Stephen Morely (Lyle Bettger), Helen Ferguson (Barbara Stanwyck) discovers that she's pregnant, and she has no choice but to go home to her family. Shortly after boarding the train, Helen meets Hugh and Patrice Harkness (Richard Denning and Phyllis Thaxter), a recently married couple who are travelling to visit Hugh's parents, who have yet to met his bride. Patrice, who is also with child, strikes up a conversation with Helen, and allows her to try on her beautiful wedding ring. Moments later, the train becomes involved in a terrible accident in which Hugh and Patrice are killed; because she was still wearing Patrice's ring, Helen is mistaken for the late Mrs. Harkness by Hugh's parents (Jane Cowl and Henry O'Neill), and is taken home with them as she recovers and has her baby. Helen begins to feel a part of the family until Stephen arrives, demanding money to keep her true identity a secret. No Man of Her Own was remade in 1996 as the comedy Mrs. Winterbourne.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/27/2012
UPC:	0887090036900
Original Release:	1950
Rating:	NR
Source:	Olive Films
Presentation:	[B&W, Full Frame]
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	19,139

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Barbara Stanwyck	Helen Ferguson
John Lund	Bill Harkness
Phyllis Thaxter	Patrice Harkness
Lyle Bettger	Stephen Morley
Jane Cowl	Mrs. Harkness
Henry O'Neill	Mr. Harkness
Milburn Stone	Plainclothesman
Richard Denning	Hugh Harkness
Carole Mathews	Blonde
Harry Antrim	Ty Winthrop
Catherine Craig	Rosalie Baker
Esther Dale	Josie
Griff Barnett	Dr. Parker
Jean Andren	Louise Russell
Georgia Backus	Nurse
Virginia Brissac	Justice of the Peace's Wife
Ivan Browning	Porter
Ashley Cowan	Actor
Charles Dayton	Friends of the Family
Jimmie Dundee	Actor
Laura Elliot	Actor
Kathleen Freeman	Clara Larrimore
Sumner Getchell	John Larrimore
William Haade	Cop
Thomas Brown Henry	Doctor at Hospital
Edna Holland	Actor
Esther Howard	Blowsy Boardinghouse Woman
Selmar Jackson	Minister
Stan Johnson	Policeman
Dick Keene	Clerk
Mary Lawrence	Actor
Frank Marlowe	Steve
Johnny Michaels	Delivery Boy
Helen Mowery	Actor
Gordon Nelson	Justice of the Peace
Gaylord "Steve" Pendleton	Police Officer
Jack Reynolds	Actor
Jean Ruth	Actor
Emmett E. Smith	Actor
Phil Tully	Actor
Ray Walker	Actor
Willard Waterman	Jack Olsen
Dave Willock	Jimmy Baker
Dooley Wilson	Dining Car Waiter

Technical Credits

Sally Benson

Catherine Turney

Mitchell Leisen	Director
Sally Benson	Screenwriter
Henry Bumstead	Art Director
Sam Comer	Set Decoration/Design
John R. Coonan	Asst. Director
Hans Dreier	Art Director
Farciot Edouart	Special Effects
Bob Ewing	Makeup
Daniel L. Fapp	Cinematographer
Hugo W. Friedhofer	Score Composer
Gene Garvin	Sound/Sound Designer
Edith Head	Costumes/Costume Designer
Gordon Jennings	Special Effects
Alma Macrorie	Editor
Richard Maibaum	Producer
Don McKay	Sound/Sound Designer
Ray Moyer	Set Decoration/Design
Ray Myer	Set Decoration/Design
Catherine Turney	Screenwriter
Wally Westmore	Makeup

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- No Man of Her Own
1. Opening [:12]
2. Trip to Nowhere [10:16]
3. Dazed and Confused [9:19]
4. Welcome Home [6:48]
5. Hidden Identity [11:34]
6. A Night Out [16:34]
7. Blackmailed [8:32]
8. Point of No Return [12:05]

Menu

Disc #1 -- No Man of Her Own
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Editorial Reviews

As befits a film derived from a Cornell Woolrich novel (although written under a pen name), there's an aura of impending gloom and fatality that hovers over No Man of Her Own, a sense that Fate is bound to deal a blow to happiness -- it's merely a question of when the blow will come and in what form. This makes the contrived happy ending -- a definite departure from the book -- all the more ludicrous. Truth to tell, No Man's screenplay has more than its share of hard-to-accept moments. Some of these are the inventions of screenwriters Sally Benson and Catherine Turney, but some also come from the original Woolrich source. Detached from his distinctive literary voice and without the rich atmosphere that he brings to the printed page, the plot twists come across as devices -- and just will stretch credulity too far for some. Fortunately, No Man has a dazzling star and an assured director to help it over these bumpy patches. Certainly no one could ask for a better Helen than the luminous yet down-to-earth Barbara Stanwyck. Seemingly incapable of giving an uncommitted performance, Stanwyck makes her character live and breathe, and one is ready to accept absolutely anything that happens as long as Stanwyck is around. For his part, Mitchell Leisen brings a confidence to his direction that belies the fact that most of his films were not as "tough" as this one eventually becomes. Jane Cowl provides solid support, but Lyle Bettger comes across as a bit much, while John Lund comes across as a bit dull. No Man can't overcome all its flaws to become a great film, but Stanwyck makes it more than watchable.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler