In No Man of Her Own (1950), film noir combines with a woman’s film (melodrama)—remember the extraordinary successful Mildred Pierce (1945), for which Joan Crawford won a Best Actress Oscar? Randall MacDougall wrote the screenplay for Mildred and his female counterpart, Catherine Turney, wrote the screenplay for No Man of Her Own. We can expect a high-level performance from Barbara Stanwyck, an intricate plot, and a tear-jerker.

The original Mitchell Leisen film, No Man of Her Own has been recycled no less than three times because its author, Cornell Woolrich (under the pseudonym of William Irish), wrote a terrific short story with an intriguing plot. In the 1950 version, Barbara Stanwyck plays Helen Ferguson, a single woman from the Midwest who is working in New York City. She falls in love with Stephen Morley (Lyle Bettger), who exploits her, leaves her pregnant, and takes up with another woman, known as “Blonde” (Carole Matthews, a successful television actress in one of her early film roles). Deciding to have the baby (abortion was a forbidden option in those days), Helen buys a railroad ticket. On the train she meets Patrice and Hugh Harkness (played by stalwart character actors Phyllis Thaxter and Richard Denning). The women become fast friends, and Helen tries on Patrice’s wedding ring, which bears an inscription from her husband. Seconds later, there is an enormous train wreck. Helen awakens in a hospital, and the hospital staff address her as “Mrs. Harkness.” Helen

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