My Forbidden Past
My Forbidden Past | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Robert Stevenson |
Written by | Leopold Atlas (adaptation) |
Screenplay by | Marion Parsonnet |
Based on | Carriage Entrance 1947 novel by Polan Banks |
Produced by | Polan Banks |
Starring | Robert Mitchum Ava Gardner Melvyn Douglas |
Cinematography | Harry J. Wild |
Edited by | George C. Shrader |
Music by | Friedrich Hollaender |
Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,150,000 (US rentals)[2] |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Robert_Mitchum_in_My_Forbidden_Past_trailer.jpg/262px-Robert_Mitchum_in_My_Forbidden_Past_trailer.jpg)
My Forbidden Past is a 1951 film noir directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Robert Mitchum and Ava Gardner.[3] Adapted by Leopold Atlas from Polan Banks' novel Carriage Entrance.
Plot[]
In 1890s New Orleans, wrongly believing Barbara Beaurevelle (Ava Gardner) had stood him up on the eve of their elopement, Dr. Mark Lucas (Robert Mitchum) has returned from South America accompanied by Corinne (Janis Carter), a woman he married on the rebound. Determined to win him back, Barbara bribes her cousin (Melvyn Douglas) to break up the marriage, a cold-blooded scheme that ends in death and the doctor suspected of murder.
Cast[]
- Robert Mitchum as Dr. Mark Lucas
- Ava Gardner as Barbara Beaurevelle
- Melvyn Douglas as Paul Beaurevelle
- Lucile Watson as Aunt Eula Beaurevelle
- Janis Carter as Corinne Lucas
- Gordon Oliver as Clay Duchesne
- Basil Ruysdael as Dean Cazzley
- Clarence Muse as Pompey
- Walter Kingsford as Coroner
- Will Wright as Luther Toplady
Production[]
The film was to star Ann Sheridan. Under her contract she had co star approval. RKO claimed she refused all the names offered her and thus terminated the contract, replacing her with Ava Gardner. Sheridan sued RKO for $350,000. The case went to trial and in February 1951 the jury awarded her $55,162, being the minimum amount Sheridan would have earned during filming from April to August 1949 plus $5,162 for costs. It was shown that Sheridan would have approved Mitchum as a co star.[4]
Reception[]
The film recorded a loss of $700,000.[5]
References[]
- ^ "My Forbidden Past: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
- ^ "My Forbidden Past (1951) - Robert Stevenson - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ $55,162 WON IN SUIT BY ANN SHERIDAN: Federal Jury on Coast Gives Actress Damages for Claim Against R.K.O. Studios Of Local Origin By THOMAS F. BRADY New York Times 7 Feb 1951: 47.
- ^ Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p256.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to My Forbidden Past (film). |
- My Forbidden Past at IMDb
- My Forbidden Past at the TCM Movie Database
- My Forbidden Past at AllMovie
- My Forbidden Past at the American Film Institute Catalog
- 1951 films
- English-language films
- American historical romance films
- American romantic drama films
- American films
- American black-and-white films
- Films directed by Robert Stevenson
- Films scored by Friedrich Hollaender
- Films set in New Orleans
- 1950s historical romance films
- Films set in the 1890s
- RKO Pictures films
- Romantic drama film stubs