I, JANE DOE (1948)

Stephen Curtis is found shot to death, and the apparent killer is a European woman who refuses to give her name or indeed any explanation at all. She is put on trial as Jane Doe, doesn't testify, and is found guilty and sentenced to death. She promptly faints in the courtroom, and when it's discovered that she is pregnant, her execution is delayed. Stephen's widow Eve, a former lawyer, returns to her practice to defend Jane in a retrial, granted due to her pregnancy. In court, Jane finally identifies herself as Mrs. Stephen Curtis. Flashbacks to the beginning of the war show that Eve and Stephen were happy until evidence cropped up suggesting that Stephen had been unfaithful. Before Eve can think the situation through, Stephen is drafted and sent to France where his plane is shot down and Jane, whose real name is Annette, saves him from the Nazis who are hunting him. They fall in love and marry (with Annette not knowing this makes him a bigamist), with Stephen saying he'll take her back to the States once he's released from the service. The end of the war comes but Stephen doesn't; instead he asks for an annulment, so Annette gets a forged passport and heads to New York City. Stephen is surprised to see Annette, Annette is surprised to see Eve, and Eve is, well, that might be a spoiler. Suffice to say that a confrontation occurs leaving Stephen dead and the two women in a potentially sticky situation. Much of this narrative, including the ending, strains credibility, especially for anyone with much knowledge of the American legal system. As a B-movie courtroom thriller, it works OK. Ruth Hussey is the standout cast member as Eve, acting kind of like a feminist icon here: sly, powerful, dignified. I can't remember if we ever get an explanation as to why Eve didn't testify about the case's background from the beginning (she may have been out of the country), but it feel like a contrived situation. John Carroll, a favorite B-lead of mine, is attractive and slimy as Stephen. Gene Lockhart goes a bit against his grain as the occasionally angry prosecutor. John Howard and Benay Venuta are fine in supporting roles. Most critics find Vera Ralston, as Jane, to be a problem. Ralston's lack of talent made her the butt of jokes in Hollywood, and she is stiff and unnatural here, but I thought that more or less fit the character, a simple country woman who gets into things above her head, and she spends much of the film looking like a deer in headlights. The narrative structure, with two long flashback sequences, is interesting, but the plot itself is bland and developed in a by-the-numbers way. How to wrap this up? Rarely exciting, sometimes straining credibility, but watchable. A must for Ruth Hussey fans. Pictured are Carroll and Hussey. [YouTube]