''My Own True Love'' is a 1949 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Compton Bennett Herbert William Compton Bennett (15 January 1900 – 11 August 1974), better known as Compton Bennett, was an English film director, writer and producer. He is perhaps best known for directing the 1945 film ''The Seventh Veil'' and the 1950 ver ...

and written by Arthur Kober, Josef Mischel and Theodore Strauss. The film stars

Phyllis Calvert Phyllis Hannah Murray-Hill (née Bickle; 18 February 1915 – 8 October 2002), known professionally as Phyllis Calvert, was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1 ...

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchk ...

Wanda Hendrix Dixie Wanda Hendrix (November 3, 1928 – February 1, 1981) was an American film and television actress. Early life Hendrix's father was a logging foreman, and she was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She was performing in a school play in Ja ...

Philip Friend Philip Wyndham Friend (20 February 1915 in Horsham, Sussex – 1 September 1987 in Chiddingfold, Surrey) was a British film and television actor. Career Britain Friend went to Bradfield College where he became interested in acting. He began ...

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. Early life Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoy ...

and

Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later, in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for ...

. The film was released on February 2, 1949, by Paramount Pictures. It is an adaptation of the novel ''Make You a Fine Wife'' by Yolanda Foldes. In postwar

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, a woman is emotionally torn when her fiancée's son returns from the army and they strike up a potential romance.

Synopsis

Shortly after

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

, widowed

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Clive Heath encounters ATS Joan Clews at the barracks where his daughter Sheila, a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

, is stationed. He has been working in the Army film unit, while he discovers that Joan has spent some time imprisoned by the Germans who caught her in France assisting escaping

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

airmen. Encouraged by his daughter they head out on a date, but his elaborate plans for a dinner in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

are cut short by engine failure in his car. The two bond, but problems arise when Clive's son who had been thought dead at the hands of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

is discovered alive in a Malay village, but missing a leg. His old spark is gone and his father is discouraged, particularly when he shows more interest in Joan who his father has become engaged to. She tries to help him, working out that his attraction to her is a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

to the Malaysian wife and child he lost when the Japanese captured the village. Father and son are eventually reconciled.

Cast

as Joan Clews *

as Clive Heath *

as Sheila Heath *

as Michael Heath *

as Geraldine *

as Kittredge *

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre when he was 17 years old ...

as Iverson * Phyllis Morris as Mrs. Peach * Richard Webb as Corporal *

Wilson Benge George Frederick "Wilson" Benge (1 March 1875 – 1 July 1955) was an English actor who mostly featured in American films from the silent days. He appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1955. Along with actors Charles Coleman and Ro ...

as Waiter *

Clifford Brooke Clifford may refer to: People *Clifford (name), an English given name and surname, includes a list of people with that name *William Kingdon Clifford *Baron Clifford *Baron Clifford of Chudleigh *Baron de Clifford *Clifford baronets * Clifford fam ...

as Coffee Stall Proprietor * Peter Coe as Rene * George Douglas as Cutter * Betty Fairfax as Woman in Hut * Jean Fenwick as Corporal *

Leyland Hodgson Leyland Hodgson (5 October 1892 – 16 March 1949), also known as Leland Hodgson, was an English-born American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in London on 5 October 1892, Hodgson entered the theater in 1898. In his early 20s, Ho ...

as Taxi Driver * Robin Hughes as English Officer * T. Arthur Hughes as Doorman * Miriam Jordan as Miss Robinson * Paul Kreibich as Maitre d'Hotel *

Mary MacLaren Mary MacLaren (born Mary Ida MacDonald, also credited Mary McLaren; January 19, 1900 – November 9, 1985) was an American film actress in both the silent and sound eras."Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910 Population", digital cop ...

a s Woman in Hut * Joseph Marr as Proprietor * William Meader as Room Clerk * Marie Osborne as Woman Passenger * David Thursby as Mechanic *

Norma Varden Norma Varden Shackleton (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989), known professionally as Norma Varden, was an English-American actress with a long film career. Life and career Early life Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea captain ...

a Red Cross Nurse * Ernö Verebes as Captain of Waiters * Patrick Whyte as Flight Lieutenant

Production

The film was based on the novel ''Make You a Fine Wife''. Paramount, who had already bought ''

Golden Earrings ''Golden Earrings'' is a 1947 romantic spy film made by Paramount Pictures and starring Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Harry Tugend from a screenplay by Frank Butler, Helen Deutsch and Ab ...

'' by the same author, bought the screen rights in September 1946.

Val Lewton Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a pain ...

was assigned to produce and

Leonore Coffee Lenore Jackson Coffee (July 13, 1896 – July 2, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, and novelist. Biography Lenore was born in San Francisco in 1896 to Andrew Jackson Coffee Jr. and Ella Muffley. She attended Dominican College i ...

given the job of writing the script. In December 1946 Paramount announced they had signed a contract with

— then in Los Angeles making her Hollywood debut with ''Time Out of Mind''. She was to make six films, three over two years then one a year after that, starting with ''Make You a Fine Wife''. In February 1947 Paramount announced the film version would be called ''My Own True Love''. Calvert returned to England to make a film then came back to Hollywood for ''My Own True Love'. In April 1947 Compton Bennett signed to direct. By June Wanda Hendrix and Melvyn Douglas were set as co stars; they were the only Americans in the lead cast. Filming started in July. It was shot entirely in Los Angeles. In September, while the film was still being shot, it was reported that the filmmakers had still not decided who Calvert's character should end up with. "In England we wouldn't worry about it," said Calvert. "It'd be either 'A' or 'U' and make big money." In October 1947 Calvert returned to London, where she appeared in a production of ''Peter Pan''."Phyllis Calvert Off To London for New Stage Job", ''The Washington Post'', October 26, 1947: L2.

References

Bibliography

* Edmund G. Bansak. ''Fearing the Dark: The Val Lewton Career''. McFarland, 2003.

External links

* {{Val Lewton 1949 films Paramount Pictures films American drama films 1949 drama films Films directed by Compton Bennett Films produced by Val Lewton Films scored by Robert Emmett Dolan Films set in London Films based on British novels American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films