''My Forbidden Past'' is a 1951 American

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

directed by

Robert Stevenson Robert, Rob, or Bob Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish writer ("Treasure Island"), grandson of lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenso ...

and starring

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

and

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

. Adapted by Leopold Atlas from Polan Banks' novel ''Carriage Entrance''.

Plot

The events of the film take place in the 1890s in New Orleans. Dr. Mark Lucas (

) wrongly believes Barbara Beaurevel (

) refused him and betrayed him after their previously planned elopement. Thus Mark returns from South America accompanied by Corinne (

Janis Carter Janis Carter (born Janis Elinore Dremann, October 10, 1913 – July 30, 1994) was an American stage and film actress who performed throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s. During the mid-1950s, she began working regularly on television, co-ho ...

), a woman he married for her beauty but not for love, due to this still lingering grudge against Barbara. She feels disappointed on meeting Corinne, yet she's determined to win him back. Barbara, already having inherited a large sum from her grandmother of ill social repute, bribes her cousin Paul (

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in 1929 as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy '' Ninotchka'' ( ...

) into seducing Corinne, thereby breaking up the marriage. Unluckily, this cold-blooded plan ends in Corinne's accidental death and Mark finding himself under strong suspicion of murder. In the end, Barbara, realizing her insidious act at the trial, empathetically confesses everything, thereby once again becoming a woman worthy of love but also losing the local gentry's consideration.

Cast

Robert Mitchum in My Forbidden Past trailer

as Dr. Mark Lucas Ava Gardner in My Forbidden Past trailer

as Barbara Beaurevel Melvyn Douglas in My Forbidden Past trailer

as Paul Beaurevel Lucile Watson in My Forbidden Past trailer

Lucile Watson Lucile Watson (May 27, 1879 – June 24, 1962) was a Canadian actress, long based in the United States. She was "famous for her roles of formidable dowagers." Early years Watson was born in Quebec and raised in Ottawa, the daughter of an offi ...

as Aunt Eula Beaurevel Janis Carter in My Forbidden Past trailer

as Corinne Lucas *

Gordon Oliver Gordon Oliver (April 27, 1910 – January 26, 1995) was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in more than 40 films and television shows between 1933 and 1972. Biography Oliver began working in films in 1936, eventually working ...

as Clay Duchesne *

Basil Ruysdael Basil Spaulding Millspaugh (July 24, 1878 – October 10, 1960), known as Basil Ruysdael, was an American actor and opera singer. Early life Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, as Basil Spaulding Millspaugh, Ruysdael was the son of Dr and Mrs Char ...

as Dean Cazzley *

Clarence Muse Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a major studio film, 1929's '' Hearts in Dixie''. ...

as Pompey *

Walter Kingsford Walter Kingsford (born Walter Pearce; 20 September 1881 – 7 February 1958) was an English stage, film, and television actor. Early years Kingsford was born in Redhill, Surrey, England. Career Kingsford began his acting career on the L ...

as Coroner * Jack Briggs as Cousin Philippe * Will Wright as Luther Toplady

Production

The film was to star

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937), '' Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), '' They Drive by Night'' (1940), '' ...

. 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

. 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 Mitchum is a brand of antiperspirant-deodorant, owned by US personal care company Revlon. It is widely known for introducing the first commercially successful sweat blocking antiperspirant and its marketing tagline, "So effective you can skip a ...

as a co star.

Reception

The film recorded a loss of $700,000.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p256.

Theatrical run

According to

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

, his first film, the documentary

Day of the Fight ''Day of the Fight'' is a 1951 American short-subject documentary film financed and directed by Stanley Kubrick, who based this black-and-white motion picture on a photo feature he shot two years earlier for '' Look'' magazine. Synopsis ''Day ...

, played alongside, My Forbidden Past.Stanley Kubrick Interview (27th November 1966), Timecode: 16:20.

References

External links

* * * 1951 films American historical romance films American romantic drama 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 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language historical romance films English-language romantic drama films {{romantic-drama-film-stub