No Man of Her Own (1950)

(On Cable TV, May 2022) Preposterousness looms large over the plot of No Man of Her Own, as a pregnant woman kicked out of her relationship finds herself in a train crash and takes on the identity of the woman (also pregnant) who died next to her. Welcomed in a new rich family willing to accept her as their new daughter-in-law from their also-deceased son, life suddenly looks up for our protagonist… until her no-good ex-boyfriend comes back with blackmail and evil intentions on the family fortune. Then there’s the brother-in-law who seems to understand what’s going on, while being drawn to her. It’s a lot of contrivances, and there’s little doubt that none of it would work as well had it not been for having Barbara Stanwyck in the lead role. She is far more credible than what’s going on, and that credibility eventually rubs off on the film. The domestic drama of the film’s first half eventually turns to true film noir, so anyone wondering why the film is often included in noir filmographies will have a bit of suspense figuring out when that switch happens. There’s also a technically interesting train crash sequence, especially how suddenly it completely upends the plot of the picture. None of this makes No Man of Her Own a great movie, but it certainly makes it a mildly interesting one, with enough twists, quirks and turns to keep viewers involved.