Abandoned

Director Joe Newman, about whom I know very little, does a fine job with ABANDONED, extracting excellent performances from male lead Dennis O'Keefe as a reporter who instantly falls in love with Gale Storm, who is looking for her missing sister; dirty gumshoe Raymond Burr, probably the pick of the bunch; and chief villainess Marjorie Rambeau. For a B, this picture boasts an above average cast that includes police boss Jeff Chandler, heavy Mike Mazurki and top male baddy Will Kuluva.

Solid script resting on generally credible and crisp dialogue, attention to detail, and well shot action sequences.

Superb cinematography from William Daniels. Definitely warrants watching.

A young woman comes to town searching for her sister, who has been lost for some time. They find her at the morgue. Cause of death seems to have been suicide by gassing herself to death in a car. The sister refuses to believe and accept that. Fortunately there is a reporter at hand (Dennis O'Keefe) and they start digging. It proves the deceased sister Mary had a child without a father, caused it to be adopted, then wanted the child back, and was killed for it. There the story starts.

It's a great film with brilliant cinematography and a dialogue for Hollywood to be proud of, there were many films of Hollywood produced like this with the same extremely poignant dialogue, and they are all enjoyable forever. This is one of them and a perfect example as good as Henry Hathaway's best, in the same kind of documentary style, telling a story directly out of reality, without defining the location, like a page out of the "naked city". Dennis O'Keefe was never better, and Jeff Chandler is always more than reliable. Raymond Burr as the ominous crook turning soft and paying for it adds to the brilliance, while perhaps the cinematography gets the first prize.

If you ask a dozen film experts about what constitutes a movie that is 'film noir', you will likely get a dozen different answers. But a couple things will be constant...the toughness of the plot, the violence of the screenplay and the terrific camerawork and shadows. In this sense, clearly, "Abandoned" would qualify as Noir.

When the film begins, Mark, a nosey reporter (Dennis O'Keefe) notices that a lady is being followed. It seems that a very shady private dick (Raymond Burr) is following Paula (Gale Storm) and Mark intervenes. After chasing away the evil detective, Mark learns from Paula that she's in town looking for her sister...who has been missing for some time. The trail, it turns out, leads to a baby selling racket...and one which apparently killed this sister and stole her baby! Can the pair manage to get a lead on who is behind all this?

I loved the camerawork...particularly in the early portions of the film. The angles and shadows are great...and very moody. I also loved the incredibly violent and gritty ending where evil clearly is punished big time! Overall, a well written and acted film that never is dull and is well worth your time.

A young woman arrives in an unnamed town in search of her missing sister, whom she discovers in the morgue registered as a "Jane Doe" and an evident suicide. An investigative reporter befriends her, and together, while they seek the sister's illegitimate child, the pair uncover an illegal baby brokering ring. A taut, well-paced mystery, "Abandoned" features a voice-over reminiscent of television's "Dragnet" and superb black-and-white cinematography by William H. Daniels. Daniels wraps characters in deep shadows, creates striped abstracts from starkly-lit stairways, and cubic patterns that penetrate deep inky corridors. While Irwin Gielgud's screenplay holds attention and builds in suspense, Daniels's captivating images often compete with the plot for attention.

Gale Storm, better known for her comedic talents on early television shows, plays Paula Considine, the sister in search; unfortunately, the role is generic and undemanding, and Storm makes little impression. However, Dennis O'Keefe as Mark Sitko, the aggressive reporter, hits the right notes as a tough relentless investigator. Often enshrouded in William H. Daniel's shadows, burly Raymond Burr is memorable as Kerric, a corrupt private eye, whose only loyalty is to himself. A third-billed Jeff Chandler is effective as the district attorney, and Marjorie Rambeau is appropriately sinister as the two-faced ringleader.

Despite an obviously low budget, "Abandoned" benefits from location filming, which adds a documentary touch, enhanced by narration that implies some truth to the story. A fine cast of "B" players, memorable photography, and steady direction by Joe Newman, a veteran of modestly budgeted second features, together produced an entertaining, engaging film noir that is well worth catching.

I had my doubts about bubbly ingénue Gale Storm (Paula) starring in a crime drama. But she's actually well cast and manages an appropriately restrained performance. Here she's the sister of a dead girl who's left a baby under mysterious circumstances. So Paula's investigating with help from brash newsman Sitko (O'Keefe). What they uncover is a ruthless ring that sells newborns and gets rid of mothers who complain.

Like many others of its time, the movie makes good use of LA locations, along with some effective noirish touches. However, these touches are not developed into a prevailing atmosphere, despite the presence of noir icon Raymond Burr (Kerric). Actually, it's hard to recognize Burr since he's either lurking in the shadows or peeking around corners. In my book, the best scene is when Kerric tangles with that other movie heavyweight Mike Mazurki (Hoppe). It's like King Kong taking on Godzilla. Also, the unexpected plot wrinkle with Kerric is a good one.

But my money's on Marjorie Rambeau (Donner). She's scarier than anyone else in a movie loaded with baddies. Too bad she doesn't have a face-off scene with that other formidable actress, Jeanette Nolan (Major Ross). Too bad also, that O'Keefe has drifted into obscurity. He was quite a good actor, at home in either comedy (Up in Mabel's Room {1945}) or drama. Here he's typically persuasive as an aggressive newshound.

All in all, the movie's a better than average crime drama, with a good cast, a crisp narrative, and a suspenseful climax. It's second-tier Universal coming up with better results than usual.