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Depending on how old you are, you will understand why this film is very unusual and a taboo subject for the year 1949 in which it was made. Ida Lupino, although not taking credit, basically directed this film about an unhappy girl who gets mixed up with a loser who gets her pregnant and then leaves her hanging. Since this isn't a taboo subject today in society's eyes, a lot of people will probably miss the whole point of the film. Lupino was a genius--an accomplished actress, a producer, writer and screenwriter and director. She made this film, I believe to bring attention to all sides of the story about an unwed mother not knowing what to do. In my book I rate this film highly.

Ida Lupino after a successful career as actress, settles work behind the cameras, even uncredited as director it was her first film debut as producer and director as well, she was one of the first women that took over a field strictly mastered by men only, she made several thematic movies touching in neuralgic subject as "Outrage" "The Bigamist" and "Not Wanted", if today it's quite usually on the late forties was a taboo, be an unmarried mother in those time was a sentence of death for women and upcoming marriage, this small docudrama portraits this matter sharply, narrating a moving story of grow up girl around eighteen Sally Kelton (Sally Forrest) that caught in love by a restless pianist Steve Ryan (Leo Penn), after a couple months of affair, he disappear to another town, Sally follows him, soon she understood that Steve hasn't any feeling over her, too late, meanwhile she receives a fresh approach of courtship of a fine guy Drew Baxter (Keefe Brasselle), haplessly she already was pregnancy of Steve that no longer stays around, Karen hasn't no money to afford himself on those hard days, the ill-fated girl there no choice and is admitted at those charity hospital allowed for those spurned girl, Karen having a little boy, then came up the defining moment , keep with a child to raise in harsh conditions or release him to adopting process, a movie that blow the whistle and berate about the social rejection over the unmarried women, fine subject lifts by the great Ida Lupino!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

"Not Wanted" stands out not only for its bold subject matter at the time but also as the unofficial directorial debut of Ida Lupino. Initially helmed by Elmer Clifton, Lupino took over the project just three days into shooting after Clifton suffered a heart attack. Even though she allowed Clifton to retain credit, Lupino exhibited exceptional narrative control, foreshadowing her subsequent influence as a director in Hollywood.

The film follows the story of Sally Kelton (played by Sally Forrest), a 19-year-old waitress caught between the social taboos of her era and her own desires. Sally falls for Steve Ryan (Leo Penn), a charismatic and ambitious pianist. After a brief night together, Steve leaves town, and Sally follows, rejecting the affections of a wounded war veteran (Keefe Brasselle), who represents a more stable, conventional choice. When Sally discovers she's pregnant, she faces internal and external conflicts that highlight the social constraints on women in the 1940s.

One of Lupino's greatest achievements is her ability to tackle issues like unwanted motherhood, social guilt, and the limited choices available to women with a sensitivity and realism unusual for the time. Instead of resorting to conventional melodrama, Lupino adopts a near-documentary approach, using tender, intimate close-ups to capture Sally's vulnerability and impractical passion. One of the film's most memorable sequences takes place in a hospital where Sally's hallucination becomes a low-budget masterpiece of expressionism, reflecting her confusion and distress.

Sally's transition from a small town to the big city symbolizes her struggle to break free from social restrictions and the expectations of her former life. However, this pursuit of freedom also exposes her to society's harsh judgments and stigma against women who challenge established norms.

"Not Wanted" is also notable for its brisk pacing and sensitive direction of actors, who bring nuance and humanity to their roles. Sally Forrest's performance is particularly moving, conveying her character's internal struggle with an authenticity that elevates the material.

The Wrong Rut (1949)

What a bizarre movie with a really strong female lead doing her best with an overly emotional part. The title alone is a goofy thing, meant to preach a little to the poor youth of the country who get pregnant out of "wedlock." The other title, "Not Wanted," has far more meaning and none of the insouciance.

There are two surprises to this tale of a young woman frustrated at home, meeting a man (a piano player, no surprise) and getting knocked up. The first is the leading female, Sally Forest, who has to run through a huge range of emotional situations, from giddy to superficial to terrified to worn out to enamored to simply being a heartbroken would-be mother. This is her first credited role in a movie, and she did appear in a number of decent early 1950s films (including one directed by Ida Lupino) before switching to t.v. (I have seen only "Mystery Street" which was quite good.)

The other surprise might a reason to either watch this film or run far and fast. It's a fifteen minute insert in badly faded (but once vivid) color of a C-section birth. It's clearly a medical short inserted, not relating to the plot, and it cuts in badly with in intertitle card and then is as gruesome as possible. Then it flips back to the nicely filmed black and white narrative, which is a huge relief. I found the documentary aspects interesting on some level, but was so put off by the apparent shock tactics of it I got a little miffed. The idea, it seemed to me, was to shock the young women in the audience, so they wouldn't dare get pregnant, since having a baby was really a cold, violent, bloody affair.

Of course, this has nothing to do with much here. We don't even know if Forest's character has a caesarian (we assume so, of course), and what about women in marriages who want their babies who have to have a caesarian for health reasons? Furthermore, why go along with the horrors of being pregnant at all, in this way? Did anyone mention condoms? It's just a crude painful propaganda piece, on some level.

And yet most of it is a pretty well made mini-drama, an hour long (minus the color insert), and quite well filmed and edited. You might enjoy it, but be forewarned.

This was the first of Ida Lupino's magnificent efforts to use the power of the screen to tackle desperately important but socially taboo social issues between 1949 and 1953. Although Elmer Clifton is credited as director, he had a heart attack during production, and most of the film was directed by Ida Lupino herself, who also produced and co-wrote this powerful drama. It was her first directorial effort, was completely successful, and launched her brilliant directing career. The 'social films' which she made during this period dealt with unwed mothers (a totally taboo issue at that time), rape, physically handicapped people, and even the extraordinary subject of bigamy ('The Bigamist', 1953). Ida Lupino pulled no punches, she was right in there, and got straight to the point, with the most overwhelming scenes of intense drama. The choice of Sally Forrest for the lead in this film about an unwed mother was perfect. The feckless fellow she falls in love with is played by Leo Penn, father of Sean Penn, and the likeness of father and son is clear, but then so is the type of character played! Leo Penn is very good, and plays the piano extraordinarily well in the film, where he is an emotionally disturbed and embittered failed pianist (but Sally Forrest does not know that, as she is only 19 and thinks he is Vladimir Ashkenazy.) Keefe Brasselle is superb in the touching role of the man who loves Sally despite all, the 'really nice guy', from whom she must run away because she is 'fallen'. Younger people today may find all of this incomprehensible, but that shows how quickly everyone forgets. If we think the Muslims are strange for killing their daughters for falling in love, try 1950s America. It was only better in that they didn't actually kill them, they merely disowned them and left them on the streets. Lest we think we are morally superior, we should remember that Ida Lupino did not make her films for their shock value. She was no sensationalist. She was addressing serious social wrongs being done by the majority of the population to unfortunates who strayed, and she took her social compassion far enough actually to make a film about a perfectly nice man who merely happened to have two wives. Shocking? Well, how about the hypocrisy then: in Utah there are admitted to be thousands of practising polygamists. Where's the shock? If only Ida Lupino were with us now, what would she be showing us about ourselves? She was a heroic figure, and this film was merely the first of a series of dramas that will tear your heart out, if you have one.