The Guilt of Janet Ames

I'm surprised THE GUILT OF JANET AMES is not better known; I find it a very affecting film, even if the fey whimsy is a little overdone in the dream sequences. From its opening moments the movie has a palpable post-war atmosphere, a melancholy feel that must have resonated with audiences at the time, many of whom had suffered grief and loss due to the war. The movie also demonstrates the increasing prominence of psychoanalysis in American culture at that time. I will not rehash the plot in detail here, since other reviewers have already done so. Suffice to say that this is the story of two people scarred by the war and how they help each other to heal. It is a story about forgiveness, new beginnings and the possibility of new love blossoming from the ashes of death. The film rides on the great talents of Rosalind Russell and Melvyn Douglas, two of classic Hollywood's finest actors. Russell, so well known as a comedienne, excels in the dramatic psychological role of the suffering war widow Janet Ames, and Douglas is imposingly brilliant as the depressed alcoholic journalist Smithfield Cobb. Look out for a young Sid Caesar portraying a stand-up comedian (not too much of a stretch there!) and Hugh Beaumont (Beaver's dad on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER) as another one of the war comrades whom Janet visits in a dream sequence.

A surprising little gem of a movie. Articulate dialog, a realistic view of the impact of war, the best performance I have seen from Melvyn Douglas, good (and awfully tough) role filled by Roz Russell. Some of the fantasy went a bit too far and I'd love to know why one of the five surviving soldiers was not shown (his wife was). I always wondered about the buddies I lost and whether I've been a good representative for their sacrifice. This show was creative and touching, some hints of film noir and an occasional light moment. I've seen over 4,000 films, probably two-thirds of which I cannot remember even with prompting. This one stands out for being different and effective. Too few like this.

The other IMDb reviews, positive and negative, make valid points about the virtues and flaws of this obscure 1947 film. It grabbed my interest immediately in the title sequence. Russell and Douglas, almost always cast up to then in comedies(romantic or otherwise),in a dramatic film. (Easy to know it was a drama from the title and from the title music.)

And the music, all through the film--gorgeous, moving, and like no 1940's score I've ever heard. By George Dunning, it was straight out of the mid to late 1950's. A minor revelation to me, a film soundtrack buff.

Back to the fascinating cast: Betsy Blair (Gene Kelly's surprisingly wafe-like wife, who I'd only seen in "Marty"), Nina Foch (a talented, skilled "serious" actress, who made too few films), Sid Caesar (before his genius TV comic career).

Once into the film,I was grabbed by Melvyn Douglas's masterfully realistic and believable performance, not a hint of acting with a big A.

Can't say the same for Russell--she hit the right emotional notes, but always seemed to be ACTING.

One more grabber was the extended, purposely and artfully artificial trance sequences, playing out the heroine's mind. Very effective though obviously done on a low budget.

As of this writing, in Nov. 2017, the film is uploaded on YouTube in murky but watchable 15 minute segments. Definitely worth a watch.

Rosalind Russell faces "The Guilt of Janet Ames" in this 1947 film also starring Melvin Douglas, Sid Caesar, Betsy Blair and Nina Foch. After the war, many, many films concerning psychiatry, mental illness, the mind, nerve disorders, etc. were released. Obviously readjustment and mental trauma were problems faced by many returning soldiers, and loss had to be coped with in many families. So it's no surprise that psychology became a huge subject.

Rosalind Russell plays a war widow whose husband threw himself on a grenade and saved five of his platoon. Angry and bitter, she has the names of the men, and sets out to meet each one to see if any of them were worth her husband sacrificing his life. En route to see one of them, she is hit by a car and has an hysterical paralysis so that she is confined to a wheelchair. One of the names on her list is recognized as that of a reporter, Smitty (Douglas), and he goes to the hospital to identify her. Though he has lost his job, is an alcoholic and due to leave for Chicago soon, he does a mental exercise with Janet that is inspired by the story of Peter Ibbetson. Ibbetson was an imprisoned man in a DuMaurier novel who was able through his imagination to leave the prison and reunite in dreams with his true love. Janet has to imagine each man, what he's like and what problems he's facing in order to gain some understanding of him. One man has a child, another man is married and he and his wife dream of building a house, another does work in the desert, one is a bouncer and another is a stand-up comic.

Once she is through with this exercise, Janet is able to admit some demons she has been carrying with her since her husband's death. Then it's Smitty's turn to face some facts.

Thanks to the acting of Russell and Douglas, "The Guilt of Janet Ames" is truly elevated. Russell looks beautiful, and her acting is wonderful. At first she's hard and angry (the word neurotic is thrown around a lot), but gradually, her character softens. Douglas gets to do more than be the light, debonair leading man here, and as he proved later in his career, he is more than up to it.

The message is that you can't live in the past and put yourself through the torture of what you did or didn't do, and it's an effective one that probably has as much resonance now as it did in 1947. There's still a war on.

This movie started with such promise...then....yuck! It begins with a wonderful premise. Rosalind Russell plays a woman who is seeking out five men that lived due to her husband's sacrifice during WWII. He died so these five men might live. However, what exactly she plans on doing when she sees all of them is unknown, as she is hit by a vehicle while crossing the street to see the first man! An alcoholic news reporter (Melvyn Douglas) learns about this accident. However, his decision to see the injured lady is because he was one of the five names on her list--as he'd been saved by her husband. So far...a wonderful premise.

When Douglas enters the hospital, the film starts to go downhill. First, the doctor firmly declares that Russell is able to walk--even though she insists she can't. This is odd, as she seems to have just been brought in to the hospital after the accident--and yet the nasty doctor yells at her and tells her she is okay! This might have made sense if she'd been in the hospital a few days--plus despite being hit by a car, she seems to have no injuries!! But, it gets worse, as with Douglas' help and a few pills, Russell starts to have out of the body experiences where she magically meets the families of the five men who were saved--and sees how their lives impacted the lives about them. Seeing the extended impact of the man's sacrifice is a nice idea--but doing an out of the body traveling gimmick really was dumb. It came off as preachy...very, very preachy.

Now I am NOT insensitive to the sacrifices made by people in war. And, I do appreciate the other reviewer, as the film was very personally touching to them. But it just came off as too weird, too contrived and silly--when, using the same basic story idea, it could have been wonderful. Too bad...I think the film makers' intentions were good--but the script was just strange and, at times, a bit ridiculous.