Abandoned

This excellent thriller deals with the sale of stolen babies by baby broker racketeers. It is thus more relevant to today, when this problem is much more widespread, than it was in 1949. The plot is sound, the script first rate, and the acting is extremely good. It is interesting to see an early Jeff Chandler performance, in a supporting role, before his hair went prematurely white, and when he was so thin he looked like he needed a good meal. There is some crackling dialogue: 'I couldn't sleep, so I took my gun for a walk,' and 'The idea of you going straight is like a vulture becoming a vegetarian.' Raymond Burr, to whom the latter remark is addressed, is a heavy of suitably sour disposition. Dennis O'Keefe is an excellent clean-cut B hero, and Gale Storm is a rather sombre and expressionless 'good girl' from a small town who has come to the wicked city in search of her murdered sister and her stolen baby; she is convincing, though unexciting. A sinister sub-plot about the father of the two sisters making his daughter get rid of her illegitimate baby seems to have been cut because it was too shocking, but enough of it survives to show that it was clearly once there. Maybe the producers thought they had enough of a social message without getting that grim and frightening their audiences further. The sale of stolen babies was an issue that needed raising, and it was thoroughly portrayed in this film well ahead of its time. The director, Joseph Newman, did an excellent job, and at one point showed off by cutting from a match being struck by one character to a lit match being used by another character. Every thriller director is entitled to at least one arty moment, especially if it hypes the pace of the action, though this was probably in the script by Irwin Gielgud. Probably the few good one-liners constituted the 'extra dialogue' by William Bowers.

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 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.

A gal goes searching for her missing sister and uncovers an illegal baby trade ring. This is unique subject matter for noir, at least I can't recall having seen it before. The film is slightly too light-hearted in tone for the topic, but it's otherwise a pretty good flick. The dialogue is snappy and witty, the story unfolds at a good clip, and the cinematography is quite strong, especially during the more suspenseful scenes. Dennis O'Keefe isn't the most compelling leading man but he has a good stack of noir credits (Raw Deal, T-Men, Woman on the Run) and a sharp line delivery. This is my first experience with Gale Storm, who didn't really impress me but was definitely at least okay. Raymond Burr makes a memorable appearance as the shady private detective. And who do you get when you need someone to beat up Burr? The even more menacing Mike Mazurki, naturally. The score is quite good, too. Unfortunately there's some incredibly unnecessary narration to point out the blatantly obvious, but it's a minor flaw in a solid film.

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.