Mãe Solteira

A gripping drama of motherhood when complications without end set in. Sally has a relationship with an irresistible pianist, he actually plays quite well, but he is too occupied with his work and problems to be able to provide Sally with any proper support. He gets away, and Sally finds herself in the hands of a garage worker with a passion for toy railways. When she is pregnant from her former relationship, she runs away and ends up in a home for unwed mothers.

The film is mostly remarkable for being Ida Lupino's debut as a director, and at the time the subject was etremely sensitive and taboo and could not be discussed openly. This taboo situation has in an interesting way marked the film like in a haze of mystery, and you get insights in the lives of unwed mothers and their tough luck that shine with fascinating intimacy. This is a women's film about women made by a woman, and as such it is precious, to say the least.

Sally Forrest makes a tremendous performance, she is just a common woman, this part would have been ideal for Susan Hayward, and Sally actually reminds of her, but she is practically as good as Susan, with her weakness, her fits, her tensions and uncontrollable impulses, it's all perfectly real. The music is also quite good, and the piano scenes touch on great romanticism. It's a minor film, but the smallest jewels can sometimes be the most precious ones.

Ida Lupino was a very gifted actress, but unlike the vast majority of actresses in the Hollywood jungle, she was able to go toe to toe with any man for both direction and production. She was a wily, knowledgable veteran of film and film production, and had nothing but successes behind the camera (which, quite frankly, she had grown accustomed to with successes in front of it as well). The lead actress Sally Forest does an admirable job with an emotionally difficult role. The opportunities for Lupino to get preachy in this film were numerous, yet her careful hand kept an even keel on the flow of the film. One has to decide these issues for themselves. Is abortion right or wrong? Is taking a child to term right or wrong? Is giving up a child right or wrong? The answer is always the same. No one can say if any of these things are right or wrong; only the woman involved can make that decision. It is easy to spout platitudes when you do not have to live with them yourself. A very good film with sobering content.

Sally Forrest's mother harps on her constantly, so when she develops a crush on piano player Leo Penn, she follows him to the big city. Sally gets a job at an all-service gas station run by Keefe Brasselle. He likes her a lot, but it isn't until Penn blows town, saying no promises had been made, that Sally gives Brasselle a chance. She's happy for the first time, but discovers she is pregnant by Penn.

It's a powerful and moving film about unwed mothers, with a definite message to offer, and Miss Forrest gives a fine performance as the young girl trapped in a situation she does not know how to deal with. All the situations in which she is happy hark back to carefree childhood: at an amusement park, riding the merry-go-round, or playing with Brasselle's immense model train layout. It is the adult world which she is incapable of dealing with.

It was co-written, co-produced and co-directed (uncredited) by Ida Lupino, her first time wielding the megaphone. Director Elmer Clifton's career had been in free fall for a quarter of a century. One of D.W. Griffith's acolytes, he was the first director to cast Clara Bow in a major role. A couple of years later, his leading lady on a film for Fox was injured on set and, his career left him working for Poverty Row producers. Of course, this film was intended for that market, but with a good script and sympathetic directors.... it's hard to tell who directed what at this distance, after Clifton had a heart attack, and Miss Lupino took over the uncredited directing. I think it highly likely that Miss Forrest's performance was aided immeasurably by Miss Lupino, but it lacks the semi-stylized notes that her other movies of this period showed.

In any case, the movie, as it exists, is a fine one. Perhaps it is enough to admit that, note that film is less an individual auteur's work and more a highly involved collaboration. The finished result allowed Clifton's career to end well -- although others of his films were released later, this is the last he worked on -- an provided Miss Lupino the credentials to make some entertaining and didactic movies.

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

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.