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Kidnapping

Original title: Abandoned
  • 1949
  • Approved
  • 1h 19m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
Dennis O'Keefe and Gale Storm in Kidnapping (1949)
Film NoirCrimeDrama

Newspaperman helps girl find her sister's illegitimate baby, gets mixed up in baby-adoption racket. Unwed mothers are forced to sell their babies for adoption.Newspaperman helps girl find her sister's illegitimate baby, gets mixed up in baby-adoption racket. Unwed mothers are forced to sell their babies for adoption.Newspaperman helps girl find her sister's illegitimate baby, gets mixed up in baby-adoption racket. Unwed mothers are forced to sell their babies for adoption.

  • Director
    • Joseph M. Newman
  • Writers
    • Irwin Gielgud
    • William Bowers
  • Stars
    • Dennis O'Keefe
    • Gale Storm
    • Jeff Chandler
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    1.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joseph M. Newman
    • Writers
      • Irwin Gielgud
      • William Bowers
    • Stars
      • Dennis O'Keefe
      • Gale Storm
      • Jeff Chandler
    • 26User reviews
    • 29Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos14

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    Top cast42

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    Dennis O'Keefe
    Dennis O'Keefe
    • Mark Sitko
    Gale Storm
    Gale Storm
    • Paula Considine
    Jeff Chandler
    Jeff Chandler
    • Chief McRae
    Meg Randall
    Meg Randall
    • Dottie Jensen
    Raymond Burr
    Raymond Burr
    • Kerric
    Marjorie Rambeau
    Marjorie Rambeau
    • Mrs. Donner
    Jeanette Nolan
    Jeanette Nolan
    • Major Ross
    Mike Mazurki
    Mike Mazurki
    • Hoppe
    Will Kuluva
    Will Kuluva
    • 'Little Guy' DeCola
    David Clarke
    David Clarke
    • Harry
    William Frambes
    • Scoop
    • (as William Page)
    Sid Tomack
    Sid Tomack
    • Mr. Humes
    Perc Launders
    • Dowd
    Steve Darrell
    Steve Darrell
    • Brenn
    Clifton Young
    Clifton Young
    • Eddie
    Ruth Sanderson
    • Mrs. Spence
    Frank Cady
    Frank Cady
    • Nolan
    • (uncredited)
    Marcella Cisney
    • Nurse at Meeting
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Joseph M. Newman
    • Writers
      • Irwin Gielgud
      • William Bowers
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews26

    6.71.1K
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    Featured reviews

    8MartinTeller

    Abandoned (1949)

    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.
    8bmacv

    Quick and dirty crawl through babies-for-sale racket

    In Abandoned's opening shot, that iconic edifice, the Los Angeles City Hall, looms menacingly into the night sky. From then on, it's a fast, rough ride through a brutal baby-adoption racket. Gale Storm is best remembered (if at all) as TV's My Little Margie, but she co-starred in a few noirs like Underworld Story and Between Midnight and Dawn; Abandoned is the best of them. She's come to town hunting for her vanished sister, knowing only that there's an out-of-wedlock baby girl involved. Storm links up with Dennis O'Keefe, a newspaper man, and Raymond Burr, a private detective supposedly hired by the missing girl's father back east (an enigmatic specter hanging over the story: Storm confides that her sister left home because "he wouldn't leave us alone"). Turns out that Sis was murdered for developing maternal instincts after having giving the baby up. The web of baby-nappers includes grandmotherly but lethal Marjorie Rambeau, some even less savory characters behind her, and, of course, Burr. Abandoned, despite its Hollywood-"happy" finish, stands as one of the grittier offerings in the noir cycle (Burr's being tortured with matches is one especially painful speck of grit).
    9clanciai

    Getting paid for selling off unwanted children and killing their mothers

    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.
    6bkoganbing

    The Baby Racket

    By sheer luck reporter Dennis O'Keefe runs into Gale Storm in town looking for her sister and a baby she gave birth to. Sadly they find her in the morgue, but no trace of the infant. What O'Keefe does notice is a sleazy private eye played by Raymond Burr shadowing Storm.

    That's the start of Abandoned a good noir film about a baby adoption racket where the queenpin is society matron Marjorie Rambeau. In a cast of some excellent character players she tops the list. Had this been an A and not a B film Rambeau might have been in Oscar contention, she's that good and that scary.

    As for Burr he's really rather stupid and out of his league with Rambeau and her gang. It costs him big time.

    Up and coming Jeff Chandler is 3rd billed playing the police chief and friend of O'Keefe. As he did in a few films for Universal Chandler also narrates. Will Kulava and Mike Mazurki play a pair of Rambeau's goons , Meg Randall plays a pregnant border at Rambeau's house and Jeanette Nolan is a socially conscious Salvation Army major.

    A good B film from Universal which should be better known.
    8adrianovasconcelos

    Documentary style B film noir about baby racket

    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.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The Pyramid Clubs mentioned had sprung to prominence the year this film was released, first in California and then across the nation. Club members joined for $1.00 with the promise of making $2000.00 in a relatively short time. The notion was the basis for what became Multi Level Marketing. The fad had a resurgence several times in the 20th century and has come to be referred to as a pyramid scheme.
    • Goofs
      Nighttime scenes are filmed using a filter to make the scene appear to be night. But night skies often alternate between being light and dark, while distant objects are often obvious or are obscured by the darkness. But the night sky is always black and distant objects fade to nothing in the dark.
    • Quotes

      Kerric: [to Mrs. Donner] I was just thinking how nice life used to be when I stuck to blackmail and petty larceny.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Love Is a Roller Coaster: Woman on the Run Revisited (2016)

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    FAQ14

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 22, 1949 (Mexico)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Abandoned
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles City Hall - 200 North Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal International Pictures (UI)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 19m(79 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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