... and I remember it as a good little soaper. It used to play on AMC prior to their format change in 2002, as did all of the old Paramounts and Universals.
The other reviews don't capture the essence of what is going on in this film. I am just going to warn you upfront that this review spoils this film completely. Lizabeth Scott plays Jane Langley, a career girl, seemingly destined for what used to be called spinsterhood, which seems unbelievable given her elegant good looks and demeanor. Diana Lynn is Nancy Langley, the rather grabby younger sister. Their mother died in childbirth and Jane raised Nancy, who ends up marrying Bill Prentice (Robert Cummings), a secret love of Jane, then Nancy almost immediately gets pregnant and has a baby girl, whose safety she is hysterical about. This puzzles Jane until she has a talk with the physician that treated their mother during her final illness and has been a friend to her all through the ensuing years. Jane learns, through the most euphemistic of medical language - all that was possible at this time in cinema history - that both she and her sister have inherited their mother's tendency for difficult pregnancies, except back in 1950 this particular disease meant death for mom shortly after birth.
Jane's case is severe - thus the doctor always encouraged Jane to work on her career and not look to marriage. By "severe" he means that even one birth would cause Jane certain death. With birth control being what it was - or wasn't - in 1950, she should never take a chance. As for Jane waiting until she was in her mid to late 20s to have such a talk that so deeply effected the understanding of the lifestyle choices that were encouraged in her case, just suspend your beliefs and go with it. Nancy however, is not so severely effected, the good doc believes she could have one healthy pregnancy and no more, thus Nancy is frantic about the safety of the only child to which she could ever give birth. So now Jane understands Nancy's protective attitude.
As fate would have, Jane accidentally kills Nancy's child in an automobile accident. Nancy somewhat loses her mind in her grief, and Bill and Nancy end up divorcing. Jane concocts a plan to restore her sister to her sanity and to her husband.
Jane meets Bill in Mexico in a bar, a few dances, a few drinks, a few love songs on the juke box and it's off for a marriage license ( I didn't remember it ever being this easy girls did you?). With no birth control there is the inevitable deadly pregnancy. Remember now, Bill knows nothing about any of these medical problems. Thus Jane conveniently dies after giving birth to another baby girl, also fathered by Bill, and this brings Nancy and Bill back together to care for the now motherless child. Thus Jane's debt is "paid in full", although her debt was not by malice in the first place.
Although a real soaper I have fondly remembered this film for the twenty years since I have seen it. I do wish Paramount would restore it - maybe they already have. I thought Miss Scott gave a fine performance in this one. Funny, I was just thinking about it today after not having seen it for years, and came home and found Lizabeth Scott had just died. This would be great as part of a tribute to an actress seldom seen because she spent so much of her time at Paramount which doesn't seem to care about its classic films that much.
The reason I am basically telling you everything I can remember is because the chance of you ever seeing it is probably remote. Forgive me if I have gotten some of the details wrong since I am working with memories that are twenty years old.
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