Penniless woman, pregnant and dumped by her rotten boyfriend, survives a train wreck and is mistaken for another expectant mother on-board, one who perished while on her way to meet her wealthy in-laws for the first time. Melodramatic adaptation of "I Married a Dead Man" by Cornell Woolrich (published under a pseudonym) includes a meaty central role for an actress, yet Barbara Stanwyck wasn't an appropriate choice to play it. Stanwyck, of course, ranks as one of the greatest actresses in cinema, however she's not convincing begging at a man's door for a hand-out (she naturally projects the strength and intelligence of a woman who can take care of herself). The star also looks uncomfortable carting a (rather large) infant up and down the stairs in her arms, playing the teary-eyed good girl around her 'relatives.' With a softer, more vulnerable actress in this role, the outlandish plot might have had a chance to build momentum, but tough cookie Stanwyck looks too much in control. Second act involving blackmail doesn't move the film in an exciting direction (it's too standard for the genre). Instead of focusing on the lead character and her present situation, we get the usual potboiler trappings typical of a "woman's picture" in the 1950s. Remade in 1996 as the romantic comedy-drama "Mrs. Winterbourne". **1/2 from ****