My Forbidden Past

1951 film by Robert Stevenson

April 21, 1951 (1951-04-21) (U.S.)^[1]

Running time

70 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$1,150,000 (US rentals)^[2]

My Forbidden Past is a 1951 American historical film noir directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Robert Mitchum and Ava Gardner.^[3] Adapted by Leopold Atlas from Polan Banks' novel Carriage Entrance.

Plot

The events take place in the 1890s in New Orleans. Dr. Mark Lucas (Robert Mitchum) wrongly believes Barbara Beaurevel (Ava Gardner) refused him and betrayed him after their previously planned elopement. Thus Mark returns from South America accompanied by Corinne (Janis Carter), a woman he married for her beauty but not for love, due to this still lingering grudge against Barbara. She feels disappointed on meeting Corinne, yet she's determined to win him back. Barbara, already having inherited a large sum from her socially of ill repute grandmother, bribes her cousin Paul (Melvyn Douglas) into seducing Corinne and thereby breaking up the marriage. Unluckily this cold-blooded plan ends up in Corinne's death by accident and Mark finds himself under strong suspicion of murder. In the end, Barbara, realizing her insidious act at the trial, empathetically confesses everything, thereby once again becoming a woman worthy of love but also losing the local gentry's consideration.

Cast

Robert Mitchum as Dr. Mark Lucas

Ava Gardner as Barbara Beaurevel

Melvyn Douglas as Paul Beaurevel

Lucile Watson as Aunt Eula Beaurevel

Janis Carter as Corinne Lucas
Gordon Oliver as Clay Duchesne
Basil Ruysdael as Dean Cazzley
Clarence Muse as Pompey
Walter Kingsford as Coroner
Will Wright as Luther Toplady

Production

The film was to star Ann Sheridan. Under her contract she had co star approval. RKO claimed she refused all the names offered her and thus terminated the contract, replacing her with Ava Gardner. Sheridan sued RKO for $350,000. The case went to trial and in February 1951 the jury awarded her $55,162, being the minimum amount Sheridan would have earned during filming from April to August 1949 plus $5,162 for costs. It was shown that Sheridan would have approved Mitchum as a co star.^[4]

Reception

The film recorded a loss of $700,000.^[5]

References

^ "My Forbidden Past: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
^ "My Forbidden Past (1951) - Robert Stevenson - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
^ $55,162 WON IN SUIT BY ANN SHERIDAN: Federal Jury on Coast Gives Actress Damages for Claim Against R.K.O. Studios Of Local Origin By THOMAS F. BRADY New York Times 7 Feb 1951: 47.
^ Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p256.