Abandoned (1949)

Abandoned: Directed by Joseph M. Newman. With Dennis O’Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Meg Randall. Newspaperman helps girl find her sister’s illegitimate baby, gets mixed up in baby-adoption racket.

“I had my doubts about bubbly ingénue Gale Storm (Paula) starring in a crime drama. But sheu0026#39;s actually well cast and manages an appropriately restrained performance. Here sheu0026#39;s the sister of a dead girl whou0026#39;s left a baby under mysterious circumstances. So Paulau0026#39;s investigating with help from brash newsman Sitko (Ou0026#39;Keefe). What they uncover is a ruthless ring that sells newborns and gets rid of mothers who complain.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLike many others of its time, the movie makes good use of LA locations, along with some effective noirish touches. However, these touches are not developed into a prevailing atmosphere, despite the presence of noir icon Raymond Burr (Kerric). Actually, itu0026#39;s hard to recognize Burr since heu0026#39;s either lurking in the shadows or peeking around corners. In my book, the best scene is when Kerric tangles with that other movie heavyweight Mike Mazurki (Hoppe). Itu0026#39;s like King Kong taking on Godzilla. Also, the unexpected plot wrinkle with Kerric is a good one.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut my moneyu0026#39;s on Marjorie Rambeau (Donner). Sheu0026#39;s scarier than anyone else in a movie loaded with baddies. Too bad she doesnu0026#39;t have a face-off scene with that other formidable actress, Jeanette Nolan (Major Ross). Too bad also, that Ou0026#39;Keefe has drifted into obscurity. He was quite a good actor, at home in either comedy (Up in Mabelu0026#39;s Room {1945}) or drama. Here heu0026#39;s typically persuasive as an aggressive newshound.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll in all, the movieu0026#39;s a better than average crime drama, with a good cast, a crisp narrative, and a suspenseful climax. Itu0026#39;s second-tier Universal coming up with better results than usual.”