I, Jane Doe 🙋‍♀️ starring Ruth Hussey, John Carroll, Vera Ralston, Gene Lockhart, John Howard and Benay Venuta! 1948

In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, Republic Studio wrote the book on smart, well-crafted B-thrillers, with I, Jane Doe being one of its freshest and most inviting titles. The Jane Doe in the film was played by Vera Ralston who is arrested for the murder of Stephen Curtis (John Carroll), who’s recently returned to the United States following his war service in France. Jane is brought to trial without information as to who she is, what her relationship with Curtis might have been, or any suspected motive for the killing. She refuses to say anything in her own defense and is convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to the electric chair.However, circumstances bring about a second trial in which the details of Jane’s story, mostly told in flashback during the proceedings, are revealed – thanks to a carefully orchestrated defense by her new attorney, Eve Meredith Curtis (Ruth Hussey), wife of the man whom Jane is charged with having killed.Not unexpectedly, Meredith’s undertaking of Jane’s defense becomes a cause célèbre. But Meredith makes it clear she has her reasons, even if it’s not so clear what they might be, apart from a curious empathy for the accused. And as the trial progresses, it becomes obvious that Stephen Curtis, were he not dead, would have to answer to some tough questions. I, Jane Doe is a highly-charged courtroom drama in which two women who should ostensibly be enemies unite as one, recognizing in retrospect that the man they each loved was a complete cad. Hussey and Ralston each handle their roles with quiet dignity. Hussey is always good, and this is one of the better, more natural performances I've seen from Ralston. Suited to the role of Eve Meredith Curtis was Academy Award-nominated Ruth Hussey, an elegantly persuasive actress whose unmannered portrayal is central to the film. A former model, Hussey brings both feminine charm and professional crispness to the part, just as she did to the films for which she’s better known: The Philadelphia Story (1940, MGM) The Uninvited (1944, Paramount Pictures) and The Great Gatsby (1949, Paramount Pictures).

But what’s most striking about the film is the very modern outlook towards its female characters, their sense of themselves, their relationships both with men and each other, and their place in the world. Eve Meredith is a sophisticated, successful Manhattan lawyer and nothing more or less is made of that fact. Her assistant, Phyllis, is equally as smart and has a quick wit not limited to wisecracks. Jane/ Annette is a sad case but although a victim, is not given to wearing the mantle of victim-hood. She's resilient, brave, and acts out of justifiable conviction. Even though the women carry the dramatic and moral weight of the film, the feminist outlook does not hit you over the head.As for credibility, what about Vera Hruba Ralston? Few Hollywood stars suffered such scorn as the Czech-born actress. Her acting was wooden, her accent thick, and everyone knew she was married to head of Republic Studios, Herbert J. Yates who insisted on foisting his wife on an unwilling public, as well as fellow actors. John Wayne, her co-star in The Fighting Kentuckian 1949, threatened to leave the studio if ever forced to work with her again. Sterling Hayden reportedly asked for and received a healthy bonus to appear opposite her in Timberjack in 1955. However, Ralston was cooperative, hardworking and eager to please and, over time, her acting did improve. Though she's mostly emotional and weepy in I, Jane Doe, it’s because the part asks her to be. And as Annette Dubois (Jane’s real name) is a foreigner, Ralston’s accent is hardly distracting.Equal parts romantic melodrama and noirish thriller, I, Jane Doe has an imaginative and finely-filigreed screenplay by Lawrence Kimble (San Quentin 1946, Criminal Court 1946, Mystery in Mexico 1948). Kimble toiled in the trenches for over three decades both in film and television, retiring with nearly 150 screenwriting credits under his belt. Nicknamed, ‘Nimble’, the writer was known for his clever, involved plotting as well as his penchant for notably more adult dialog, both of which are in evidence in I, Jane Doe.Though director John H. Auer (The Flame 1948, The City That Never Sleeps 1953, Hell’s Half Acre 1954) doesn’t bring much by way of style to the movie, he understands well enough how to tell a suspenseful story and tell it briskly. But at 85 minutes long, I Jane Doe is more than just an off-the-shelf quickie.

Thank you for the trivia, Mr. Kagan!

I don't know why okru puts those green lines in the video...