Stanwyck makes implausible seem inevitable in ‘No Man’

By Michael Wilmington

No Man of Her Own/1950/Paramount Pictures/98 min.

The first of three wildly divergent movie versions of Cornell Woolrich’s novel “I Married a Dead Man,” this bizarre blend of domestic drama and film noir stars noir queen Barbara Stanwyck as Helen Ferguson, a ruthlessly abused, jilted (by Lyle Bettger as slimy Steve) and pregnant city gal, who, on a train ride home, tumbles into a bog of false identity and blackmail.

After Bettger gives Babs the boot (preferring blonde femme fatale Carole Mathews), Helen meets a generous young couple, Patrice and Hugh Harkness (Phyllis Thaxter and Richard Denning) on the train, and then is mistaken for Patrice, after the train crashes and many (including the nice couple) die.

Directed by Mitchell Leisen, “No Man” has a prototypical Woolrich “trap” plot.  Since no one in the immediate Harkness family ever met Patrice, Helen more or less falls into the deception. The Harkness household, especially matriarch Mrs. Harkness (Jane Cowl), accepts Helen as their new kin. And Hugh’s brother Bill (John Lund of Billy Wilder’s “A Foreign Affair”) falls in love with her. What happens next? Well, I doubt if you realize how slimy Lyle Bettger can get.

Stanwyck suffers wonderfully here, and she almost single-handedly makes the implausible seem inevitable. Jane Cowl, a one-time Queen of Broadway, who crammed in a few movie roles at the end of her life (she was dying of cancer when she made this one), is touching as Mrs. Harkness. The movie doesn’t really start cooking until Bettger reappears, and by then, they seem to expect us to swallow anything. (Even if you can’t, it’s murderous fun.)

Babs Stanwyck is abused and jilted by Lyle Bettger as slimy Steve.

The original novel “I Married a Dead Man,” which Woolrich signed with his preferred pen name William Irish, makes more sense than the “No Man” script (co-written by that estimable small-town scribe Sally Benson of “Meet Me in St. Louis.”)

The other film adaptations of “Dead Man” include a 1982 French version called “I Married a Shadow” by Robin Davis, starring Nathalie Baye and Madeleine Robinson, and a weird 1996 comedy version, directed by Richard Benjamin, starring Ricki Lake and (as the mother) the wondrous Shirley MacLaine. That one is called “Mrs. Winterbourne.” A better title might have been “I Married a Madhouse.”

The French “Shadow” is the best of them so far. There’s room for another, though “No Man of Her Own” isn’t bad. As for “Mrs. Winterbourne,” turning the nightmarish “I Married a Dead Man” into a kooky comedy seems misguided. The results are a little forced and even a little slimy – but not as slimy as Lyle Bettger.

Olive Films recently released “No Man of Her Own” on DVD.

On the radar: a new Marilyn book, Met show, ‘Bernie’ bound

There will surely be much fanfare to mark the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death, Aug. 5, 1962. For starters, there’s a new book, “Marilyn by Magnum” (Prestel Publishing, $29.95). The Magnum photographic cooperative was founded in 1947 by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David “Chim” Seymour.

In the book, we see the work of Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, Eve Arnold, Inge Morath, Philippe Halsman, Bruce Davidson, Dennis Stock, Bob Henriques, Erich Hartmann and others.

The images range from glamorous portraits to intimate candids to Marilyn working on movies. Says Magnum: “In richly toned black and white as well as lustrous color, these photographs reveal Marilyn’s uncanny ease in front of the camera.”

Marilyn Monroe, 1952. By Philippe Halsman; copyright Philippe Halsman/Magnum Photos

 

Marilyn in her apartment, 1952. The photo on the desk is of Italian actress Eleonora Duse, whom Marilyn admired. Copyright Philippe Halsman/Magnum Photos

Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller in Hollywood, Calif., 1960. Photo by Bruce Davidson; copyright Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos

Talking shop: The Met’s Spring 2012 Costume Institute exhibition, Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, explores the striking affinities between Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, two Italian designers from different eras. Baz Luhrmann directed videos of simulated conversations between Schiaparelli and Prada.

Screenworthy: Richard Linklater’s black comedy “Bernie,” starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey, looks well worth seeing. I missed screenings because of all the festivals in town but am hoping to catch it asap.

Sunnyside Upton: Kate Upton goes retro glam with an Old-Hollywood inspired photo shoot at the Beverly Hills Hotel in this month’s Harper’s Bazaar.