''Mother Didn't Tell Me'' is a 1950 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

written and directed by

Claude Binyon Claude Binyon (October 17, 1905 Chicago, Illinois – February 14, 1978 Glendale, California) was a screenwriter and director. His genres were comedy, musicals, and romances. As a Chicago-based journalist for the '' Examiner'' newspaper, he b ...

. It is based on the 1949 book ''The Doctor Wears Three Faces'' by

Mary Bard Mary Bard Jensen (1904–1970) was a 20th-century American writer best remembered as the sister of Betty MacDonald (''Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle'', ''The Egg and I''). Life and career Mary Bard was born in Butte, Montana in 1904, the eldest of five childr ...

. The film stars

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actr ...

, William Lundigan,

June Havoc June Havoc (born Ellen Evangeline Hovick; November 8, 1912 – March 28, 2010) was a Canadian American actress, dancer, stage director and memoirist. Havoc was a child vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother Rose Thompson Hovick, ...

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

Jessie Royce Landis Jessie Royce Landis (born Jessie Medbury, November 25, 1896 – February 2, 1972) was an American actress. Her name is also seen as Jesse Royce-Landis. She remains perhaps best-known for her mother roles in the Hitchcock films ''To Catch a Thie ...

and

Joyce MacKenzie Joyce Elaine MacKenzie Hassing (October 13, 1925 – June 10, 2021) was an American actress who appeared in films and television from 1946 to 1961. She might be best remembered for being the eleventh actress to portray Jane. She played the rol ...

. The film was released on March 3, 1950, by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

Plot

Advertising jingle writer Jane Morgan is treated for a cold by a doctor, Bill Wright, and soon they date and fall in love. Jane is warned by Bill's mother and by another doctor's wife, Maggie, about the complications of being married to someone in that profession, work always taking priority over his personal life. Jane gives birth to twins, but her gradual frustration over Bill's absences are further irritated by his intended collaboration with physician Helen Porter, who is very attractive and makes Jane jealous. When she pretends to be ill simply to coax Bill into coming home, Jane is annoyed when Helen turns up to treat her instead, causing friction between the two women. Just as Jane is packed and preparing to leave her husband, the couple's children are accidentally poisoned. Bill is able to save them. A grateful Jane also learns that Mrs. Wright has persuaded Helen to take a job in another city.

Cast

as Jane Morgan * William Lundigan as Doctor William Wright *

as Maggie Roberts *

as Doctor Peter Roberts *

as Mrs. Wright *

as Helen Porter *

Leif Erickson Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, ; Modern Icelandic: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'' also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norsemen, Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have s ...

as Dr. Bruce Gordon

References

External links

* * * * 1950 films 20th Century Fox films American comedy films 1950 comedy films Films directed by Claude Binyon Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{1950s-comedy-film-stub