Our Very Own (1950)

After a bit of sibling spatting on her eighteenth birthday, “Gail” (Ann Blyth) is told by her sister “Joan” (Joan Evans) that she is adopted, and that mum (Jane Wyatt) and dad (Donald Cook) aren’t actually her real parents. The latter two overhear this cruel revelation and try to placate their daughter, but after some reflection she decides that she wants to contact her birth-parents. Her father has long since gone the way of the dodo, but her mother has got married and lives down the California coast. A meeting is arranged, but let’s just say it doesn’t quite go to plan and this leaves “Gail” with quite a quandary to face. Add to her mix, the fact that her younger sister “Penny” (an engaging effort from Natalie Wood) wants things to carry on as normal and her would-be beau “Chuck” (Farley Granger) finds himself on uncertain territory as he tries to help a woman who isn’t sure what she wants to do for the best. Perhaps, though, with her graduation looming large she might manage to get her priorities organised? I’m afraid that I always felt Ann Blyth to be bit insipid as an actor. She looked the part ok, but never really imposed herself on the proceedings and here she is even less impactful with the equally unimpressive Granger. The plot does look at quite a serious topic sensitively, though, especially when her investigations reveal that life has gone on for her mother and that there are secrets being kept - for good or ill - but just about everyone, and to be fair, it doesn’t sink into melodrama delivering a conclusion that strikes a chord that is well worth emphasising for people who don’t know they’re born. Sadly, though, I just think the mediocrity of the casting let it down.