I, JANE DOE (1948)

By Gary Deane

“Whenever I‘m unhappy with a performance, I look through the TV Guide and try to find a Vera Hruba Ralston picture to watch," because I know, no matter how bad a performance I may have given, I could NEVER be as bad as she was!” Maureen Stapleton to Johnny Carson, 1962.

In the late 1940s and early ‘50s, Republic Studios wrote the book when it came to smart, well-crafted B thrillers, with I, Jane Doe one of its choicest chapters. In it, a mystery woman, ‘Jane Doe’ (played by the aforementioned Miss Ralston), is arrested for the murder of Stephen Curtis (John Carroll), recently returned to the US from 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. After refusing to speak in her own defense, she's convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to the electric chair. 

Circumstances later bring about a second trial in which some of the details of Jane’s story are revealed during the proceedings. As it turns out, Jane's new attorney, Eve Meredith Curtis (Ruth Hussey) is the wife of the man whom Jane is charged with having killed. Hence, her carefully orchestrated defense of Jane becomes a cause célèbre. The lawyer makes it clear she has her reasons, though it’s not apparent what they really are -- apart from her curious empathy for the accused. However, as the trial progresses, it becomes obvious that Stephen Curtis, were he not dead, would have a lot to answer for,  both to Jane Doe and his wife.

I, Jane Doe offers a surprisingly modern take on its female protagonists -- their sense of themselves, their place in the world, and their relationships with men and each other. Though the women carry the dramatic and moral weight in I, Jane Doe, sexual equality appears to be assumed. Eve Meredith is a sophisticated, successful Manhattan lawyer, with nothing more or nothing less made of that fact. Her assistant, Phyllis, is just as smart and has a wit not limited to wisecracks. While Jane's case is sad, she's not given to wearing the mantle of victimhood. Whatever she's done, she's acted out of conviction, justifiable or not.  

Equal parts romantic melodrama and noirish thriller, I, Jane Doe turns on a clever screenplay by Lawrence Kimble (San Quentin, 1946, Criminal Court, 1946, Mystery in Mexico, 1948). Kimble toiled in the Hollywood trenches for over three decades both in film and television, retiring with nearly 150 screenwriting credits under his belt. Nicknamed, ‘Nimble’, he was known for his imaginative plotting and penchant for adult dialog, both in evidence in I, Jane Doe. Though director John H. Auer (The Flame, 1948, City that Never Sleeps, 1953, Hell’s Half Acre, 1954) has directed more stylishly, he still knows how to tell a story.  

Oscar-nominated Ruth Hussey was well-suited to the role of Eve Curtis. Hussey brings the same unmannered crispness and charm that she did to movies for which she’s better known: The Philadelphia Story, 1940, The Uninvited, 1944, and The Great Gatsby, 1949. A persuasive actress, Hussey elevates I, Jane Doe with her certainty 

As for Vera Hruba Ralston, few Hollywood stars have ever suffered as much scorn. Her acting was wooden, her accent thick, and everyone in town knew she was married to the head of Republic Studios, Herbert J. Yates, who insisted on foisting her 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 demanded and received a healthy bonus to appear opposite her in Timberjack in 1955. However, to her credit, the Czech-born Ralston was cooperative, hardworking, and eager to please; over time, her acting improved. Though she's 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 isn't as distracting. There are no grounds for conviction on that count. 

Rounding things out is Adele Mara as a brassy showgirl, Marga-Jane Hastings, who goes to see Eve about a breach of promise suit against a man, at first unnamed -- though we have our suspicions. Right off, she's told that such suits are not legal in the state. Mara, playing her part to the hilt, responds, “You mean a guy can take me around, tell me he’s not married, promise me the moon with a blue ribbon around it, get me to quit my job so he can spend more time with me, and then just kiss me and not pay for it? I don’t believe it!”

However, I, Jane Doe finishes with a bravura, operatic reckoning -- and the satisfaction that comes with seeing everyone, for better or worse, getting exactly what they deserve. C'est la vie, c'est le noir.

Gary Deane