A woman, distraught because of her recent miscarriage, accidentally injures a child in a hit-and-run accident, but she keeps the incident a secret. Overcome with guilt and remorse, she seeks out the child in the hospital and attempts to help him regain his speech, even though, if successful, it might mean he will implicate her for the crime.
Acting
Loretta Young's trembling restraint—guilt without confession.
Direction
Maté's shadowy close-ups turn therapy into interrogation.
Director
Rudolph Maté
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Loretta Young produced this through her own company, specifically seeking roles that explored moral complexity rather than saintly heroines.
The film quietly inverts the 'noble suffering mother' archetype popular in 1950s cinema—Paula's maternal instinct is weaponized against her own guilt.
US
