Not Wanted

This 1949 American film follows what happens to a young woman who becomes pregnant outside marriage and gives up her child. Sally cannot carry the weight of the decision and takes another baby; rather than blaming her, the film asks what brought her to that point. The production's historical importance is in the name behind it: Ida Lupino prepared the film as producer and co-writer, and when the director Elmer Clifton had a heart attack at the start of shooting she directed most of it, leaving her name off the credits. That was the beginning of Lupino's career as a director. The subject was extremely bold for its time and the film never delivers a moral lesson. Who it's for: viewers interested in independent productions at the edge of classic Hollywood and in Ida Lupino. Who it's not for: anyone wanting high production values, or avoiding the subjects of pregnancy and child abduction.