Anne Neagle was born in prison, where her mother was hanged for murder. She was adopted by Sarah Padden and Gordon Hart. They never told her she was adopted. Now she is engaged to Doctor Warren Hull, who has just returned from studying abroad. He is a brilliant surgeon (as are all leading men/surgeons in the movies), and with the retirement of his mentor, he is up for Chief of Surgeons at the local hospital. So is Doctor Lester Matthews, a good surgeon who keeps his record perfect by refusing to operate if there is any risk. When Mayo Methot, Anne's mother's friend from prison, is in town with husband Weldon Heyburn, he, without her knowledge, blackmails everyone with the news of Miss Neagle's birth. When Miss Neagle refuses to let her parents pay him, he goes to Matthews.
It's a fairly good story and proceeds at a good clip under the direction of long-term director Lambert Hillyer. Unfortunately, Miss Neagle and Miss Methot are a bit mechanical in their line readings.
Anne Neagle was quite the beauty. She was born in 1915 to deeply religious parents, who wanted her to become a nun. She preferred the stage, and on her mother's remarriage to a Technicolor technician, they moved out to California, where the opportunities were greater. A contract with Warner Brothers followed, as did a marriage, but it was a "for show" one to Warners' contract player Ross Alexander. After Alexander's suicide in 1937, her career slid, and she found herself in Poverty Row movies like this, and Universal serials. After her last movie in 1950 -- the fine crime drama, ARMORED CAR ROBBERY -- she retired from the movies. She died in poverty in 1966.
