Tuesday, Feb. 5 - I, Jane Doe

I, Jane Doe (1948)

This isn't really what happens, but it's the best I could come up with.

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In this courtroom drama, a French girl stands trial for murder. Flashbacks tell the grim story of how, during the Great War she got involved with a wealthy soldier and married him. He disappeared after the war. She then came to the U.S. There she finds him married to another woman. To cover himself, he tries to get her deported. In the ensuing argument, she accidently kills him. She is found guilty, but when they learn that she is expecting, the widow helps her.

In this courtroom drama, a woman (Vera Ralston, The Man Who Died Twice) stands trial for murder. While stationed in France during World War II, a married American fighter pilot (John Carroll, Flying Tigers) commits bigamy and marries a local French girl (Ralston). After the end of the war, he disappears, returning back to the U.S. The war bride follows him to the U.S., finding him married to a successful lawyer (Ruth Hussey, The Uninvited). The bigamist tries to get her deported and in the ensuing argument, she accidently kills him. And to everyone’s surprise, the man’s widow decides to take on her case and defend her.

While stationed in France during World War II, an American fighter pilot marries a French girl, but when he goes home he doesn't take her with him. That's because he's already married to a successful lawyer back in the U.S. Nevertheless, the war bride follows him to the U.S., one thing leads to another, and she winds up killing him, and finds herself being defended in court by the wife of the man she has just killed.

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When the police find a French woman next to the bullet-ridden body of Stephen Curtis, she refuses to give her identity. She is arrested and goes on trial as "Jane Doe", is convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Stephen's widow suddenly turns up. A former attorney, Eve Curtis decides to return to her practice and personally represent her husband's condemned killer. It is discovered that Jane Doe is several months pregnant. Her execution is delayed until after the baby is born, at which point a persuasive Eve gains her a new hearing in court.

Jane Doe tells her story. Her real name is Annette Dubois. She was in France on the day the American pilot Stephen Curtis's plane was shot down. After hiding him at great risk and faking Stephen's death to fool Nazi soldiers searching for him, they become lovers. Stephen leaves but promises to come back to her. The war ends but he never returns.

Ashamed to tell her family what happened, Annette travels to New York City where he lived, finds Stephen and intends to shoot him. Someone else is there with a gun ahead of her, however: Eve, equally angry with Stephen for making her quit work as a lawyer and wait for him to return, then betraying her.