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My Forbidden Past

Play trailer Poster for My Forbidden Past 1951 1h 21m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
When Barbara Beaurevel (Ava Gardner) inherits a large amount of money from her grandmother, the community is curious about its suspicious origins. But Barbara is focused on her love for Mark Lucas (Robert Mitchum), a local doctor who also happens to be married. She bribes her cousin Paul (Melvyn Douglas) to romance Corinne (Janis Carter), Mark's wife, to free up the doctor's affections. The plan works at first, but a fatal altercation sets the stage for a revealing courtroom finale.

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My Forbidden Past

Critics Reviews

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George Campbell Dixon Daily Telegraph (UK) Feb 3
A dish with all the exotic charm of stale oysters and flat champagne. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 08/25/2008
C+
That this stodgy nonsense production is mildly entertaining is mildly surprising. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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10/22/2017 Robert Mitchum and Ava Gardner make for handsome leads in this drama, but both seem out of place in this costume drama set a post-Civil War New Orleans. Gardner is spurned by Mitchum, but when she suddenly comes into wealth, she decides to use her money to win back Mitchum and exact her revenge. Mitchum is one of my favorite actors, but this is not his sort of picture. Gardner too for that matter. The leads make this film worth watching, but just barely. See more 10/30/2015 a fair to good drama noir set in late 1890s New Orleans a story of lust,greed and passion with a good performance by Ava Gardiner,Robert Mitchum,and supporting cast. See more 11/30/2014 Love story full of spite, deception and a town full of loathsome characters. However Ava Gardner holds things up well with the majority of the screen time, but Mitchum and Douglas are solid enough in support. See more 08/28/2012 good period melodrama See more 11/25/2010 ok costume drama/period piece See more 07/14/2004 I thought this was going to be a film noir. It's from RKO in 1951. stars Robert Mitchum and has a vaguely salacious title. I was wrong. Oh, how I just despise thouse three words. Especially in this case, as [i]My Forbidden Past[/i] is your run-of-the-mill melodrama, complete with a last-minute courtroom revelation. Oh, I'm so titillated. I'm not even going to bother describing the plot because I stopped paying attention about 30 minutes in. Robert Mitchum and Ava Gardner were both sexy and performed well enough, but I got the sense that they cared about the plot about as much as I did (think [i]The Little Foxes[/i] only in New Orleans and without anything interesting). Third-billed was Melvyn Douglas and he's always just bugged the shit out of me. He comes off as smug and self-satisfied in every single movie. The only thing I've ever liked him in is [i]Ninotchka,[/i] because...actually, come to think of it, I like [i]Ninotchka[/i] despite his presence. See more Read all reviews
My Forbidden Past

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Cast & Crew

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Robert Stevenson

Director

Robert Mitchum

Dr. Mark Lucas

Ava Gardner

Barbara Beaurevel

Melvyn Douglas

Paul Beaurevel

Lucile Watson

Aunt Eula Beaurevel

Janis Carter

Corinne Lucas
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My Forbidden Past

My Forbidden Past (1951) My Forbidden Past (1951) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When Barbara Beaurevel (Ava Gardner) inherits a large amount of money from her grandmother, the community is curious about its suspicious origins. But Barbara is focused on her love for Mark Lucas (Robert Mitchum), a local doctor who also happens to be married. She bribes her cousin Paul (Melvyn Douglas) to romance Corinne (Janis Carter), Mark's wife, to free up the doctor's affections. The plan works at first, but a fatal altercation sets the stage for a revealing courtroom finale.
Director
Robert Stevenson
Producer
Robert Sparks, Polan Banks
Screenwriter
Marion Parsonnet
Production Co
RKO Pictures
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 21, 1951, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 19, 2016
Runtime
1h 21m
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