Close to My Heart (1951) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A journalist's wife insists on adopting an abandoned child.

Cast & Crew

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William Keighley

Ray Milland

Gene Tierney

Fay Bainter

Howard St. John

E. O. "Frosty" Frost

Mary Beth Hughes

Film Details

Also Known As

A Baby for Midge, As Time Goes By

Genre

Drama

Release Date

Nov 3, 1951

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Location

Los Angeles, California, United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the short story "Baby for Midge" by James R. Webb in Good Housekeeping (Jul 1950).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 30m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Synopsis

Although Midge Sheridan and her husband, newspaper columnist Brad, have learned that she cannot bear children, Brad's gift of a puppy intensifies her desire for a child and they decide to adopt. However, after they learn from Mrs. Morrow at the adoption agency about the two-year waiting list, Midge puts out feelers, hoping to find a baby through other sources. Midge learns about a newborn left on a police station doorstep and though Brad is wary of adopting an "off-brand" baby, she convinces him to use his newspaper contacts to find it. He tracks the child to the foster home of Mrs. Barker, then he and Midge visit under the pretense of writing an article about foundlings. Midge feels an immediate bond upon seeing the baby, named Danny, but months go by while the authorities search for Danny's parents. Brad writes about Danny in his column, ostensibly to aid the authorities in their search, but privately to allay his own misgivings about Danny's background. Meanwhile, Midge, who is certain of her love for Danny, begins secretly visiting Mrs. Barker and assisting with his care. When Mrs. Morrow unexpectedly drops by the Sheridans' house for an inspection, Brad discovers that Midge has decorated the nursery specifically for Danny. Guessing Brad's uneasiness about Danny's background, the perceptive Mrs. Morrow explains to Brad that he must accept that the background of any adopted child is concealed. Later, the Sheridans are invited to observe the testing of Danny's health and intelligence. Mrs. Morrow takes Brad aside, giving him a chance to back out, and tells him that she is trusting Danny and Midge to make a father out of him. Though the adoption is not final, Danny is released to the Sheridans. Later, at the office, Brad is contacted by Dunne, a taxi driver who has read his article. Dunne remembers driving a woman with a baby to a police station, and takes Brad to the woman's walk-up apartment. There Brad finds the woman, Arlene, who claims that the child's mother, Martha, a neighbor she barely knew, requested that the child not be told its parentage and died three days after giving birth in her room. Arlene says she believes Martha wanted to die, and gives Brad Martha's wedding ring, which is inscribed with the notation "ML--ECH." Brad writes an article asking readers for information about Martha, and although he is beginning to bond with Danny, continues to make an extensive search of state records and other sources, while interviewing judges and policemen to learn about the mysterious mother. With information supplied by Arlene, he finds Martha's former residence, a boardinghouse in Bakersfield, California, where the kindly landlady, Mrs. Madison, has little information about her former tenant, but gives Brad Martha's sweater. The sweater contains a label of a Bannister, California store and is coated in chalk dust, which is identified for Brad by a chemist. Following the trail to Bannister, Brad learns that Martha, a quiet schoolteacher, fell in love and eloped with a mysterious, bookish man named Edward Hewitt. When Midge becomes aware of Brad's research, she reluctantly decides to let him proceed, hoping it will ease his mind and help with the adoption process. However, Mrs. Morrow has learned about Brad's queries through the officials he interviews, and takes the investigation as a sign that Brad is still uncomfortable with Danny. Brad is about to sign the adoption papers when his city editor, E. O. "Frosty" Frost, tells him that Edward has been identified as Evarts Heilner, a convict on death row at San Quentin. Mrs. Madison has also learned the father's identity, and comes to the Sheridan home to take back Danny. When she arrives, only Midge is there, as Brad is visiting San Quentin. There, Brad meets Edward, a hardened man, guilty of killing a policeman and a prison guard. Brad then talks to the prison doctor, who introduces him to one of Edward's brothers. That night when Brad returns home, he finds Danny gone, havng been promised to another couple. Despite the late hour, Brad confronts Mrs. Morrow and tells her that Danny's father was one of five siblings growing up in squalid surroundings. Although all but Edward turned out good, he was the only one who had the ambition to get out of the slums. After Brad begs Mrs. Morrow to believe in him, and his conviction that Danny will also turn out good because of the love he and Midge will give, Mrs. Morrow gives Danny to Brad.

Director

William Keighley

Cast

Ray Milland

Gene Tierney

Fay Bainter

Howard St. John

E. O. "Frosty" Frost

Mary Beth Hughes

Ann Morrison

James Seay

Evarts Heilner, also known as Edward Hewitt

Baby John Winslow

Eddie Marr

Nan Boardman

Elizabeth Flournoy

Truda Marson

Charles Meredith

Dr. George Williamson

John Alvin

Robert Williams

Officer Johnson

Howard Gardner

Louis Jean Heydt

Ralph Byrd

Charles Sherlock

Fred Stevens

Kathleen Stendal

Fred Walton

Lois Hall

Pauline Creasman

Rodney Bell

Harlan Warde

Gertrude W. Hoffman

Franklin Parker

John Maxwell

Lee Prather

George Lamond

Harry Tyler

Fred Graham

Lute Crockett

Mary Carroll

Gretchen Hale

Crew

Gordon Bau

Robert Burks

Director of Photography

Oleg Cassini

Miss Tierney's gowns under Supervisor of

Murray Cutter

Leslie G. Hewitt

William Jacobs

Clarence Kolster

William L. Kuehl

Leo K. Kuter

Don Page

Assistant Director

Max Steiner

James R. Webb

Film Details

Also Known As

A Baby for Midge, As Time Goes By

Genre

Drama

Release Date

Nov 3, 1951

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Location

Los Angeles, California, United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the short story "Baby for Midge" by James R. Webb in Good Housekeeping (Jul 1950).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 30m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Articles

Close to My Heart

June 8, 2010

The 1951 drama Close to My Heart stars Ray Milland and Gene Tierney as Brad and Midge Sheridan, a married couple unable to have children. When a child is abandoned at a local police station, Midge becomes determined to claim the baby as her own. Before her husband agrees, however, he first wants to find out more about the child's real parents - a quest that soon turns into an obsession that could jeopardize their chances at adoption.

Both Gene Tierney and Ray Milland were loaned out to Warner Bros. to make Close to My Heart - Tierney from 20th Century Fox and Milland from Paramount. Tierney embraced the opportunity. "As Midge Sheridan in Close to My Heart, I had my best role in half a dozen years, the story of a woman who adopts a baby," said Tierney in her 1979 autobiography Self-Portrait. "The part was one that touched the chords of my own experience. I can understand the hunger to have a baby."

Tierney's husband at the time, famed fashion designer Oleg Cassini, created all of her costumes for Close to My Heart, their tenth film working together. It would be the final creative collaboration between the two as the marriage ended in divorce the following year in 1952.

Producer: William Jacobs
Director: William Keighley
Screenplay: James R. Webb (screenplay and novel "A Baby for Midge"); William Keighley (uncredited)
Cinematography: Robert Burks
Art Direction: Leo K. Kuter
Music: Max Steiner
Film Editing: Clarence Kolster
Cast: Ray Milland (Brad Sheridan), Gene Tierney (Midge Sheridan), Fay Bainter (Mrs. Morrow), Howard St. John (I.O. Frost), Mary Beth Hughes (Arlene), Ann Morrison (Mrs. Barker), James Seay (Everett C. Heilner alias Edward C. Hewitt), Baby John (Baby Danny), Eddie Marr (Taxi Driver Dunne).
BW-90m.

by Andrea Passafiume

Close To My Heart

Close to My Heart

The 1951 drama Close to My Heart stars Ray Milland and Gene Tierney as Brad and Midge Sheridan, a married couple unable to have children. When a child is abandoned at a local police station, Midge becomes determined to claim the baby as her own. Before her husband agrees, however, he first wants to find out more about the child's real parents - a quest that soon turns into an obsession that could jeopardize their chances at adoption. Both Gene Tierney and Ray Milland were loaned out to Warner Bros. to make Close to My Heart - Tierney from 20th Century Fox and Milland from Paramount. Tierney embraced the opportunity. "As Midge Sheridan in Close to My Heart, I had my best role in half a dozen years, the story of a woman who adopts a baby," said Tierney in her 1979 autobiography Self-Portrait. "The part was one that touched the chords of my own experience. I can understand the hunger to have a baby." Tierney's husband at the time, famed fashion designer Oleg Cassini, created all of her costumes for Close to My Heart, their tenth film working together. It would be the final creative collaboration between the two as the marriage ended in divorce the following year in 1952. Producer: William Jacobs Director: William Keighley Screenplay: James R. Webb (screenplay and novel "A Baby for Midge"); William Keighley (uncredited) Cinematography: Robert Burks Art Direction: Leo K. Kuter Music: Max Steiner Film Editing: Clarence Kolster Cast: Ray Milland (Brad Sheridan), Gene Tierney (Midge Sheridan), Fay Bainter (Mrs. Morrow), Howard St. John (I.O. Frost), Mary Beth Hughes (Arlene), Ann Morrison (Mrs. Barker), James Seay (Everett C. Heilner alias Edward C. Hewitt), Baby John (Baby Danny), Eddie Marr (Taxi Driver Dunne). BW-90m. by Andrea Passafiume

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

Working titles of this film were A Baby for Midge and As Time Goes By. Gene Tierney and the film's wardrobe designer, Oleg Cassini, divorced in 1952, after nine years of marriage. Warner Bros. publicity materials state that Gertrude Hoffman was a 77-year-old Santa Barbara socialite who had taken up acting a few years earlier. According to the same source and an April 1951 Hollywood Reporter news item, portions of the film were shot in Los Angeles, CA, including the downtown area, Hollywood and along Hollywood Blvd. Ray Milland and Eddie Marr reprised their roles in a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast on March 2, 1953. In that adaptation, the roles of Midge and Mrs. Morrow were played by Phyllis Thaxter and Jeanette Nolan respectively.

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