The Guilt of Janet Ames
| The Guilt of Janet Ames | |
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| Directed by | Henry Levin |
| Produced by |
Helen Deutsch (uncredited) Virginia Van Upp (uncredited) |
| Written by | Lenore J. Coffee (story) |
| Screenplay by |
Devery Freeman Louella MacFarlane Allen Rivkin |
| Starring |
Rosalind Russell Melvyn Douglas |
| Music by | George Duning |
| Cinematography | Joseph Walker |
| Edited by | Charles Nelson William A. Lyon |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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80-83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,350,000 |
The Guilt of Janet Ames is a 1947 drama film. A widow sets out to find the five men whose lives were saved by the sacrifice of her husband in World War II and judge whether they are worthy.
Bitter war widow Janet Ames (Rosalind Russell) seeks out the five soldiers for whom her husband gave his life by falling on a hand grenade during the Battle of the Bulge. While crossing a city street to find the first, she is struck and knocked unconscious by an automobile. The police find no identification on her, only a list of names. One recognizes the last name on her list, Smithfield "Smitty" Cobb (Melvyn Douglas), a reporter recently fired for alcoholism, and contacts Smitty. When Smitty sees the list, he realizes who she must be.
He goes to see her at the hospital, and finds her in a wheelchair, unable to walk. As the doctor can find no physical reason for the paralysis, he schedules an appointment with a psychiatrist. Smitty decides to treat her himself. He introduces himself as a friend of her husband David (though not as one of the men he saved), and wheels her into a private room. She explains her mission: to see if any of the men were worth David's sacrifice, making it perfectly clear that she has already made up her mind. After a nurse gives her a sedative, Smitty accuses her of wallowing in self-pity, then tries to get Janet to change her mind by describing each of the men. He is so vivid that Janet can see and talk to them.
The first man she interacts with is nightclub bouncer Joe Burton (Richard Benedict). He and his singer girlfriend Katie (Betsy Blair) dream of building a house. Joe constructs a model of it from a deck of cards. Exasperated by their unrealistic aspirations, Janet blows the cards down.
Next, Smitty takes her to the desert, where Ed Pierson is doing scientific research and living in a shack with his wife Susie (Nina Foch). Janet does not meet Ed at all; instead, she talks with Susie and her very wealthy father, who strongly disapproves of what the couple are doing. He wants Ed to come work for him, but Susie replies that Ed is happy where he is and would be miserable in the business world. Janet states that her husband would never do what Ed has done.
The third man is Frank Merino (played by an uncredited Hugh Beaumont). Janet first meets his young daughter Emmy. During their conversation, Janet states that she and David were too sensible to have children before they were ready and that children are a lot of trouble. A bewildered Emmy seeks comfort from her father.
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