User Reviews

I watched this movie on the strength of comments on this site. I was not a great fan of any of the actors save for Natalie Wood and Ann Dvorak and neither was the headliner. But I stand corrected. Notwithstanding the negative comments posted by adopted IMDb members I found the film compelling on several levels. It touched me deeply. Several scenes brought tears to my eyes with the same effect on my wife who is the tough one in the family. They weren't melodramatic, just done with the right dose of pathos to convey feelings and put the viewer in the characters' places. Each member of the family was successively portrayed and then relegated to the background to focus on Ann Blyth's character, her adoptive parents and her birth mother. All these actors' performances were just right, Dvorak's in particular.

One scene stands out in my mind and I don't think I'm giving much away in retelling it: after Blyth discovers she was adopted she asks the family maid Violet - played by Jessica Grayson in another memorable performance - if she knew. Violet answers "Honey I was here when they brought you 18 years ago". Grayson delivered it with just the right amount of sensitivity to underscore to us and the deeply wounded Blyth that the circumstances of her birth had no effect on her status within the family. There were many more such vignettes, when Blyth returns at 3am and gets yelled at by her father, when Blyth and Wyatt get tangled up in the meaning of the word "mother" the morning after the revelation, the look of fear on Wyatt's face when she allows her second daughter to look for her birth certificate. They showed us a strong, caring family, with patient, intelligent and understanding parents capable of mistakes they were not afraid to admit and tackle. Nobody was all good or all bad, just people with a full range of human strengths and frailties, people like you and me.

I could go on like this forever and give away the whole plot but I'll stop here and close with another memorable scene I feel rounds out this movie. It takes place before Blyth discovers she's adopted, on the beach with Farley Granger. They come out of the surf, draw close and Blyth reaches up on her tiptoes to kiss Granger. The camera draws away and looks down on them from high up as the waves approach them from both sides to merge where they stand. There was a raw sensuality to this scene. It was full of the passion that complements altruistic love.

Director David Miller takes us into the lives of a homespun family where everything appears to be peachy until one of the teens find out that she is adopted. After such a shock she eventually wants to locate her birth mother and thats when "Our Very Own" gets interesting. The dependable cast includes Ann Blyth as the adoptee, Joan Evans and Natalie Wood her sisters, Jane Wyatt and Donald Woods their parents, Farley Granger and Martin Milner as the guys who console the gals. However its Ann Dvorak as the distraught birth mother who walks away with the picture with her usual expertise. Although this Samuel Goldwyn production didn't meet critical expectations it did make money for RKO Studios.

Our Very Own starts out presenting the average American family picture that folks would later come to expect on such shows as Leave It To Beaver and The Donna Reed Show. Parents Jane Wyatt and Donald Cook have three beautiful daughters, Ann Blyth, Joan Evans, and Natalie Wood in descending order. It's a red letter day in the family with Ann's impending graduation from high school.

The girls have their usual teen problems including a nice little rivalry between Blyth and Evans for Farley Granger. But when Evans while looking for her own birth certificate finds Blyth's adoption papers, she uses them without measuring the consequences.

The film is nice family entertainment for the time and I have to say the sentiment is kept in check for this type of film. Our Very Own got an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound Recording.

But the young leads Granger and Blyth are too old and look it to be playing teens. Granger was 25 and Blyth 22. On the other hand Joan Evans was 16 and Martin Milner 19 and the script has them a year younger than Granger and Blyth. There's also a great performance by Ann Dvorak as Blyth's birth mother.

Still Ann delivers a nice performance and it really would have been nice had they given her a song to sing, maybe at the climax which is the graduation.

It's 1949 and adoption is a stigma—at least in some people's eyes. Anyway, the Goldwyn studios continue their saga of America's middle class (e.g. The Best Years of Our Lives {1946}) by building a screenplay around this social theme. Of course, the Macaulay family are a highly idealized version of the real middle class. For example, note how unfailingly courteous and civilized family members are despite surging emotions. Sure, daughter Joan's hormones get the best of her and she behaves badly, but in a way that's still refined. And note Mom's unfailingly wise council and forbearance in Jane Wyatt's early version of Mother Knows Best.

Despite obvious sincerity, the film's Hollywood treatment guarantees a predictable ending from the very start. I just wish the screenplay had dealt with the more difficult aspect of adoption—namely, the factor of an unknown genetic inheritance among those contemplating marriage and who care about such things. And that could well apply to an upwardly mobile neighborhood such as the Macaulay's. But including a genetic factor would have resulted in a much more difficult and darker film.

Still, it's an entertaining movie despite the compromises. That opening sequence is a gem of youthful high-spirits and frustration thanks to Natalie Wood and Gus Schilling even if he is doing schtick (as one reviewer noted). The scene is not just a good one, but also aims to persuade us that the Macaulay's are a real family like anyone else's. Anyway, I agree with those reviewers who find Blythe and Granger a little long-in-the-tooth to be playing teenagers, though it's one of the movie's lesser compromises. Yes, Ann Dvorak is good as the self-conscious birth mother. But I really like Joan Evans' turn as the jealous sister. Catch her subtle facial expressions as she goes through any one of her many emotional conflicts— a fine, unheralded young actress. Also standout is young Martin Milner. His totally unaffected teenager seems light years from his high school peer, the maturely sophisticated Blythe.

And speaking of Milner's gawky teen, I can't help noticing the chuckles we get from his rather callous treatment of pudgy, plain-Jane Gwendolyn (Rita Hamilton). For a film otherwise sensitive within its limits, that same concern apparently doesn't extend to an unattractive girl made the butt of mood lightening gags in a seemingly guilt-free manner. I'm not sure what the moral is, but I don't think it's a good one. Anyway, the movie remains an interesting, if idealized, time capsule of a period when apparently every teenage boy owned a hotrod.

The film starts out feeling sickeningly saccharine. Natalie Wood's character is extremely annoying. I guess they did this to establish what a happy family they are. It is overdone. The film gets serious and very good - especially for its time. Ann Dvorak is outstanding as usual.

Bustling upper-middle-class suburban family attempts to deal with the new tension which has descended into the household after one of the daughters discovers her older sister is adopted--and lets her know it for the first time after throwing herself at her sister's boyfriend. What begins as a light domestic drama takes a sharp left turn midway, nearly becoming a soapy stew. Thankfully, screenwriter F. Hugh Herbert keeps his story on track emotionally for much of the way, resulting in a fascinating saga about parental responsibility, petty behavior between siblings, secrets and lies between loved ones. Some of the situations are dramatically heady; credit director David Miller with carefully maneuvering the piece from one episode to the next, also the cast for nimbly keeping their balance. Perhaps in an attempt to smooth out the ruffled feathers, the big finale at graduation is topped off with too many happy ribbons. Still, this is an absorbing, unusual, enjoyable film, with good work from Ann Blyth, Jane Wyatt, Donald Cook, and Natalie Wood; excellent support from Ann Dvorak as Blyth's 'real' mother. **1/2 from ****

Ann Blyth is "Our Very Own" in this 1950 film also starring Joan Evans, Jane Wyatt, Donald Woods, Phyllis Kirk, Natalie Wood, Ann Dvorak, Farley Granger and Martin Milner. Blyth is Gail, the oldest of three girls in an idyllic '50s family. She's in love with Chuck (Farley Granger) whom her sister Joan is trying to take away from her. She's also preparing for her high school graduation; she will be speaking at the ceremony. On her 18th birthday, Gail gets into yet another heated argument with Joan, during which Joan blurts out something she just learned by accident - that Gail is adopted. Even with a perfect mother like Jane Wyatt and a loving father like Donald Woods, Gail doesn't take it well and demands to meet her "real mother," Mrs. Lynch (Ann Dvorak).

"Our Very Own" gives a good idea of what the '50s were like. You never told anyone anything for their own good was just one of the tenets - that includes Gail's parents not telling her she was adopted and Mrs. Lynch not telling Mr. Lynch she had a baby that she surrendered for adoption. Also, this was a private adoption, done through an attorney, which was very common in those days.

Ann Dvorak has the strongest role as the biological mother, and she's excellent, creating a vibrant character without the class of Gail's adopted mother and with a lout for a husband. Her intentions are good - they probably always were - but she's lived her life under someone's thumb and has never been able to pull it together. Blyth does a complete turnaround from Veda in "Mildred Pierce," the role for which she will always be identified, and plays a mature, responsible young woman. Natalie Wood plays her brat sister - by the end of the first scene, you want to slap her. Joan Evans and Phyllis Kirk are both very good, Joan with her slutty moments and beautiful Phyllis, a favorite of mine from the "Thin Man" television show is good as Gail's best friend. Was there ever a mother as ideal as Jane Wyatt? Like Margaret on Father Knows Best, she's practical, kind, wise and lovely. Donald Woods doesn't have much to do, but plays the loving father well. Handsome Farley Granger makes a great suitor, and Martin Milner as a goof - a role he played often in his early career - is cute.

My only objection is that Gail's mother is too good to be true, her boyfriend is too good to be true, and her best friend is too good to be true. But those sisters - whoa.

A good movie with a lot of heart.

A suburban Los Angeles family is rocked by the revelation one of three daughters is adopted. The label is placed upon eldest Ann Blyth (as Gail Macaulay), a high school teenager about to graduate. She dates handsome TV installation man Farley Granger (as Chuck), who says "mother knows best." As it often happens, middle daughter Joan Evans (as Joan) arrived right after the adoption. Jealous of older sis, Ms. Evans would like some kissing time with Mr. Granger. Otherwise perfect mother Jane Wyatt (as Lois) could never find the right moment to tell Ms. Blyth she was adopted...

Real mother Ann Dvorak (as Gert) has a hard life. Father Donald Cook (as Fred) smacks his girls with an open palm. Mouthy littlest daughter Natalie Wood (as Penny) annoys the heck out of genuinely funny Gus Schilling (as Frank) when he installs the family's new TV set. Fresh-faced teenager Martin Milner has the best up-and-coming role and adoring family servant Jesse Grayson dons her maid uniform for the last time. "Our Very Own" is a slickly produced melodrama which suggests that Samuel Goldwyn, if he were born 50 years later, would have been very successful in 1950s television.

****** Our Very Own (7/27/50) David Miller ~ Ann Blyth, Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Jane Wyatt

Behind the well-woven plot of a budding high school graduate's family problems is an earthy, though somewhat stereotypical examination of a Caucasion based, middle class existence in suburban America of 1949. Ann Blyth earnestly portrays the vicissitudinous impact of a revelation about her character's childhood. The storyline backdrop comes complete with proper but sincerely well meaning parents and a beloved, part-of-the-family, African-American housekeeper and cook (portrayed with gentility and grace by Jessica Grayson in her final film role) without whose valuable, understated contributions the family's daily routine would be reduced to chaos. Finally, of course, there's the obligatory family dog, playfully short-circuiting the household.

As depicted in this typical period film people dressed more formally, even in hot weather (for whatever reasons!), with air conditioning yet to permeate even modern, well equipped homes. As a rule, practical personal dress comfort didn't prevail over formality until the 1960's.

The prolonged initial sequence showcases a wonderful nuisance of a girl (scene-stealing Natalie Wood) "helping" with the installation of a new television, the up and coming electronic marvel of the day (whose commercial success was on the verge of becoming reality, thanks in part to some price breaking discoveries that soon rendered TV sets sufficiently affordable for the masses). Boys and girls were portraying themselves while being quietly groomed for achieving good citizenship standards as defined by the generally conservative post-war period.

In "Our Very Own" personal relationships expressed themselves in ways that depicted subtle, yet significant differences from those of years to come, revealing an overall interesting and introspective perspective of the fairly tranquil, but brief period between World War II and the Korean War. The latter event broke shortly before the public release of this film in 1950. Meanwhile, as the storyline reveals, the "cold war" had already begun and, for many people, nuclear experimentation was beginning to command a scary center stage presence. Other "hot" issues of the day include McCarthy type anti-Communism (or Anti-Americanism as it was in actuality!), racial and ethnic equality and mixed sexual attitudes; but in "Our Very Own" we are deliberately steered inward, into family and personal matters, with the broad and burgeoning concerns of the day kept at bay...almost. Issues such as those mentioned above are not directly infiltrating any aspect of daily life in the treatment offered here, except for occasional inference. The period feel is thereby enhanced.

As "Our Very Own" grapples its way toward the emerging central theme of adoption, its still subtle stigmas of the times permeate the otherwise gentile facade of the featured suburbanite family. Ann Dvorak, in character, offers a fine portrayal as a birth mother as opposed to a rearing one. Her persona is carved from the "other side of the tracks" folks, but a sensitive manner prevails. She exudes pathos, yet maintains dignity for all concerned.

Now, some sixty years hence, we are treated to a time capsule view of an earlier, mostly bygone, America complete with some focal points of its day plus those things eternal that seem to pass through generations, oblivious to time and technology. The story line may be unremarkable (although it maintains interest) but the real and stylized adaptations of Middle American life at the time are enhanced by fine performances that lend a glimpse into aspects of our culture that were probably at least partly present at mid-century past.

One acoustic footnote: "Our Very Own" also concentrates on excellent sound and sensitive background music. An Oscar nomination was achieved for Best Sound Recording.

Kids. They're everywhere. Always underfoot, or out and about, and it's only a matter of time before one spills the beans and unearths your family's buried secret. In this timely drama from the far-off Forties, the secret in question is the past adoption of the oldest daughter, played by the always capable Ann Blyth. She was an actress who was small boned, with a porcelain-like face and a voluminously deep cadence. Afterall, she was a trained opera singer. Although petite, it was always difficult (for me) to view her as a teenager.

Let me first say, the extended opening sequence concerning the arrival and assembly of a spanking new television set is quite remarkable. First, I found it difficult to believe that televisions came in pieces like your kid's bicycle. Second, the rather tipsy and unstable relationship between the two oldest girls is on display--roof-side--within full view of all the neighbors. And us. The man of their dreams just so happens to be the fellow who is installing the aerial on the family's roof. The entire scene teeters on the shingled see-saw of a colossal courting snafu. And third, the youngest daughter's constant badgering of the other delivery man, as he attempts to assemble the glowing box of fuses and tubes, can only be described as finger-nails-on-blackboard annoying. But forgiven. Perfectly contrasted with the level-headed Blyth, Joan Evans, the middle daughter, is a revelation of bad intentions and devious schemes. But there is still something appealing about her. We don't root against her. Natalie Wood, the youngest daughter, has all of her acting ducks in a row. As usual. The best performance, however, is turned in by Ann Dvorak, playing the woman who puts baby Blyth up for adoption. She's a bundle of raw nerves in her two pivotal scenes. She smokes like an incinerator, paces back and forth and has her head on a spinning rotor. The meeting between her and Blyth is heartbreaking. The movie doesn't try to soft peddle the truth: life is not always neat and tidy like a box of soap powder.

Parents Jane Wyatt and Donald Cook should have kept adopting kids, as their two biological daughters (Ann Dvorak, Natalie Wood) are nightmarish: the older is jealous, petty, and deliberately cruel, while the younger is a rotten little loudmouthed brat who won't stay out of everyone's business. I wasn't five minutes into the movie before I wanted to strangle the youngest girl with her own pigtails. Otherwise, standard family-style soap opera.

This movie was made in 1949, just 4 years after the end of World War 2. It was a time when the average American family got to enjoy the post-war USA: Having Dad at home and not fighting a war , Mom at home instead of working in a factory making bombs , being able to buy gas anytime you wanted and having the thrill of seeing the what everyone wanted: a TV set in their home. It is with this backdrop, that one of the smaller studios, RKO, produced this wonderful and warm-hearted story of a young woman who discovers a secret kept from her since birth. It is not a typical story for it's time and that what makes it so different. It was written and directed with much care while dealing with a very sensitive subject. The major Hollywood Studios like MGM, Paramount, Warners, etc, still made all of the big-budget films, but RKO turned out some real good ones and Our Very Own is at the top of the list.

A remarkable performance of young Ann Blyth, which caused an everlasting impression of superb acting and sweet beauty, which transmitted, in the same 50's, a smooth overall portrait on the mid-century style of the american family way of life and the behavior of their youngsters, specially to non-american viewers.

"Our Very Own," the story of a girl on her eighteenth birthday whose world is shattered when she learns she's adopted, is an excellent and most underrated film. In addition to the intense drama, it's also a typical look at the American Family in 1949 just as television is entering most American homes at that time. The cast is excellent and features a young Natalie Wood as Gail Macualey's youngest sister. It was recently released on home video for the first time and it's a treasure to own.

A sensitive family story with interesting complications of relationships: What do you do when you reach your 8th birthday and suddenly find out that you are not a natural daughter but adopted, so that your sisters, who have grown up with you all these years, no longer are your true sisters? Ann Blyth handles it perfectly and never shows the shock she is in, but puts on a stiff upper lip and continues to do what she has to do for her graduation. Farley Granger is her boyfriend, and he has an important say in this, which steadies her for her final act when she is making a speech at the graduation. Jane Wyatt as the mother is also perfect, but the main thing here is the perfect acting, it is totally convincing and natural all the way, like a true drama taken directly out of life, and that makes this film invaluable. To this comes Victor Young's lovely music which couldn't fit better into the picture. This is a film to love for giving important food for considerable afterthought.

Don't be so over analytical! Screen writer F. Hugh Herbert and others of his ilk didn't live long enough to know what the internet would be, or become, certainly not imagining that in 2020 there would be websites such as IMDB that would have fans of motion pictures discussing and rating the films that they saw. Mr. Herbert would have gotten a kick out of some of the reviews about "Our Very Own" especially the member nut case "Trpdean" talk about over analytical, good lord! Screenplays are a certain type of animal and it takes a good film director, producer and crew to make a good motion picture out of a few hundred pages of script! Motion pictures are a tremendous undertaking that requires the technical skills and talents of hundreds or men and women to produce such a thing we call movies! The reason I love this old picture for copious reasons! (I use that word "copious" for old "Trpdean") Copious indeed, but here are a few things I love about it. First off it was made at the best time in our country! There are no cell phones, smart phones, computers, women with colored hair, idiots running around covered with ugly tattoos, no CGI, no dumb car chases, foul language, sex scenes, actors with marbles in their mouths that you can't even understand what they are saying? Hand held cameras, loud over recorded sound effects, natural lighting and dark scenes that look even worse in digital cinema! (digital cinema sucks anyway!) This list of things this picture doesn't have that I like about it is endless! No covid-19 masks, no Mr. Trump or Mr. Biden, no 24 hour hell! As 2020 comes to a close, I am going to pull out the 16mm sound projector and watch a beautiful original print of Szmuel Gelbfisz's "Our Very Own" on the big screen in glorious black and white! Joan Evans was a hottie! Ann Blyth was beautiful, Farley Granger was a talented and handsome leading man, Jane Wyatt was a good looking woman, Gus Schilling was a crack up! Love little Natalie Wood, Phyllis Kirk was a babe, love them all! They all blow away all of the horrible actors of today! Movies and TV shows suck now! They have since the 1970's! It's been 40 years of trash, with very few exceptions! So get out your Covid-19 masks, take a poisonous vaccine and hope you don't die, and enjoy "Our Very Own" Now where did I put that darn old covid-19 mask?