IDENTITY UNKNOWN

Richard Arlen

IDENTITY UNKNOWN (1945). Director: Walter Holmes. Colorized version. 

A young amnesiac soldier who calls himself Johnny March (Richard Arlen of The Lady and the Monster) tries to find out what his true identity is. Johnny was one of four men who were holed up in a farmhouse in France that was besieged by Nazis. The other three men were killed -- their bodies burned beyond recognition -- but the Army doesn't know which of the four is "Johnny March." Johnny decides to pay a call on the relatives of all four men in the hopes he can discover who he actually is. (Oddly, all of the relatives have been notified that their loved ones are deceased even though the Army can't be certain that this is true!) During his journey Johnny meets a lovely young war widow named Sally (Cheryl Walker) and the two fall in love. But how can Sally be certain that "Johnny" doesn't already have a wife until he finds out who he really is?

Bobby Driscoll and Arlen

Identity Unknown is an interesting, episodic drama with good performances. The best segment is a sad one in which a little boy (Bobby Driscoll) is convinced that Johnny is his father come home from the war. There is a less effective interlude in which Johnny gets involved with a young man who works in a bookie joint. This features some "lovable" hoodlums who are too good to be true. A final segment has Johnny arriving at a home where the mother and father (Sarah Padden and Forrest Taylor of Manhunt of Mystery Island) are mourning their dead son. The picture is not perfect by any means, but it does effectively explore the pain and loss felt by those whose loved ones go off to war and never return. 

Verdict: Absorbing WW 2 drama that looks at the people left behind. ***.