The Blues My Baby Gave To Me (1962)

After the birth of her first child, a young mother (Inger Stevens) has erratic mood swings and thoughts of killing her baby. When she has a complete nervous breakdown, her husband (Robert Vaughn) takes her to a psychiatrist (Wendell Corey) who has her committed to a mental hospital. Directed by William Graham (CHANGE OF HABIT), this was originally shown as an episode of the television series THE ELEVENTH HOUR. It is a very early acknowledgement of what is known as post partum depression today but referred to as post partum psychosis here. The young mother is treated sympathetically here instead of the oddity she must have seemed in 1962. If the diagnosis and its quick resolution seem too pat to 2023 sensibilities, it's still a compelling narrative. Best of all, it affords an opportunity for the underrated Inger Stevens to show what she was capable of as an actress but rarely taken advantage of by Hollywood. She never got really good film roles. With Jack Ging, John Zaremba and Louise Lorimer.