Close To My Heart (1951)

A childless couple (Ray Milland, Gene Tierney) adopt a newborn baby but the father becomes obsessed with finding out about the child's birth parents. This obsession causes a disruption in the marriage. This rather unique film is a fairly absorbing if glossy look at the restrictive adoption process (circa 1951) and how an adoptive parent's fears about "bad blood" birth parents can possibly prevent him from truly bonding with a child. The scene when Milland finally meets the birth father (James Seay) plays as brutally today as it played in 1951. Directed by William Keighley (MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER). The musical mush is by Max Steiner. With Fay Bainter, Howard St. John and Mary Beth Hughes, very good as the brassy blonde who gives Milland the clues that will lead him to the truth about his adopted son.