The Divided Heart (1954)

A German couple (Cornell Borchers, Armin Dahlen) have brought up their adopted son (Michel Ray) who they believed was a war orphan. But a visit from the International Refugee Organization informs them that the boy's birth mother (Yvonne Mitchell) is alive and wants her son back. Inspired by an actual incident and directed by Charles Crichton (A FISH CALLED WANDA). This is a story where no one wins, it's impossible to come up with an ending that would please everybody and the film's bittersweet ending leaves one dissatisfied. That being said, it's a potent look at parental love and the question of who is the "mother", the one who gave birth to the child or the one that raised him. The film is extremely even handed, both mothers are good and loving women. The movie gives us a sense of the turmoil in these women's lives as each struggles to hold onto their child with the decision out of their hands and into the courts. With Alexander Knox, Geoffrey Keen, Theodore Bikel, Alec McCowen and John Schlesinger, who would give up acting to become a director (SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY).