Identity Unknown (1945)

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(95 ratings)

Predating 20th Century-Fox's Somewhere in the Night by at least a year, Identity Unknown is one of the first (if not the first) 1940s melodramas centering around an amenisiac ex-GI. Richard Arlen plays Johnny March, who returns from WW2 with nary a clue as to his true identity or the details of his… More Predating 20th Century-Fox's Somewhere in the Night by at least a year, Identity Unknown is one of the first (if not the first) 1940s melodramas centering around an amenisiac ex-GI. Richard Arlen plays Johnny March, who returns from WW2 with nary a clue as to his true identity or the details of his past. March begins a long and arduous trek across America, visiting a wide variety of people who've lost loved ones in the war, in hopes of piecing together his own previous existence. In the manner of The Fugitive, March profoundly affects the lives of everyone he meets, helping them understand what the sacrifices of the war were all about and enabling them to face the future with optimism and pride. Though it may have been merely coincidental, Identity Unknown was released around the same time that the United Nations' first San Francisco Conference was about to convene. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 10 min.
Directed By: Walter Colmes
Genres: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Apr 2, 1945 Wide
On DVD: Mar 15, 2005

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Bruce B

This Film made in 1945 by Republic Pictures. It?s a wonder film about a solider ( played by Richard Arlen, star of the silent epic, WINGS, ) who returns back to the United States suffering from amnesia. He was found in a bombed out farm house in France with 3 other men who were… More
This Film made in 1945 by Republic Pictures. It?s a wonder film about a solider ( played by Richard Arlen, star of the silent epic, WINGS, ) who returns back to the United States suffering from amnesia. He was found in a bombed out farm house in France with 3 other men who were killed and beyond recognition. So he has a list of 4 names who he can possibly be. After going AWOL he travels to the home of the 4 names. At the first address, he meets Sally MacGregor (Cheryl Walker), who is now a young widow. "Johnny" falls in love with Sally, and that only heightens the importance of his mission to learn who he is - after all, he might have a wife waiting for him at home, along the way he falls in love with a girl. On his second visit he is greeted by a child (played by . Bobby Driscoll, the talented child star in this time frame). For the time frame it?s a great coming home from war story. I got this film in the Mill Creek Combat Classics 50 Pack Its worth all of 4 stars. The highest I have given to any movie in this collection so far.