The Bigamist (1953)

Despite being categorized as a film noir, Ida Lupino’s 1953 film The Bigamist isn’t as much of a noir as it is a straightforward drama, detailing a man’s double life and how it came to be. The film’s protagonist, Harry Graham, attempts to adopt a child with his wife Eve only for an adoption agent to grow suspicious and look for information about Harry, eventually discovering that he has another wife and a child. The bulk of the film is told via flashback as Harry attempts to explain himself to the disgusted agent by detailing how he met Phyllis while on the rocks with his wife and made the decision to marry her upon discovering she was pregnant. The narrative doesn’t defend Harry’s crimes as much as it explains them in a way that makes him both sympathetic and reprehensible. Even the agent is conflicted as to what to feel regarding Harry as he makes the decision not to call the police. The film ultimately ends with Harry tried for bigamy only for the matter of his sentencing and whether or not Eve or Phyllis will take him back to be up to the audience.