Vanessa, Her Love Story

Helen Hayes and Robert Montgomery suffer a star-crossed love in this Victorian-era romantic drama based on the novel by Hugh Walpole. On the eve of their wedding, Vanessa Paris (Hayes) wrongfully blames Benjie Herries (Montgomery) for her father's death and banishes him forever. Discovering he married a tavern wench and joined the British army, Vanessa weds Benjie's half great-uncle (Otto Kruger), unaware he's mentally ill and under the law can never be divorced. Passions reignite, however, when a wifeless Benjie returns from war and Vanessa is torn between her one true love and the husband she's bound to for life. Cowritten by Walpole himself, Vanessa: Her Love Story would mark Hayes' last starring role for 17 years. Returning to the screen in My Son John (1952), the First Lady of American Theater would continue to make films for the rest of her career, winning her second Oscar for Airport.*