The Trial of Mary Dugan (1941 film)


The Trial of Mary Dugan is a 1941 American drama and thriller film directed by Norman Z. McLeod, written by Bayard Veiller from his 1927 play of the same name. It had previously been made as a 1929 MGM movie starring Norma Shearer in her first all-talking role. There are significant differences in the two movie versions.
The 1941 remake starred Laraine Day, Robert Young, Tom Conway, Frieda Inescort, John Litel, Marsha Hunt, Marjorie Main and Henry O'Neill. It was released on February 14, 1941, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Plot

Released from a reformatory after two years there for stealing $500, Mary Dugan is advised by a friend there, Agatha Hall, to change her name. Mary decides to go by Mary Andrews and her friend Aggie becomes a showgirl, now called Irene.
Mary's father is hit by a car and killed. The car's owner, wealthy businessman Edgar Wayne, offers her a job. She eventually becomes his private secretary. She also meets the company's attorney, Jimmy Blake, and falls in love. But when Jimmy gets a job in South America, she can't marry him and go along because a birth certificate, required for a passport, would reveal Mary's true identity.
A year later, Jimmy returns because Wayne has been murdered and Mary charged with the crime. He dislikes the way attorney West is handling her case and volunteers to replace him. Wayne's widow testifies that Mary and her husband were having an affair. Jimmy proves that West and the widow schemed to kill her husband, who was leaving her, and make Mary the scapegoat. She is found not guilty.

Cast