In 1922, Scott Carter (Mel Ferrer) graduates from Chase Medical School in Chicago. That afternoon, Scott marries his girlfriend, Marcia Mitchell (Beatrice Pearson), and they leave for his internship at a Georgia hospital. Though Scott and Marcia are black, they are both light-skinned enough to look white. Upon arriving in Georgia, when the hospital administrator sees that Scott is light-skinned he rescinds the job offer explaining that, “he can only accept Southern applicants.” Marcia insists on Scott that they move in with her parents in Brookline, Massachusetts, while he continues searching for another medical job. In Brookline, Mr. and Mrs. Morris Mitchell, who are also light-skinned, live in a while community and have never been identified as a black. They also do not warm to the idea of Scott working in a black hospital, for fear that it may blow their cover.
Scott’s black friends even tell him that he should act white in order to receive employment., but he refuses. To make money, he begins making shoes while still applying to various medical jobs. However, because he continues to apply as a “Negro” Scott’s applications are rejected time and time again. After learning that Marsha is pregnant, Scott finally agrees to pass for white and accepts a one-year internship in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One weekend, Scott saves a doctor named Walter Brackett, and the doctor soon befriends him and later offers Scott a position in the small town of Keenham, New Hampshire. Scott confesses his secret to Brackett advises him to be practical about the situation. Scott acquiesces and soon him and begin raising a family in Keenham.
Lost Boundaries is a 1949 film from the Film Classics company. It is based upon the true story of Dr. Albert Chandler Johnston, whose family passed for white while living in New Hampshire. This was one of Mel Ferrer’s first films and he and Beatrice Pearson turn in terrific performances. You never get disappointed with their characters for trying to pass as white, you seem them try to make it the best that they can, but when the odds are stacked against them then and only then do they made the difficult decision.
The film is a clear-eyed look at segregated America, yet focuses on the North rather than the South. By today’s standards, it is easy to say that the film lacks honesty, especially by casting whites actors in the lead roles, but given the times (Jim Crow, et al.), I expect the production went as far as any commercial production could have at the time. There are moments where it may come off as a bit hokey, but it is never overly dramatic, you can tell that the production was made with respect. Lost Boundaries is a penetrating, well-meaning that despite its age, still manages to speak to social issues occurring today.
- Directed by--Alfred L. Werker
- Produced by--Louis De Rochemont
- Written by--Eugene Ling and Virginia Shaler, Charles Palmer (Novel)
- Starring--Mel Ferrer, Beatrice Pearson, Susan Douglas Rubes and Richard Hylton
- Music by--Louis Applebaum
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