My Forbidden Past

My Forbidden Past is a 1951 film directed by Robert Stevenson. It stars Robert Mitchum and Ava Gardner. Adapted by Leopold Atlas from Polan Banks novel "Carriage Entrance".
Plot.
In 1890s New Orleans, wrongly believing Barbara Beaurevelle (Ava Gardner) had stood him up on the eve of their elopement, Dr. Mark Lucas (Robert Mitchum) has returned from South America accompanied by Corinne (Janis Carter), a woman he married on the rebound. Determined to win him back, Barbara bribes her cousin (Melvyn Douglas) to break up the marriage, a cold-blooded scheme that ends in death and the doctor suspected of murder.
Production.
The film was to star Ann Sheridan. Under her contract she had co star approval. RKO claimed she refused all the names offered her and thus terminated the contract, replacing her with Ava Gardner. Sheridan sued RKO for $350,000. The case went to trial and in February 1951 the jury awarded her $55,162, being the minimum amount Sheridan would have earned during filming from April to August 1949 plus $5,162 for costs. It was shown that Sheridan would have approved Mitchum as a co star.
Reception.
The film recorded a loss of $700,000.