Paid in Full

Year: 1950

Runtime: 98 mins

Language: English

Director: William Dieterle

Drama

The Story of a Woman’s Bitter Victory Two sisters fall in love with the same man. After the wedding, the new husband realizes he may have married the wrong sister.

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Jane Langley, Lizabeth Scott is gravely ill and found slumped over the steering wheel, rushed to the hospital. She provides a false name and asks for Dr. Fredericks, Ray Collins, who is awakened and summoned. The doctor explains that because of her desperate condition, she must choose between the baby’s life or her own. She steadfastly asserts that the child must live.

A flashback shows how things came to pass. Jane’s mother died in childbirth, so Jane raised her younger sister Nancy Langley, [Diana Lynn]. They work with advertising executive Bill Prentice, with Jane as a clothing designer and Nancy as a model. Jane is in love with Bill, but Bill and Nancy marry. Nancy quickly becomes bored by married life, preferring to spend time with old friends. The idea of having a baby excites her, even though the family physician, Dr. Fredericks, has cautioned that parturition will be risky for both sisters. When Nancy’s daughter Deborah is born, Nancy is possessive of the baby and treats Bill coldly, beginning to contemplate divorce.

One night after Jane and Bill begin to realize that they have feelings for one another, Nancy falsely assumes that they have had a secret affair. After an angry confrontation, Jane is distraught and tries to drive away, but as she is reversing her car to leave, she accidentally crushes Deborah, killing her. Nancy and Bill are divorced, but Nancy is traumatized by the death of her child and is undergoing therapy. The doctor tells Jane that it would help if Nancy could adopt a child. Jane hatches the idea of conceiving a child with Bill and giving it to the couple. She approaches Bill and pushes for a quick marriage in Mexico. Once she is pregnant, she runs off to have the baby, knowing that she might die in the process. The doctor has contacted Nancy and Bill, who come to see Jane on her deathbed. Jane gives them the baby, hoping that they can start over as a couple, and they name the baby Jane.

Last Updated: December 10, 2025 at 12:33

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