In THREE SECRETS, a fascinating melodrama told in flashbacks, three women must face a secret when a chance tragic accident brings them closer to it. When an airplane crashes on a California mountain, the only survivor is five-year old Johnny (Duncan Richardson). Hardin (Edmond Ryan), a reporter, learns that the now-orphaned boy was adopted as a baby from a shelter. Three boys listed with the same birthday as Johnny's were placed by the shelter, but the matron refuses to reveal the names of their mothers. Soon three women with secret pasts rush to the rescue site where Johnny is still stranded. Susan Chase (Eleanor Parker) is now married to Bill (Leif Erickson), a lawyer, but has never told him about the child she gave birth to five years earlier. She becomes convinced that Johnny is hers, after reflecting on the complex events that led to the birth of her son--but she is not the only woman who believes the boy is hers. Phyllis Horn (Patricia Neal), a reporter, is also watching the rescue effort, and she recognizes Susan from the shelter where they both gave birth. They recognize yet another woman at the rescue site, Ann Lawrence (Ruth Roman), who was also at the shelter that day long ago. Using flashback as a gripping device to tell each woman's story and link it to the tale of the present rescue effort, director Robert Wise gets excellent performances from his actors in the process.