One Touch of Venus (1948)

Fantasy comedy about a young window dresser who kisses a statue of Venus, which then comes to life in the form of Ava Gardner. The problems begin, however, when Venus falls in love with him.

Directors:

William A. Seiter, Gregory La Cava (uncredited)

Writers:

Harry Kurnitz (screenplay), Frank Tashlin (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Walker, Ava Gardner, Dick Haymes

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Walker	...	Eddie Hatch
Ava Gardner	...	Venus
Dick Haymes	...	Joe Grant
Eve Arden	...	Molly Stewart
Olga San Juan	...	Gloria
Tom Conway	...	Whitfield Savory
James Flavin	...	Kerrigan
Sara Allgood	...	Landlady
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hugh Herbert	...	Mercury (scenes deleted)

Storyline

In the art department of a large department store, the statue of the famed Anatolian Venus comes to life and falls in love with Eddie Hatch, a window trimmer. Just before the unveiling of the prized statue, Eddie takes "Venus" to the model-display house in the store, where the store's boss finds her. He, too, falls in love with her and makes her Glamour Girl Number One. Eddie and Venus dance in Central Park, but Eddie is arrested for stealing the statue. Venus goes back to her pedestal and Eddie is released. While Eddie is sadly preparing for another unveiling, a new employee asks him a question. She tells him her name is Venus Jones.

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Plot Keywords:

statue | department store | window dresser | unveiling | statue of venus | 

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Taglines:

The Gal Who Invented Love!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Venus macht Seitensprünge

Filming Locations:

Republic Studios - 4024 Radford Avenue, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artists Alliance,Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Susanna Foster was offered the role ultimately played by Olga San Juan, but she declined.

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Quotes

Molly Grant: [to the statue] To Venus, the Goddess of Love! May she stay on the job and take care of all of us!

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Crazy Credits

Evidently a few characters' names were changed during production, causing serious contradictions in various sources' cast lists. Haymes's character is just plain "Joe" (no surname), but some sources grafted onto him the surname "Grant" from Arden's character! As if that weren't bad enough, poor Arden (addressed by various characters as "Molly Grant" consistently through the film) finds herself wrongly identified in some sources as "Molly Stewart" (which is never the surname she bears in the actual film).

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Connections

Remade as Mannequin (1987)

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Soundtracks

That's Him
(uncredited)
Music by Kurt Weill
Lyrics by Ogden Nash
New lyrics by Ann Ronell
Sung by Ava Gardner (dubbed by Eileen Wilson), Olga San Juan and Eve Arden

User Reviews

A wonderful fantasy.

Ava was never more beautiful. Robert Walker is at his lucky best. Dick Haymes was never in better voice. And, oh, that beautiful Kurt Weill-Ogden Nash score. Not only is "Speak Low" offered, but, the musical scene in Central Park as well, so masterfully handled and performed, will have you gliding and falling in love with the thought of falling in love.

This was a little recognized gem.