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. However, the problems begin 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 dresser. Just before the unveiling of the prized statue, Eddie takes "Venus" to the model-display house in the store, where the store's owner finds her. He also 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

Mary Pickford bought the screen rights to the original Broadway musical comedy for $150,000, intending to film it with the original cast, which included Mary Martin. The plan was abandoned when Martin became pregnant.

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Quotes

Whitfield Savory: She reminds me of someone.
Molly Grant: I wish she reminded me of me.

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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

Featured in The Costume Designer (1950)

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Soundtracks

Speak Low
(uncredited)
Music by Kurt Weill
Lyrics by Ogden Nash
New lyrics by Ann Ronell
Played over opening credits
Sung by Ava Gardner (dubbed by Eileen Wilson), Dick Haymes
Played as part of the score often

User Reviews

Robert Walker meets a heavenly goddess

During and after World War II, fantasy was big in Hollywood. It wasn't just escapism; it was all the thinking about death as many loved ones were lost. It's no wonder we had so many people coming back ("Here Comes Mr. Jordan"), facing the pearly gates or the hotter ones ("Heaven Can Wait"), or meeting angels in human form ("The Bishop's Wife"). We also had a visits from the big goddesses. How fitting that two women closest to being goddesses in human form actually played them - Rita Hayworth as Terpsichore in 1947's "Down to Earth," and of course, Ava Gardner as Venus in "One Touch of Venus." "One Touch of Venus" is based on the Broadway musical of the same name that was revived in London a few years ago with Melissa Errico, but never came to New York. Alas, there aren't many songs in this version but the most famous song, "Speak Low When You Speak Love" remains. The film stars Gardner, Robert Walker, Dick Haymes, Olga San Juan, Tom Conway, and Eve Arden. Walker works in a department store where a magnificent statue of Venus is about to be unveiled. On an impulse, he kisses it, and she comes to life. He falls madly in love with her, while his girlfriend (San Juan) flips out for his friend (Haymes). When the statue is discovered missing, the police assume that Walker knows something about it, since he was fixing the presentation curtain and claims that she then came to life.

Walker is an energetic delight as he chases Venus. After this film, he was institutionalized, and by 1951, his boyishness was gone as he entered what should have been the greatest part of his career with a magnificent performance in "Strangers on a Train." Instead, he only made one more film after that, dying in 1951. Looking at him in "One Touch of Venus," it's hard to imagine he had any demons. Eve Arden is hilarious as the secretary in unrequited love with her boss, Tom Conway. He's seen Venus sleeping in the home department and fallen for her as well. Haymes sings beautifully, and San Juan is pert and pretty as a young woman suddenly torn between two men. But all eyes are on Ava Gardner's dazzling beauty. She's a perfect embodiment of Venus with her flawless face, figure, and soft voice. Even though as a younger woman she had tried singing with a band, she wasn't a singer, so her voice is dubbed in this by Eileen Wilson. Like Hayworth, early in her career, she sometimes played roles that required vocals, and like Hayworth, she was always dubbed.

The best scene in the film takes place in the park toward the end. It's exuberant and thrilling - you won't want it to end. That scene sums up this lovely fantasy with a divine Ava, and you can't get any better than that.