Eve Knew Her Apples

The rating is higher than it ought to be simply because it is fascinating to watch a great movie remade on the cheap for no particular reason other than Columbia already owned it, and comparing it to the original.

I walked in on this in the middle. I love Ann Miller, so I kept watching. Suddenly I was hearing very familiar dialog. Hokey smokes, it's "It Happened One Night" only without the lighting, directing, production values, pacing and acting.

The sheer audacity of taking a classic (the only picture to win all five major academy awards up to that time) and turning it into a B semi-musical boggled the mind. I even was able to recite the script ahead of the actors (and better).

Contrary to the previous comment, they really did use the original brilliant dialog all over the place. It just goes to show that even a work of genius can be destroyed when placed in the wrong hands.

Poor Ann Miller . . . what was she thinking when she wanted to headline, instead of co-star, in a flick? Not content with being one of M-G-M's sturdy, yeoman supporting players, she somehow opted for this Columbia remake of It Happened One Night . . .and for that one commenter who opined, " . . . probably the original was better!" he/she needs to take Classic Hollywood Films 101 and brush up on one of the great comedies of all time. And turning that magnificent film into a musical really is someone's idea of a joke. The remake of THIS "musical," You Can't Run Away from It, is hardly any better; that is unless you like the warbling and mugging of June Allyson. Skip this one . . . William Wright is really a poverty-stricken excuse for Clark Gable and who can come close to to matching the comedic talents of Claudette Colbert? The original IHON swept the Oscars in 1935; the crew on this one is just possibly capable of sweeping the floor! . . . and WHO dubbed Ann Miller's voice?

Ann Miler (as Eve) is a popular radio singer who wants to vacation after a successful season; but, her handlers want her to film a movie. She leaves anyway; then, her handlers give chase, forcing the star to hide out with William Wright (as Ward), a traveling newspaperman. A series of misunderstandings threaten their chance for romance.

This film was re-made as "You Can't Run Away From It" (1956). It does compare favorably to that version; I think the situation works better in an older, black and white film from ten years earlier… and, this version is a re-make of an even earlier version, "It Happened One Night". This one, "Eve Knew Her Apples" is really just okay. Ms. Miller is pretty. The production is weak, with the editing its most obvious distraction.

**** Eve Knew Her Apples (1945) Will Jason ~ Ann Miller, William Wright, Ray Walker

Eve Knew Her Apples (1945)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Lighthearted remake of Frank Capra's It Happened One Night has a famous singer (Ann Miller) running away only to be picked up by a man (William Wright) who she doesn't know is a reporter. This is pretty much a scene by scene remake of the Capra film but it removes a lot of footage and just mainly copies the most famous scenes. There's nothing overly funny about this comedy and Ann Miller is a complete bore but fans of the previous film will be slightly entertained by seeing that film redone. Wright certainly steals the show and makes for several nice moments but the screenplay really doesn't allow him to do too much. The film runs a short 64-minutes and goes pretty quickly throughout.

This film appears to be a remake of It Happened one Night. Took me a little while to figure it out, as this movie deals with a radio singer who is trying to give her producers and managers the slip. The plot for it happened one night is not as evident in the first part of the film as it is in the last say, half of the film. There is a scene where Miller and Wright attempt to sleep in the hay on some farm and up crops verbatim dialog taken from the Clark Gable/Claudette Colbert flick: That was were the tipoff was.

The only reason I liked this at all was Anne Miller. She was as good a singer as a dancer. I'll watch any flick with Anne Miller in it any day.

Actually as a remake this flick is not bad. Due to the lack of interest in it here, I suppose it flopped at the box office. It is too bad: because this film is just as entertaining as any of that years "A" movies. Just to sit in the theatre and look at Anne Miller was worth a quarter. But probably due to a lack of publicity (and the fact that there was still a war on)- I have never heard of this movie until Today.

The "Big Radio Band" theme kinda works with Anne as she had a pretty good voice and a good range, but is almost a waste of Ann's dancing talents. We never get to see the famous long legged full body shot of Ann. THAT is a disappointment.

Ann Miller was borne to grace the screen, it is almost impossible to get a bad shot of her face or other assets. This is the only film I have seen where she has the female lead, and she takes it.