Eve Knew Her Apples

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 has not been shown in so long that I thought maybe it was one of the lost films that are so often talked about. Recently Turner Classic Movies showed a fairly good print, so they must have gotten it out of Columbia's vault.

This remake of "It Happened One Night" changes the plot enough to suit Miller's talents, but retains a few of the original plot devices. However, don't judge this film by the original. This one is strictly fluff to showcase Miller, who even though a "B" star, made plenty of money for Columbia in films like this.

Miller doesn't dance at all in the film, but she does a creditable job singing four songs, and looks great (at age 22!). In her autobiography, Miller mentions good reviews she got for her singing, so I'm assuming that she didn't need dubbing. In all of her films, her singing voice sounds the same, not that this is any proof.

The title must have been chosen to insinuate more to the audience than is actually delivered. Nevertheless, if you like just looking at Ann Miller, you'll enjoy this film. After all, it's only one hour long.

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?

Terrible script for perky songbird Ann Miller (looking like a grown-up version of Shirley Temple), doing her best with a ridiculous, derivative plot and lukewarm ballads. A radio singer on vacation in Las Vegas attempts to escape her swarming managers by hitching a ride in a guy's car; turns out he's a reporter for the Los Angeles Bulletin, and he thinks she's an escaped murderess. Even at 64 minutes, this thing's a long haul. Miller's character seems much too busy to have a social life, but then we suddenly discover she's been promised to a man named Walter W. Walter II. She really loves the reporter, named Ward Williams and played by William Wright. Her managers are played by Robert Williams and Ray Walker. These "Apples" are 'W' crazy. Ann's a peach, and she has a funny scene where she's cooked some beans for breakfast, but this vehicle for her is just a quickie product from Columbia--unworthy of Miller or anyone else. * from ****

It didn't take me long to realize that what I was seeing was a complete re-do by Columbia Pictures of 'It Happened One Night',except this time with music. It seemed that even the same sets were used in a number of cases. The characters almost look like clones of original cast. You even have the Shapley character who threatens to expose the two lovers if they don't go along his blackmail scheme. Ann Miller is an absolute delight. Whether or not her voiced was dubbed or not, it all comes over very effectively. It's just too bad she couldn't have gone into one of her dance routines. The film only runs 64 minutes but it's worth every second of it.