Il bacio di Venere

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.

Never mind her vocals may have been dubbed. Its joy enough to watch her light up the screen. Thankfully, the music is kept to a minimum. This is not a full-blown musical on the order of My Fair Lady or The Music Man. Good, light-hearted comedy.

...who always adds spice and biting wit to any film, be it comedy or drama. I just had to mention her because I think she is so overlooked and underrated.

Eddie Hatch (Robert Walker) is a verbally abused unappreciated and underpaid display dresser at Savory's department store. His girlfriend Gloria, also an employee at the store, wants to marry him. However, it seems she is more interested in starting her own personal post-war baby boom than she is interested in Eddie himself. One night, while dressing the display for store owner Whitfield Savory's new two hundred thousand dollar statue of Venus, Eddie kisses the statue on a whim and it comes to life (Ava Gardner). Venus is instantly smitten with Eddie, and causes him all kinds of trouble, starting with the fact that she won't get back on her pedestal. This brings Eddie under suspicion of stealing the statue, and anybody who heard the truth of the matter would either think he's lying or crazy. All kinds of comedic and romantic complications ensue.

This film is based on a musical play, thus the three or so odd musical numbers that, to me, didn't seem to fit with the rest of the film and are actually a distraction, but not an awful one. With Tom Conway as the suave lady's man owner of the department store, Eve Arden as his efficient secretary who also carries a torch for the guy, and James Flannigan as a bumbling cop who is no match for Venus's wit or magical powers, it certainly is unique. I'd recommend it.

Those who love the Broadway show will be disappointed by the screen adaptation of One Touch of Venus, with less than half the score being retained being one reason. Judging the film on its own merits, One Touch of Venus has a lot of nice things and is a lovely film on the whole.

Some of the direction is a little heavy-footed and dreary at times, and some of the story is both flimsy and convoluted, that would have been solved if the film was longer. While the film is crying out for the use of colour, the production values still look decent. The sets while not opulent is never what you call cheap either, the costumes(especially Gardner's) are tailored beautifully and the camera clearly loves Gardner, judging by how lovingly shot the whole film is. Unfortunately, less than half of the show's score is here in the film but what is retained here are breaths of fresh air and very well-placed. The highlight is the sublime Speak Low, which is elevated by Dick Haymes' magical rendition of it(it's repeated again by Eileen Wilson dubbing Gardner, but I prefer Haymes), one of Kurt Weill's most beautiful ever songs and now a popular jazz standard. The incidental score has many pleasant and characterful moments.

Choreographically, One Touch of Venus is never extraordinary but it's dependable and has enthusiasm, with the Central Park scene coming off best. The witty script with its smart comedy and sweet sentiment(didn't think it was that soap-opera-ish actually personally) serves the film very well, and while the story is not the most exceptionally executed stories for a film on the most part the infectious charm, heart-warming whimsy, exuberance, likability and heart more than make up for the occasional heaviness and convolution. The characters engage at least, and the stellar cast all give strong performances. There was the initial worry on my part that Robert Walker would be too intense(he went on to play one of the greatest screen villains in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train) for a role where a light touch is necessary, but he actually is very earnest and likable and his comic timing is nimble.

Dick Haymes is very charming, Tom Conway is effortlessly suave(though on a side note few actors beat Conway's brother George Sanders in the 'suave' factor) and Olga San Juan plays plenty of energy and feistiness. The two best performances come from Eve Arden and Ava Gardner. Arden is a true scene-stealer and a breath of fresh air, she has some of the film's best lines and she is hilariously acerbic. Gardner is also fabulous, not only does she look absolutely wonderful but she plays Venus with a genuine warmth, alluring sexiness and womanly charm, she also handles the comic timing well if not ingeniously.

In summary, a lovely film and well worth giving a chance. Gardner, Arden and the song Speak Low are the high-points. This said, lighter direction, a longer length, the use of colour and more songs from the show may likely in my view have made things better. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

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.