One Touch of Venus

A lot of efforts by cast and production crews went into this show. It's good to see how TV was over 60 years ago. Hats Off to all

This is probably most notable as an example of a televised live performance. Neither the story nor the cast deliver anything particularly scintillating, otherwise. The story is quite fun: "Rodney" (Russell Nype) tries out his soon-to-be-fiancée's engagement ring on a statue of Venus. She (Janet Blair) promptly comes alive and decides to get shot of the girlfriend and claim him for herself. Blair is actually OK, but the rest of this hasn't really stood the test of time so well. Clearly the actors are under lot of pressure by the nature of the presentation, and so the performances - especially the singing - are really quite stilted and wooden. The stars way too worried about fluffing their lines, missing their cues etc. - and unlike the theatrical performers, seemed to have nowhere near enough confidence to make this other than a tough watch for us viewers. Worth a watch because of it's innovative nature but not much more.

Neither the abused story line nor any of the actors convey the operatic melodies of Kurt Weill nor the acid lyrics of Ogden Nash. A real bomb. Try to find the 1948 movie. 1955 TV made this etheral creation into a sit-com.

Janet Blair was a Hollywood semi-star in 1940s musicals and comedies (her most famous role was as Eileen opposite Rosalind Russell in "My Sister Eileen" before it was musicalized), but somehow never made it to the top, and went into TV in its early days, becoming far better known in the 1950s as a variety show regular and as Sid Caesar's wife (after Nanette Fabray).

Blair had a wonderful contralto voice and a great way with a song, either uptempo or slow and sultry. In "One Touch of Venus," she gets to show off all her gifts and we see what Hollywood somehow failed to use. Yes, the plot is creaky, the 1955 TV telecast practically prehistoric, and Russell Nype (the nerdy lead) and George Gaynes (the suave villain) are not special. But most of the original score by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash has been retained (unlike the film version, with the stunning Ava Gardner, which cuts much of the score and rewrites the Ogden Nash lyrics, and not for the better), and even the ballets (Venus in Ozone Heights) are included. You get to hear not only "Speak Low" and "That's Him," but also the gorgeous "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" and others.

Above all, though, is a chance to see Janet Blair singing, dancing and using all her charming talents as Venus. You'll have to search around for this title, but it's a very cool oddity.

"One Touch of Venus" was originally a play, then a 1948 movie and now, in this case, a made for TV movie. I am not sure, but assume it was performed live--like other teleplays of the era. Most of these early TV productions no longer exist, as the networks often taped over the old shows...so we are fortunate we have this one.

The story finds the nebbish, Rodney (Russell Nype) slipping a ring he'd bought for his girlfriend on a statue of Venus...and the statue magically comes to live. Inexplicably, this ancient goddess is instantly in love with super-nerdy Rodney but he's not at all pleased. Soon, however, he gets in a fight with his girlfriend and he announces he's through with women. So, it's up to Venus to uses her charms to make him succomb.

I don't know if it's because the cast had weak voices or just that television didn't show off this talent very well. And, because there was a lot of singing, this one suffered more than other teleplays like "Days of Wine and Roses" or "12 Angry Men". And, because there were so many songs, I felt as if the entire production suffered. Enjoyable, yes...but not among the finer moments in the history of teleplays.

By the way, I was very shocked when at one point Venus cursed...something unthinkable in 50s TV. I wonder how she got away with it...or did they?