It Started With Eve
BBBB
(out of 5)
Another adorable comedy of errors starring Deanna Durbin. This time she plays a nightclub hatcheck girl who is asked by a wealthy young gentleman (Robert Cummings) to impersonate his fiancee. Cummings’ father (Charles Laughton) is on his deathbed and about to check out, but wants to meet the woman his son is going to marry; when Cummings can’t find the real woman fast enough, he figures any old girl will do so long as she’s pleasant enough. Trouble is, Laughton recovers and wants to get to know the young woman more, and all manner of trouble ensues. It couldn’t possibly go anywhere unexpected, but the film has a surprise delight: the relationship between Laughton and Durbin is wonderfully charming from beginning to end, thoroughly making up for the lack of chemistry between her and her romantic lead. Durbin even manages a couple of tunes (classical music set to lyrics mainly), though her musical fans won’t be as entertained by this one as they were with Three Smart Girls or 100 Men And a Girl.
USA, 1941
Directed by Henry Koster
Screenplay by Norman Krasna, Leo Townsend, based on an original story by Hanns Kraly
Cinematography by Rudolph Mate
Produced by Joe Pasternak
Music by Hans J. Salter
Production Design by Jack Otterson
Costume Design by Vera West
Film Editing by Bernard W. Burton
Cast Tags: Catherine Doucet, Charles Coleman, Charles Laughton, Clara Blandick, Deanna Durbin, Dorothea Kent, Gus Schilling, Guy Kibbee, Irving Bacon, Leonard Elliott, Margaret Tallichet, Robert Cummings, Wade Boteler, Walter Catlett
Academy Award Nomination
Best Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture) (Hans Salter, Charles Previn)
