''One Touch of Venus'' is a 1948 American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

romantic musical comedy film directed by William A. Seiter starring Robert Walker,

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentinian singer and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host, ...

, and

Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...

. released by Universal-International, and based on the 1943

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

of the same name, book written by S. J. Perelman and

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's best ...

, with music composed by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

(lyrics by Nash). However, the film omits most of Weill's music. The actors did their own singing, except for Ava Gardner (Venus) whose singing was dubbed by

Eileen Wilson Eileen Wilson (born Eileen Eshelman; January 15, 1923 – September 9, 2018) was an American big band singer, and one of the original stars of the 1950s television show ''Your Hit Parade'' on NBC.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Televi ...

. The plot is from an original 1885 novella by

Thomas Anstey Guthrie Thomas Anstey Guthrie (8 August 1856 – 10 March 1934) was an English author (writing as F. Anstey), most noted for his comic novel '' Vice Versa'' about a boarding-school boy and his father exchanging identities. His reputation was confirmed ...

. In 1945,

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

announced that she would produce a film version of this musical with the Broadway cast, including

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific'' (194 ...

, filmed in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

, directed by

Gregory La Cava Gregory La Cava (March 10, 1892 – March 1, 1952) was an American film director of Italian descent best known for his films of the 1930s, including ''My Man Godfrey'' and ''Stage Door'', which earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best ...

, and released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

. However, Martin became pregnant and Pickford sold the rights to Lester Cowan at Universal in August 1947. Ann Ronell, Cowan's wife, wrote the additional music that replaced much of Weill's material. This movie is rumored to be the inspiration for the 1987 film ''

Mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. ...

''.

Plot

Wealthy department-store mogul Whitfield Savory II buys a statue of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

for $200,000. He plans to exhibit it in the store. Eddie Hatch, a

window dresser Window dressers are retail workers who arrange displays of goods in shop windows or within a shop itself. Such displays are themselves known as " window dressing". They may work for design companies contracted to work for clients or for department ...

, kisses the statue on a whim. To his shock, Venus comes to life. She leaves the store and Eddie is accused of stealing the work of art. Nobody believes the truth, including secretary Molly Stewart, who is Savory's right-hand woman, and Kerrigan, a detective. Venus turns up at Eddie's apartment, forcing him to hide her from girlfriend Gloria and roommate Joe. Entranced by a Venus song of love, Joe falls for Eddie's girl Gloria. At the store, meanwhile, Venus has fallen asleep on a sofa and is discovered there by Whitfield, who is instantly smitten. Kerrigan decides it's time for Eddie to be placed under arrest for the statue's theft. Venus, to save Eddie, is willing to seduce Whitfield, but a threat by Molly to leave him brings Whitfield back to his senses. He realizes it's Molly he truly loves. Venus is called home by

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...

and must return to

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

, so she returns to her pedestal. Whitfield can now display his work of art to the public. Eddie is the only one left alone, at least until he meets a new salesgirl who is a dead ringer for the goddess of love.

Cast

* Robert Walker as Eddie Hatch *

as Venus/Venus Jones *

as Joe Grant *

as Molly Stewart * Olga San Juan as Gloria *

Tom Conway Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) ...

as Whitfield Savory *

James Flavin James William Flavin Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose career lasted for nearly half a century. Early life The son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English descent,Flavin's obituary, distributed by United ...

as Kerrigan *

Sara Allgood Sarah Ellen Allgood (30 October 1880 – 13 September 1950), known as Sara Allgood, was an Irish-American actress. She first studied drama with the Irish nationalist Daughters of Ireland and was at the opening of the Irish National Theatre Soc ...

as Landlady * George J. Lewis as Detective #2 (uncredited)

The statue of Venus

To achieve a realistic-looking living statue, the studio sent Ava Gardner to sculptor Joseph Nicolosi. Gardner posed in a bikini but the drape of the top seemed wrong to the sculptor, so Gardner removed her bikini top and Nicolosi continued with his sculpture. Nicolosi was not aware that the sculpture had to resemble a Venus in Grecian robes, and when he presented the work to the studio he was forced to change it accordingly for the film. However, the studio had 12-inch tall copies of the Nicolosi sculpture made in

Bakelite Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, better known as Bakelite ( ), is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed ...

and presented them as promotional items to theater owners and members of the media.

Accolades

The film is recognized by

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

in these lists: * 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated

Song list

#"Don't Look Now But My Heart is Showing" – played over opening credits and sung by a chorus #"

Speak Low "Speak Low" (1943) is a popular song composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Ogden Nash. Background It was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in the Broadway musical ''One Touch of Venus'' (1943). The 1944 hit single was by Guy Lombard ...

" – sung by Ava Gardner (dubbed by Eileen Wilson) and Dick Haymes #"That's Him" – sung by Ava Gardner (dubbed by Eileen Wilson), Olga San Juan and Eve Arden #"Don't Look Now But My Heart is Showing" (reprise) – sung by Dick Haymes, Olga San Juan, Robert Walker, Ava Gardner (dubbed by Eileen Wilson) and chorus #"Speak Low" (reprise) – sung by Ava Gardner (dubbed by Eileen Wilson)

References

External links

* * * {{Pygmalion navbox 1948 films 1948 musical comedy films 1948 romantic comedy films 1940s fantasy comedy films American fantasy comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic fantasy films American romantic musical films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films based on musicals Films directed by William A. Seiter Films set in department stores Universal Pictures films Films with screenplays by Harry Kurnitz Films with screenplays by Frank Tashlin Films based on classical mythology 1940s American films