Taglines: Meet Miss Venus Jones!
One Touch of Venus movie storyline. Eddie Hatch is a window dresser for Savory’s department store. The owner, Whitfield Savory II, has just spent $200,000 on a statue of Venus for display in the store’s museum. While arranging the display, Eddie flippantly gives the statue a kiss only to have it come to life. Venus, the goddess of love, immediately tells him that they are to be together forever but the awkward and shy Eddie, who already has a girlfriend of sorts, doesn’t want anything to do with it – not at first, anyways.
However, romance is in the air as Eddie’s girlfriend falls in love with his best friend and Savory finally realizes that his ever present assistant Molly Stewart, who has been in love with him for years, would be quite a catch. However, as Eddie and Venus spend more time together, he also falls in love with her but after he is arrested for stealing the statue, Venus realizes that she must return to her pedestal. Dejected, Eddie realizes he has lost his true love – that is until he meets a new store employee.
One Touch of Venus is a 1948 American black-and-white romantic musical comedy film directed by William A. Seiter starring Robert Walker, Ava Gardner and Dick Haymes. released by Universal-International, and based on the Broadway musical of the same name, book written by S. J. Perelman and Ogden Nash, with music composed by Kurt Weill (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. The plot is from an original story by Thomas Anstey Guthrie.
In 1945, Mary Pickford announced that she would produce a film version of this musical with the Broadway cast, including Mary Martin, filmed in Technicolor, directed by Gregory La Cava, and released by United Artists. 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.
One Touch of Venus (1948)
Directed by: William A. Seiter
Starring: Robert Walker, Ava Gardner, Dick Haymes, Eve Arden, Olga San Juan, Tom Conway, James Flavin, Sara Allgood, Hugh Herbert, Mary Benoit, Ralph Brooks, Bess Flowers, Helen Francell
Screenplay by: Harry Kurnitz, Frank Tashlin
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: Franz Planer
Film Editing by: Otto Ludwig
Costume Design by: Orry-Kelly
Set Decoration by: A. Roland Fields, Russell A. Gausman
Art Direction by: Bernard Herzbrun, Emrich Nicholson
Music by: Ann Ronell, Kurt Weill
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: October 28, 1948 (New York City)
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