One Touch of Venus (1948)

38% of users liked it
(124 ratings)

The spirit of love is back, and she's working in retail in this bubbly romantic musical comedy. Eddie Hatch (Robert Walker) is a window dresser at a large department store; he's become especially fond of one of his mannequins who looks like the sort of girl he'd like to meet, and one night he… More The spirit of love is back, and she's working in retail in this bubbly romantic musical comedy. Eddie Hatch (Robert Walker) is a window dresser at a large department store; he's become especially fond of one of his mannequins who looks like the sort of girl he'd like to meet, and one night he impulsively gives the dummy a kiss. To his tremendous surprise, the mannequin comes to life, and it turns out to be inhabited by the spirit of Venus, the Goddess of Love (Ava Gardner). Suddenly, romance is in the air as Eddie's fellow employees throw caution to the wind and finally express their infatuations with their co-workers; however, Eddie is too intimidated to follow through on his feelings for Venus, even though she'll only be in human form for 24 hours. Adapted from a popular Broadway musical, One Touch of Venus features a number of memorable songs by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash, including "Speak Low" and "The Trouble with Women," though a number of other songs they wrote for the stage production were replaced for the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 22 min.
Directed By: William A. Seiter, Gregory La Cava
Written By: Harry Kurnitz, Frank Tashlin
Genres: Romance, Classics, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 1, 1948 Wide
On DVD: Oct 14, 2008

No Critic Reviews Found…

Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

If you've seen Mannequin, this is pretty much the same idea, it didn't work in the forties so I don't know why they did it again in the eighties. At least it's better than Mannequin.
jay n

Goofy silliness that has quality stars in Robert Walker, although he looks terribly dissipated, and Ava Gardner, still the world's most beautiful animal even if she does spend a goodly part of the movie with a hat that looks like an overgrown black fern on her head. Sterling… More
Goofy silliness that has quality stars in Robert Walker, although he looks terribly dissipated, and Ava Gardner, still the world's most beautiful animal even if she does spend a goodly part of the movie with a hat that looks like an overgrown black fern on her head. Sterling support comes from Eve Arden, a blessing to any movie she was in. The three of them and the lovely song Speak Low are the reasons to see this.
Henrik S

Following the most basic of premises one could think of, the movie works quite well, due to the strong performance by the irritating and quirky Robert Walker. Ava Gardner does what she does best and hypnotizes the audience with her tender beauty and charm. The movie follows the… More
Following the most basic of premises one could think of, the movie works quite well, due to the strong performance by the irritating and quirky Robert Walker. Ava Gardner does what she does best and hypnotizes the audience with her tender beauty and charm. The movie follows the misadventures of a young window dresser who accidently bringa the statue of Venus back to life by kissing her. The rest of the movie unfolds in classic screwball fashion, no one believes him, the police is after him, Venus falls in love with him and so forth. A cute little picture that might as well had been lost in obscurity. One of the movie's setbacks are the musical numbers which feel compeltely out of place, especially with Robert Walker in the lead and Ava Gardner lipsynching. The movie is available to watch on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6STa-t34Z9c&feature=PlayList&p=9F4A1B623EBBBABD&index=0 Id recommend this movie to fans of Ava Gardner or B-Movie Screwball comedies. Henrik

Cast

            Robert Walker as Eddie Hatch

            Ava Gardner as Venus Goddess of Love/Venus Jones

            Dick Haymes as Joe

            Eve Arden as Molly Grant

            Olga San Juan as Gloria

            Tom Conway as Whitfield Savory

            James Flavin as Kerrigan

            Sara Allgood as Mrs. Gogarty the landlady

            Mary Benoit
            
            Ralph Brooks as Reporter

            Russ Conway
            
            Phil Garris as Counter Man

            Harry Hayden
            
            George J. Lewis
            
            Jerry Marlowe
            
            George Meeker as Mr. Crust

            Joan Miller
            
            Anne Nagel
            
            Arthur O'Connell as Reporter

            Eddie Parker as Detective

            Kenneth Patterson
            
            Ralph Peters as Taxi Driver

            Josephine Whittell as Dowager

            Pat Shade as Newsboy

            Richard H. Gordon as Guest

            John Valentine as Stammers

            Martha Montgomery as Pretty Girl

            Pat Parrish as Girl
See full cast