Themes: Wedding Bells, Cons and Scams, Fathers and Sons
Main Cast: Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton, Robert Cummings, Guy Kibbee, Margaret Tallichet
Release Year: 1941
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
A man trying to make his dying father happy makes his love life very complicated indeed in this musical comedy starring Deanna Durbin. Jonathan Reynolds Jr. (Robert Cummings) is the playboy son of multi-millionaire business magnate Jonathan Reynolds, Sr. (Charles Laughton). Junior has told his father that he's finally met the woman he's going to marry while on a recent trip to Mexico, and Father, who has been given a very short time to live by his doctors, wants to meet her right away. However, the woman in question is not available, so Junior persuades Anne Terry (Durbin), a hat-check girl and aspiring singer, to pose as his fiancée for the sake of his father's peace of mind. Father takes quite a liking to Anne, which is fine and good until he defies all the expectations of his doctors and makes a complete recovery. Now Father is spending a great deal of time with the woman he thinks is going to be his future daughter-in-law, and Junior isn't sure how to tell him that Anne isn't really the woman he wants to marry. As usual, Durbin sings several songs, including "Clavelitos" by Valverde and "Going Home," adapted from Symphony for the New World by Dvorak. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
It Started With Eve has one of those premises that modern audiences will most likely find too ridiculous, but for those willing to accept it, Eve is more than decent fun. The movie falls short of being any more than that, largely because the screenplay is competent when it needs to be brilliant. Still, there's a lot to be said for competence, and if the dialogue for Eve doesn't sparkle and bubble, it more than gets the job done. Henry Koster's direction is also fine -- not great, but more than adequate, making Eve a pleasant diversion. It helps that Eve has two such charming stars as Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings, who also share a valuable rapport. Durbin, of course, is in fine voice, but her "straight" performance is even more impressive. Cummings is an expert at this kind of thing, and he adds some nice touches to almost all of his scenes. Even better is a hard-to-recognize Charles Laughton, who keeps his excessive tendencies very much in check and turns in a delightful turn that is captivating without even approaching over-the-top. It's a lovely job from an incredibly talented actor who too often let his worst impulses mar his performances. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
It Started with Eve is a 1941musicalromantic comedy film. A man's dying father wants to meet his new fiancée, but she is unavailable, so he substitutes a hat-check girl. Then the father unexpectedly recovers.
