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==Production==
==Production==
Stewart Granger says the storyline of the film was his, based on the old silent film ''[[Daddy Long Legs]]'', He contacted the writer Noel Langley and they wrote it as a vehicle for Jean Simmons. "It was a very good vehicle for her," he said. "It was a sweet film, a charming light comedy."<ref name="brian">Brian MacFarlane, ''An Autobiography of British Cinema'', Methuen 1997 p 231</ref>

This was the first adult role of Jean Simmons, who had become a star in ''[[Great Expectations]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63371662 |title=JEAN SIMMONDS TO FACE F/LIGHTS. |newspaper=[[Townsville_Bulletin|Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1907 - 1954)]] |location=Qld. |date=16 November 1948 |accessdate=20 June 2015 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
This was the first adult role of Jean Simmons, who had become a star in ''[[Great Expectations]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63371662 |title=JEAN SIMMONDS TO FACE F/LIGHTS. |newspaper=[[Townsville_Bulletin|Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1907 - 1954)]] |location=Qld. |date=16 November 1948 |accessdate=20 June 2015 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>


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Production of the film was interrupted by a strike from crew members at Denham Studios in protest over recent sackings of film workers. (Others which ceased production were ''[[The Cardboard Cavalier]]'' and ''[[Tottie True]]''.)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59488418 |title=FILM STRIKE. |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954)]] |location=Perth, WA |date=31 October 1948 |accessdate=4 March 2013 |page=12 Section: The Sunday Times Sporting Section |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Production of the film was interrupted by a strike from crew members at Denham Studios in protest over recent sackings of film workers. (Others which ceased production were ''[[The Cardboard Cavalier]]'' and ''[[Tottie True]]''.)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59488418 |title=FILM STRIKE. |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954)]] |location=Perth, WA |date=31 October 1948 |accessdate=4 March 2013 |page=12 Section: The Sunday Times Sporting Section |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Reception==
==Reception==
The film was voted best comedy of the year at the International Film Festival in Locarno Switzerland.<ref>DEVELOPMENT CHARGES. (1949, Jul 20). The Scotsman (1921-1950) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/482729392?accountid=13902 </ref>
The film was voted best comedy of the year at the International Film Festival in Locarno Switzerland.<ref>DEVELOPMENT CHARGES. (1949, Jul 20). The Scotsman (1921-1950) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/482729392?accountid=13902 </ref>

Revision as of 10:50, 5 July 2015

Adam and Evelyne
Poster with the American title
Directed byHarold French
Written byNoel Langley (story)
George Barraud
Nicholas Phipps
Lesley Storm
Produced byHarold French
StarringStewart Granger
Jean Simmons
Production
company
Distributed byRank Films
Release date
May 31, 1949 (1949-05-31)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office189,023 admissions (France)[1]

Adam and Evelyne, released in the U.S. as Adam and Evalyn, is a 1949 romance film starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons. According to Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, this suited the stars, as they were romantically involved at the time, despite their age difference. They married the next year.[2][3]

Plot

When jockey Chris Kirby (Fred Johnson) is fatally injured in a horse race, he gets his best friend, gambler Adam Black (Stewart Granger), to promise to take care of his teenage daughter, Evelyne (Jean Simmons), who has been raised apart from her father. Unbeknownst to Adam, Evelyne had been led to believe that Adam is her father in correspondence between parent and child. Adam is unable to tell her the truth; his butler and friend Bill Murray (Edwin Styles) tries and fails as well. Finally, Adam's sometime girlfriend Moira (Helen Cherry) breaks the news to the girl.

Adam sends Evelyne to an exclusive boarding school. When she has grown up, she reappears unexpectedly in his life. Because of the hatred she has for gambling, Adam does not reveal that he stages illegal gambling sessions; instead he tells her that he makes his money on the stock exchange. She begins casually dating Adam's no-good brother Roddy (Raymond Young).

When Adam tells Moira that he is getting out of the business, she accuses him of being in love with his "ward". Roddy has his own grudge against his brother - Adam refuses to finance a shady deal - and the two of them tip off the police about Adam's last operation. Roddy also brings Evelyne to see what Adam really does for a living.

Shocked, she quarrels with Adam and leaves. A kindly gambler, Colonel Bradley (Wilfred Hyde-White), gives her some sage advice and convinces her to reconcile with Adam.

Cast

Production

Stewart Granger says the storyline of the film was his, based on the old silent film Daddy Long Legs, He contacted the writer Noel Langley and they wrote it as a vehicle for Jean Simmons. "It was a very good vehicle for her," he said. "It was a sweet film, a charming light comedy."[4]

This was the first adult role of Jean Simmons, who had become a star in Great Expectations.[5]

Simmons and Granger were rumoured to be romantically involved during filming although they denied it to the press.[6]

Production of the film was interrupted by a strike from crew members at Denham Studios in protest over recent sackings of film workers. (Others which ceased production were The Cardboard Cavalier and Tottie True.)[7]

Reception

The film was voted best comedy of the year at the International Film Festival in Locarno Switzerland.[8]

It was reportedly successful at the box office.[9]

References

  1. ^ Box office information for Stewart Granger films in France at Box Office Story
  2. ^ "Wedding bells mean journeys for Jean Simmons". The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982). 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 30 December 1950. p. 31. Retrieved 20 June 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ "Romance started for Jean Simmons when 14". Sunday Mail (Brisbane) (Qld. : 1926 - 1954). Brisbane) (Qld.: National Library of Australia. 14 January 1951. p. 15. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  4. ^ Brian MacFarlane, An Autobiography of British Cinema, Methuen 1997 p 231
  5. ^ "JEAN SIMMONDS TO FACE F/LIGHTS". Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1907 - 1954). Qld.: National Library of Australia. 16 November 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Famous stars are real-life friends". The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982). 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 8 January 1949. p. 32. Retrieved 20 June 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  7. ^ "FILM STRIKE". Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 31 October 1948. p. 12 Section: The Sunday Times Sporting Section. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  8. ^ DEVELOPMENT CHARGES. (1949, Jul 20). The Scotsman (1921-1950) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/482729392?accountid=13902
  9. ^ "FILM NEWS". South Western Advertiser (Perth, WA : 1910 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 16 June 1949. p. 15. Retrieved 20 June 2015.