It Started With Eve (1941) :
Brief Review -
Laughton doesn't make you laugh, but his dying-man humour and others do fill the life in this dead script. During the 1930s and 1940s, Charles Laughton was having a great time with some fantastic films in a variety of genres. Comedy was one such genre where, I think, he would have excelled more with the right script and the right role. Sadly, he didn't get many such films, except for a couple of great comedies. It Started With Eve really started well, but as the dying man struggles, the film also struggles to find a life. The story might remind you of several cliches you've seen in many movies. In order to please his dying father, a man convinces a hat-check girl to impersonate his fiancée, but complications arise when the father's health suddenly improves. The same idea has been used in many comedies in Hollywood and Bollywood, but if you see a love story in these movies, it has had time to grow. In this film, the love story doesn't grow because it was never sown in the first place. When did the girl fall in love with the boy, or when did the boy even have a chance to talk to her? I am afraid there are no answers to these questions. Rather, we have her spending good time with the dying man, the father of the boy, played by the legend Charles Laughton. Well, what kind of love story was it? I quite didn't understand. Anyway, there were some good laughs after several intervals, and I enjoyed them. It's sad that Laughton doesn't make you laugh because his character doesn't allow him to do so. That's just before the climax, because this man has some nasty scenes in the climax, and he does it right with his experience. Deanna Durbin was one of the cutest girls in the 40s, and this film proves why, again. Robert Cummings looks fine, but not completely. There are few flat slopes from his side, especially in those confusing situations. The music numbers pass out soon, decently. I won't blame Henry Koster much because I feel the problem was in the screenplay. He did all that he could.
RATING - 6.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Laughton doesn't make you laugh, but his dying-man humour and others do fill the life in this dead script. During the 1930s and 1940s, Charles Laughton was having a great time with some fantastic films in a variety of genres. Comedy was one such genre where, I think, he would have excelled more with the right script and the right role. Sadly, he didn't get many such films, except for a couple of great comedies. It Started With Eve really started well, but as the dying man struggles, the film also struggles to find a life. The story might remind you of several cliches you've seen in many movies. In order to please his dying father, a man convinces a hat-check girl to impersonate his fiancée, but complications arise when the father's health suddenly improves. The same idea has been used in many comedies in Hollywood and Bollywood, but if you see a love story in these movies, it has had time to grow. In this film, the love story doesn't grow because it was never sown in the first place. When did the girl fall in love with the boy, or when did the boy even have a chance to talk to her? I am afraid there are no answers to these questions. Rather, we have her spending good time with the dying man, the father of the boy, played by the legend Charles Laughton. Well, what kind of love story was it? I quite didn't understand. Anyway, there were some good laughs after several intervals, and I enjoyed them. It's sad that Laughton doesn't make you laugh because his character doesn't allow him to do so. That's just before the climax, because this man has some nasty scenes in the climax, and he does it right with his experience. Deanna Durbin was one of the cutest girls in the 40s, and this film proves why, again. Robert Cummings looks fine, but not completely. There are few flat slopes from his side, especially in those confusing situations. The music numbers pass out soon, decently. I won't blame Henry Koster much because I feel the problem was in the screenplay. He did all that he could.
RATING - 6.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.