It Started with Eve, 1941
- Michelle Otten
- Mar 27, 2018
- 5 min read
Produced by Joe Pasternak, directed by Henry Koster and starring;
Deanna Durbin as Anne Terry
Robert Cummings as Johnny Reynolds/Jonathan Reynolds Jr
Charles Laughton as Jonathan Reynolds Sr
Walter Catlett as Dr Harvey
Margaret Tallichet as Gloria Pennington
Catherine Doucet as Mrs Pennington
Also starring Guy Kibbee, Charles Coleman, Clara Blandick, Irving Bacon, Dorothea Kent, Siegfried Arno, Gus Schilling, Leonard Elliot, Wade Boteler, John Banner, Leon Belasco, Wilson Benge, Ralph Brooks, Jack Byron, Nora Cecil, Chick Chandler, Jack Chefe, Dora Clement, Mary Currier, Dorothy Darrell, Sonia Darren, George Davis, Lowell Drew, Gretl Dupont, John Eldredge, Bess Flowers, James Ford, Mary Gordon, Alexander Granach, Jesse Graves, Ernest Grooney, John Hamilton, Sam Harris, Robert Homans, Rosalind Ivan, Selmer Jackson, Jack W Johnston, Lew Kelly, George Lessey, George J Lewis, Adolf E Licho, Marie McDonald, Mira McKinney, Bert Moorhouse, Mantan Moreland, Edmund Mortimer, Jack Mulhall, Ferdinand Munier, William H O'Brien, Broderick O'Farrell, Sarah Padden, Helen Parrish, Jack Perrin, Jessie Perry, Paul Porcasi, Herbert Rawlinson, Ronald R Rondell, Tim Ryan, Tom Seidel, Florence Shirley, Ray Spiker, Larry Steers, Leonard Sues, Walter Tetley, Charlotte Treadway, Ray Walker, Lucille Ward, Janet Warren and Florence Wix.
Jonathan Reynolds is on his death bed and things are not looking good for him. His son, Johnny, is by his side and tells him that his last wish is to meet the girl he is going to marry. Johnny rushes to the hotel they are staying at to take his fiancé, Gloria, back to his father but can’t seem to find her anywhere.
In a moment of panic he grabs the first girl he sees, which happens to be Anne Terry, and offers to pay her $50 to pretend to be Gloria. Johnny is desperate to fulfill his father’s dying wish, knowing that if he dies a happy man Johnny’s conscience can rest easy.
Anne is overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment and feels terribly guilty for taking money under the circumstances, but it just so happens that it would help her to relocate back to her old home town seeing as all her resources are exhausted due to the music lessons she’s been taking to help get her a career in the industry.
The very next morning Jonathan Reynolds’ situation takes a turn for the better and his health improves considerably. He requests that Johnny bring “Gloria” over to have breakfast with them. Johnny realises the pickle he got himself in and the family physician, Dr Harvey, fears the truth would be too much for Jonathan to bear.
Johnny doesn’t have the heart to tell his father the truth but also doesn’t have the time to come up with a solution to fix things. He rushes to the train station in the hopes of finding Anne and bringing her back to his father to continue pretending to be Gloria.
Thinking that she is Gloria, Jonathan spends some time getting to know Anne for the sweet girl she is. During this Anne learns that Jonathan is personal friends with conductor Stokowski. Forgetting about her cover Anne can’t help but grab the opportunity to meet with Stokowski so she can sing for him. Jonathan is reluctant about the idea so Anne tries convincing him by singing right then and there. He is most pleased with the performance and agrees to the idea by throwing an engagement party for the young couple by inviting everyone they know in New York.
Meanwhile, Johnny decides to be completely open with the real Gloria about what is going on and asks for her support in this promising that he will do everything he can to fix things. He and Dr Harvey devise a plan to tell Jonathan that he and Anne broke up and then to introduce Gloria and her mother as Dr Harvey’s friends, Mrs and Ms Smith. Johnny goes over to see Anne to tell her that he’s figured out a way fix things and explains that since he’s telling his father they broke up, she would no longer have to pretend to be Gloria.
Desperate not to miss out on the opportunity to meet with Stokowski, Anne barges into the Reynolds mansion and begs Jonny for his forgiveness in front of Jonathan so he would take her side in the matter. He leaves the room so they can kiss and make up but they start arguing about Anne not wanting to miss out on performing. Unbeknownst to them, Jonathan re-enters the room and overhears that Anne is in fact not Gloria and that she and Johnny have been keeping a secret.
Jonathan makes his presence known, not giving away that he now knows the truth and Anne and Johnny go back to pretending to be a couple. Anne performs Clavelito, the song she’s going to sing at the party, and Jonathan notices that Johnny is somewhat mesmerised by her.
During this, Gloria and her mother are brought in by Dr Harvey and are introduced as Mrs and Ms Smith. Of course, Jonathan knows exactly what is going on and continues to play along by introducing Anne to them as Gloria Pennington, his son’s fiancé, poking fun at the situation.
Gloria and her mother decide to rather leave and Johnny rushes after them. Jonathan is shown back to bed and Anne decides it is best to tell him the truth about what is going on, but Jonathan fakes an attack coming on so Anne would spare him the bad news. Because she feels this disaster is her fault, she and Johnny decide it’s best that they rather part ways for good.
It’s the night of the party and Jonathan is making sure everything is perfect for Anne. He receives a phone call from her telling him she suddenly won’t be able to make the party anymore. He refuses to accept this and sneaks away from the party to tell Anne that he knows the truth. He arrives at her apartment while she’s packing for Ohio and asks that she just spend a bit more time with him before leaving.
They go to an exclusive night club where Jonathan tricks Anne into having some strong alcohol and she loses control of her senses for a moment, crying as she confesses that she’s fallen in love with Johnny. Before leaving, Latin American music starts playing and Anne teaches Jonathan to dance the la conga. Johnny and Dr Harvey find out where Johnathan is and walk in on them while on the dance floor. Johnny pulls Anne away so he can give her a serious scolding but she throws a drink in his face and storms off.
The next morning Anne is at the train station again ready to board her train. Johnny rushes over saying his father’s had a relapse and that he asked to see her. They get to the manor only to find that Jonathan is perfectly fine and has been faking his condition the past few days. He tells them he’s spoken with the Pennington’s when they phoned to say they are leaving town. Johnny and Anne start arguing again and in this moment they realise their feelings for each other and finally kiss.
Duke Ellington - The Sidewalks of New York, 1941