You Can't Run Away from It

This was one of Jack Lemmon's first films. He is cast in the role of Peter Warren, a free-lance journalist who takes on the challenge of escorting spoiled rich girl Ellie Andrews (played by June Allyson) back to her Father (Charles Bickford) and husband. Peter and Ellie didn't plan on falling in love during their bus trip, but it happened ... just as in "It Happened One Night" starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. This re-make is remarkably faithful to the original in plot and content. I would classify it as a charming, very tame movie worth the 80 minutes or so to watch it.

Jack Lemmon, a new leading man in Hollywood in the 1950s and a younger June Allyson, straight from the M.G.M. Galaxy of musical stars made this a tuneful technicolour re-make of "It Happened One Night," for Columbia Pictures, ably assisted by Stubby Kaye, who never fails with a song; and all this under the direction of Dick Powell, who was married to June Allyson. There have been many post-war musicals released on Video and DVD and Columbia would do well to add this one to their DVD collection. It would be a fitting tribute to the multi-talented Jack Lemmon and Dick Powell who, himself, who was a song and dance man of the 1930s.

Evidently someone decided that since they had Technicolor available they could remake It Happened One Night. June Allyson, who was 39 when it was made, is dreadfully miscast as a rich brat who runs away from her father. Jack Lemmon tries his best to make it work, but even he must have cringed when singing the lame musical sequences. The black and white of the original mirrored the gloomy darkness of the Great Depression, and the rich brat's handing the last of their money to a hungry woman was a big turning point of the whole movie; none of that here. When will Hollywood producers learn that you can't remake perfection?

You Can't Run Away From It is a re-make of Frank Capra's It Happened One Night. That being said, one knows already what to expect. Film makers, no matter how hard they try, generally fail at reproducing classic films. This is no exception, not to say that this movie isn't good, but it cannot hold a candle to the original.

June Allyson stars as Ellie Andrews, a wealthy society dame rebelling against her father's strict command. She has eloped with a wealthy gigolo type, but has been kidnapped away from him by her family in hopes of being granted an annulment. Before the papers can be signed, Ellie runs away again, this time on a bus to find her new husband. On the way she meets Peter Warne (Jack Lemmon), a news reporter out for a good story. He agrees to help Ellie in exchange for the exclusive story, but the two develop a relationship while on the road.

Allyson is not quite elegant enough to pass as a member of the elite upper class and Lemmon lacks the charm of Clark Gable, so each fall short in their parts. However, it is always nice to see them, whether they excel or not.

All of the classic moments are here from the group song in the bus, the search for raw carrots, the hitch hiking scene, and the "walls of Jericho" bit. These inclusions should have been done like a proud tribute to the original, but they're played like they've never been done before, and fall very flat. It's like they found a stunning old gown in a trunk thats become threadbare and moth eaten over time and tried to pass it off as new. Who were they kidding? Part of the problem is comparing this version to the original film. If one has never seen It Happened One Night, this movie might fare better. It has its moments, and once they get going, the musical numbers aren't all that bad. The color is quite striking too. This version is perfect for younger audiences who refuse to watch black and white, but adults will prefer the wit of the original.

It it worth noting that the TCM print is a pan-and-scan version, so we lose some of the original splendor. Shame on you TCM for denouncing pan-and-scan and then showing it!

For fans of "It Happened One Night," it's fun to see how they remade it in the 50's, in Technicolor, and as a quasi-musical.

The young Jack Lemmon is a delight to see, and it would have been stupid to try to follow Clark Gable's act--no one could.

The oddball casting has June Allyson playing the Claudette Colbert role, but since June was producer/director Dick Powell's wife, it's comprehensible. June had a lot of appeal in many of her roles, but sexy she wasn't; she was more the girl next door, or the long-suffering, proper wife. Here, playing a post-debutante, June was, in real life, pushing 40. The supposedly sexy scenes had that sanitized 50's feel to them, and the chemistry between the two stars was minimal.

But June makes the movie in the scene where they sleep in a field, as she sings & dances to a scarecrow, with moves that would have done Donald O'Connor proud. Such energy & wit, paired with her funny, froggy voice, are a delight. Who knew she had all this talent hidden away?

There's a lot to enjoy, even though, like nearly all remakes, it falls a bit short.