One may say "The Private Lives of Adam and Eve" should be judged on its own terms, that of a low-budget drive-in entry without any aim other than being a mild amusement; that is to say, it doesn't aspire to be high art--but then, since it isn't amusing, it must be noted that the movie has questionable aspirations, without the proper handling to steer it in the right direction. A small busload of people en route to Reno, Nevada stop off in nearby Paradise, where the driver picks up a teenage hot-rodder and two married couples on the rocks; after their trip is sidelined by a storm, the passengers take refuge in a church, where one of the frightened couples share the same dream about the Garden of Eden. Co-directed by Albert Zugsmith and Mickey Rooney (who also stars), the film is a shambles on even the most basic cinematic level. In the crude but watchable black-and-white framing story, we at least have Cecil Kellaway as the Christian bus driver who suggests the group sings "Rock of Ages" when the flood waters come. This section also has Tuesday Weld as a possible runaway and Paul Anka as the crooning teen (he also sings the title song in the film's kickiest sequence). But the color dream sequence in Eden, with Martin Milner and Mamie Van Doren as Adam and Eve, is amateurish in the extreme, particularly with an excruciatingly hammy Rooney playing the Devil. Still, one can't dismiss the movie as camp quite so easily. There is quite a bit of serious talk early on about God and the Bible, and later Van Doren shouts and cries to the Heavens, asking God to speak to her. It's a mind-boggling venture that wants to be two different things: a quickie flick for sniggering teens and an earnest character portrait in the manner of John Steinbeck's "The Wayward Bus". But you don't have to see it to believe it, because the picture isn't worth seeing. * from ****
