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!
... View MoreThese oldies are so great and love is love at any time. For Christ sake DVD them. Jack Lemon and June Allyson were the best. We need to revive them. I have been living in Brazil for the last 40 years. I saw this movie when I was a kid and I never forgot the song "You can't run Away from it". Fantastic comedy, fantastic actors, Fantastic time. Those who make the DVD industry, bring these good times back to us. They could take these old films and turn them into some kind of collectors items. Most of those who lived then are still here. We would like to show our kids and grandkids what it was like back at that time. June Allyson and Jack Lemon were not so different from Julia Roberts and Clive Owens or any others actors of today. Come on, bring back the good old times. I miss them so much.
... View MoreI don't agree that this movie follows the script of It Happened One Night. As I recall, there were numerous changes. This movie was livelier, more fast-paced and more enjoyable. The fact that it has a musical number and is in color is just icing on the cake. It's also a little less straight-laced than the original.It baffles me that movies like this are not available on VHS and DVD. Especially with ultra-popular stars like Jack Lemmon and June Allyson. Are they afraid that the original movie will be eclipsed? It won't happened. Look at "Little Women". Katherine Hepburn's version is out there and is still selling, even though it is worse than all the versions except for the performance by Hepburn.
... View MoreJack 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.
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