Adam and Evelyne ** (1949, Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons) – Classic Movie Review 12,150

Producer-director Harold French’s 1949 British romantic drama Adam and Evelyne stars the then romantically involved and about-to-be married couple Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons in her first adult role after becoming a star in Great Expectations. It was released in the US as Adam and Evalyn.

Granger plays Adam Black, a rich veteran gambler who takes Evelyne (Simmons), the poverty-stricken teenage daughter of his deceased friend, under his wing, and soon romance is in the air for the pair, despite the attempts Granger’s jealous brother (Raymond Young) to come between them and ruin Granger.

Adam and Evelyne is a demure, underwritten, none-too dramatic romance with shades of Pygmalion and Daddy Long Legs. If the yarn is not very special, the star chemistry is certainly there (perhaps thanks to the idea that the couple were romantically involved and about-to-be married at the time).

It was released in the US as Adam and Evalyn.

The cast are Stewart Granger as Adam Black, Jean Simmons as Evelyne Kirby, Edwin Styles as Bill Murray, Raymond Young as Roddy Black, Helen Cherry as Moira, Beatrice Varley as gambler Mrs. Parker, Joan Swinstead as Molly, Wilfred Hyde White as Colonel Bradley, Fred Johnson as Chris Kirby, Geoffrey Denton as Police Inspector Collins, Peter Reynolds as David, Mona Washbourne as Mrs Salop, and Irene Handl.

Despite their age difference, Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons married the next year. They were married from 20 December 1950 to 12 August 1960 (divorced, with one daughter, Tracy Granger). Simmons married Granger in Tucson, Arizona, when she was just 21. They became US citizens in 1956.

Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993).

Jean Merilyn Simmons (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010).

Granger said the story was his, based on the 1919 silent film Daddy-Long-Legs with Mary Pickford, based on Jean Webster’s 1912 novel. He contacted writer Noel Langley and they wrote it for Simmons. He recalled: ‘It was a very good vehicle for her. It was a sweet film, a charming light comedy.’

There was a production hiccup when crew members at Denham Studios went on strike to protest sackings of film workers.

Adam and Evelyne [Adam and Evalyn] is directed by Harold French, runs 92 minutes, is made by Two Cities Films, is released by Rank Films, is written by Noel Langley, Lesley Storm, George Barraud and Nicholas Phipps, is shot by Guy Green, is produced by Harold French, and scored by Mischa Spoliansky.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,150

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com