Watch You Can't Run Away from It For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

Good movie but grossly overrated

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The 1950s was certainly the decade for re-makes. Some like "Magnificent Obsession", "Imitation of Life" and "An Affair To Remember" were huge hits. Others were refurbished as musicals with only modest-at-most commercial success. Along with this one, I remember "My Sister Eileen", "Silk Stockings" and "L'il Abner".Actually, although classed as a "musical re-make", the songs here are neither memorable nor many. Stubby Kaye figures in the first on the bus, after which he disappears completely from the action. The only other number worth mentioning is a fairly amusing little routine between Allyson and an immobile scarecrow, which would have been ten times funnier had the scarecrow come to life. This omission is symptomatic of the film as a whole. No imagination, no liveliness, no vitality, no pizazz. Even such memorable bits of business from the original as the attempt to thumb a ride are watered down here way past the level of blandness. Were it not for the engaging personalities of its two stars, the movie would be a total write-off. Only the domestic altercation in the motel (ending with the delightfully harassed Walter Baldwin's exit line, "I told you they were married!") comes within shouting distance of matching the zest of the original.

The last review I read at IMDb for this film stated that it starred a "young" June Allyson. Actually, she was 39, seven years older than her co-star, Jack Lemmon, and MUCH too old to play the part of a young heiress fleeing her father. This in a nutshell is what ruins the film (along with it being made into a musical for the 2nd time). Not that she didn't do her best, but that she was simply miscast.Besides, it was foolish to try to recreate a film when the original was already perfect. They had nowhere to go but down. Apparently, Allyson's husband (director of the film) was trying to bank in on what he thought would be a sure thing. The film did indeed make money, but not one person who ever lived thought it was remotely as good as the original. If you haven't see the 1934 version called It Happened One Night, do yourself a favor and watch that one first. There's a very good chance you won't want to bother watching another version once you see how good Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert were. Incidentally, this film was remade into a musical once before during the 1940s, and again was quite inferior to the original. Perhaps Hollywood should learn to leave a good thing alone.

Back in 1934, "It Happened One Night" debuted and was a huge hit. In addition, the film went on to win five Oscars--an unprecedented number at the time. Simply put--it's a classic and one of the best comedies of the 1930s. In a move that defies common sense, some dunderheads decided to remake the film--a dumb idea, that's for sure. It was so famous that any film would pale in comparison. This one certainly pales--because it's also a pretty limp film and isn't even close to the original in any way.The one innovation was to make "You Can't Run Away From It" different was to make it a musical. So why, then, did they pick leads who really weren't good singers. Jack Lemmon was passable--so I assume he might have been dubbed. But despite having appeared in a few musical already, June Allyson was pretty bad. She couldn't sing and she was 100% wrong for the part. Instead of cute and clever like Claudette Colbert in the original, June comes off as whiny and annoying. The cruel fact is that her husband (Dick Powell) directed the film and I can only assume this was THE reason she was chosen.A problem with the film is that too often it's too close to the original. If they had changed a lot of the film, it might have worked. But seeing the various ultra-famous scenes from the original replicated badly made for very tedious viewing. The original film earned a 10 from me--this one gets a 3. My advice? Don't bother with "You Can't Run Away"--just run away instead!

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!