You Can't Run Away from It (1956)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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.

June Allyson and Jack Lemmon star in this musical remake of "It Happened One Night," which centers on an oil heiress who is taken by her father from her wedding to a man of whom her father doesn't approve. When her father played by Charles Bickford threatens to have the marriage annulled, she jumps off the yacht they're on and gets away. The father instantly sets up an extensive search for her before she can get to her newlywed husband in Houston. Jack Lemmon is a newspaperman whose path crosses hers. Such is the gist. While this is essentially a scene-for-scene and almost word-for-word remake of the Clark Gable film and not nearly so good, it is a very pleasant, enjoyable little film helped by some very upbeat songs and the chemistry of the two leads. As remakes go, I've seen a lot worse. And, it looks like they had fun making this, especially June Allyson, who has a good dance number in the hay! June Allyson was a very good comedienne. Not much is said about her comedic timing. It's been said she was a good crier; she could cry on cue in her melodramas. But she was very funny in her comedies. One other good example is "Two Sisters from Boston." And, Jack Lemmon is always a joy to watch. Charles Bickford is a little stiff for the role of her father though. Arthur O'Connell would have been better. If you come across this film on TCM, I think you'd enjoy this whimsical piece of fluff.

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?

Okay, so you won't find the memorable moments of "It Happened One Night" here. There are no iconic views of Clark Gable in his undershirt or Claudette Colbert's legs. But it is fun to watch and to hear Jack Lemmon and June Allyson sing. (Okay, it's sometimes painful to hear June sing in her raspy croaking, but still...). I think it's especially a "must see" for any Jack Lemmon fans, who will see yet another dimension of a favorite. Not the great acting you're used to in many of his other movies. Not the great comedic wit you're accustomed to in others. But just plain fun. I do think June Allyson is totally miscast in her role and it's pretty obvious that she only got it because hubby Dick Powell was providing the bank roll. But, again, the charisma of Jack Lemmon rolls the cart along nicely in a pleasant and good pace, including a surprisingly good singing voice.I was going to use "You Can't Help But Like It" as my summary/title. But apparently some reviewers didn't. So instead I will just say that it is a fun, though flimsy, film best seen in the summer and without expectations of a momentous movie, just a fun flick.