Adam and Evalyne (3 stars)

Adam and Evalyne is a 1949 romance, which stars real-life couple Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons.  Made the year before the two married, Adam and Evalyne is the first of three pairings between Granger and Simmons.   I discovered this film over the weekend on Net Flix instant viewing.  I had never heard of it before. 

About 16, Evalyne Wallace (Jean Simmons) lives and works at Willby Hall Orphanage.  How she got there, and why she bears her mother's name is never explained.  (My guess is that she was an illegitimate child.)  Letters from her father are what keep Evalyne going.  She lives for the day when her handsome, well-to-do father fulfills his promise to call for her at the orphanage and takes her home to live with him.

Unbeknownst to Evalyne, however, is the fact that her father's letters are completely bogus.  Instead of using his real name, Chris Kirby, he writes to her using the name of his best friend...Adam Black.  The photo of himself which he sends to Evalyne is really a photo of Adam (Stewart Granger).  So, upon Chris's death, when Adam, fulfilling his promise to the dying Chris, shows up at the orphanage, Evalyne fully believes he is her father, who has finally come to take her to live with him.  Not wanting to hurt Evalyne, Adam cannot bear to tell her the truth, so home with him she goes.

Shortly after learning the truth, that Adam is really not her father, Evalyne is sent to a Swiss finishing school.  When she returns, two years later, she is hardly the plain, awkward young lady she had once been, and although she begins to see other men, it is Adam to whom her heart belongs.  But can Adam see her as anything except his ward?

Adam and Evalyne is very cute and quite predictable.  Really, it's an entertaining and enjoyable film.  The chemistry between Granger and Simmons is fantastic, and I'm not just talking the romantic scenes.  They were fabulous with one another in every scene.  I think it's their chemistry that really made this film enjoyable for me.  Hope you get a chance to see it.

Happy viewing!!!

Footsteps in the Fog (3 stars)

Footsteps in the Fog, from 1955, is a Victorian England period drama starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons.  I have had little exposure to Mr. Granger; with the exception of Green Fire, which I watched solely because I want to see all of Grace Kelly's films, I haven't seen any other of his works.  And I haven't seen a whole lot of Jean Simmons' work either, perhaps four or five films.  Even so, though, I enjoyed this film, and I thought both Granger and Simmons were quite good in their roles.

Stewart Granger portrays Steven Lowry, a man whose wife has just died.  Telling his friends that he must learn to be alone, Steve returns home after the funeral and proceeds to drink to his wife's portrait...smiling all the while.  Housemaid Lilly Watkins (Jean Simmons) tells him that she gets a queer feeling when she looks at the portrait, almost like the mistress is trying to tell her something.

A bit later, Lilly discovers dead mice in the cellar, an empty medicine bottle lying in the midst of them.  Having done an experiment with the contents of the medicine bottle, Lilly knows that Mrs. Lowry did not die of gastroenteritis, as had been supposed, but by poisoning.  With this knowledge, Lilly begins blackmailing Steve, at first into obtaining the deceased woman's jewelry, then into dismissing every servant except herself.

In love with Steve, Lilly wants full control over his household...and him. Steve, however, who is in love with another woman, wants nothing to do with Lilly.  Desperate to be rid of her and the hold she has over him, he will stop at nothing...including another murder.

Footsteps in the Fog is a very interesting, well-acted, mildly suspenseful film.  While not a favorite by any means, I enjoyed it very much and definitely recommend it. It is out on DVD, so it should be fairly easy to track down.  Happy viewing!!