One Touch of Venus
1955 | 79m | English
Popularity: 0.5 (history)
| Director: | George Schaefer |
|---|---|
| Writer: | John Gerstad, F. Anstey, George Schaefer |
| Staring: |
| While touring a museum, Rodney Hatch, an unremarkable barber, places an engagement ring intended for his girlfriend on the hand of a statue of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. From Mount Olympus, Venus witnesses the event and decides to visit Rodney on Earth by magically inhabiting the statue. Hilarity ensues when she starts to fall in love with Rodney and competes with his girlfriend for his attentions. This television version of Kurt Weill's successful Broadway musical is much more faithful to the stage version than the 1948 Ava Gardner film, which changed the story considerably and cut most of the songs. | |
| Release Date: | Aug 27, 1955 |
|---|---|
| Director: | George Schaefer |
| Writer: | John Gerstad, F. Anstey, George Schaefer |
| Genres: | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Music, TV Movie |
| Keywords | jealousy, live broadcast, live television, broadway musical, engagement ring, roman mythology, venus the goddess, tv special |
| Production Companies | NBC |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Oct 21, 2025 Entered: May 05, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Janet Blair | Venus |
| Russell Nype | Rodney Hatch |
| George Gaynes | Whitelaw Savory |
| Laurel Shelby | Molly Grant |
| Mort Marshall | Taxi Black |
| Iggie Wolfington | Stanley |
| Val Avery | Bus Starter |
| Len Doyle | Officer |
| Arny Freeman | Anatolian |
| Peter Gumeny | Second Trucker |
| Fred Hillebrand | Major Domo |
| Glenn Kezer | Police Lieutenant |
| William LeMassena | Zuvetli |
| Louis Nye | Dr. Rook |
| Adnia Rice | Mrs. Kramer |
| Georgia Simmons | Mrs. Moats |
| Mildred Trares | Gloria Kramer |
| Dick Wilson | First Trucker |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| John Gerstad | Adaptation |
| Ogden Nash | Theatre Play, Lyricist |
| S.J. Perelman | Theatre Play |
| F. Anstey | Novel |
| George Schaefer | Director, Adaptation |
| Kurt Weill | Original Music Composer, Songs |
| Name | Title |
|---|
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | 789 | 859 |
This is probably most notable as an example of a televised live performance. Neither the story nor the cast deliver anything particularly scintillating, otherwise. The story is quite fun: "Rodney" (Russell Nype) tries out his soon-to-be-fiancée's engagement ring on a statue of Venus. She (Janet Blai ... r) promptly comes alive and decides to get shot of the girlfriend and claim him for herself. Blair is actually OK, but the rest of this hasn't really stood the test of time so well. Clearly the actors are under lot of pressure by the nature of the presentation, and so the performances - especially the singing - are really quite stilted and wooden. The stars way too worried about fluffing their lines, missing their cues etc. - and unlike the theatrical performers, seemed to have nowhere near enough confidence to make this other than a tough watch for us viewers. Worth a watch because of it's innovative nature but not much more.