Everybody Does It (1949) is a fairly amusing comedy that has the rare distinction of being a remake that is funnier than the original. Of course, when that original was an inept as "Wife, Husband and Friend", it wasn't so hard to do. Would you believe the original was also screenplayed by Johnson, but here he has embellished his basic idea with more wit, more slapstick and more fun – including the elaborate dressing-room gag suggested by Ray Milland, that precipitates the final climax. Admittedly, Johnson's fault has always been wordiness, and even here the screenplay is still too wordy for its own good. The TV print runs 80 minutes, but it could come down another five or ten. The casting here is much superior to the original. Paul Douglas makes a fine, ingratiating job of the role in which Warner Baxter was so embarrassingly miscast. Admittedly, Celeste Holm is not quite the strong personality the screenplay demands, but she certainly does better than Loretta Young. And Linda Darnell does the siren songstress so seductively here that she walks all over Binnie Barnes. All the other players here are at least a match for the original cast, though it must be remembered that the newcomers have the advantage not only of a superior script but way superior direction. It has both style and deftness which creams Gregory Ratoff's heavy-handed interpretation. Another important plus factor here is the music. The dubbing, of course, is often meticulously amateurish – which is what the script calls for – but it's still a rare pleasure to listen to, so we are getting the best of both worlds. I just love to hear such old stalwarts as "The Road to Mandalay". Credits, as usual in a Fox feature are absolutely first class. Costumes are seductive and Joseph LaShelle's camera flatters the ladies delightfully. Signing off, I've just one query. Why the dickens didn't the studio employ a stuntman for Douglas' fall down the stairs? It seems rather lame when just heard off- camera.
Review of Everybody Does It
