Adam and Evelyne (1949, Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons)

Published

5 years ago

August 17, 2018

Perhaps writer Noel Langley was attempting to create man in his own image in this ‘orphan child falls for surrogate father’ romantic comedy-drama starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons as the eponymous couple who eventually fall in love after she has matured into a beautiful young woman. They are not called Adam and Evelyne without good reason.

Stewart Granger is Adam Black, a suave, handsome and wealthy professional gambler whose ethics do not always remain on the side of the biblical. Having ‘arranged’ the fall of his jockey friend Chris Kirby (Fred Johnson) – who later dies as a result – Adam takes it upon himself to become responsible for the jockey’s orphaned young daughter Evelyne (Simmons).

Evelyne, however, is unaware who her father was – believing it now to be Adam – much to his surprise and dismay. Lumbered with a daughter he never wanted, the cowardly Adam leaves it up to his girlfriend Moira (Helen Cherry) to tell the girl the truth. But Evelyne abhors gambling of any sort and so Adam persuades her that his extravagant wealth has been gained via the stock exchange and then promptly sends her off to Switzerland to be educated.

Years pass and Evelyne returns, no longer the gauche, waif-like schoolgirl but a beautiful and sophisticated young lady – now the perfect love match (in the ‘older man younger girl’ scenario) for Adam, who, much to the consternation of Moira and Adam’s brother Roddy (Raymond Young), falls for the assured young woman. But Adam doesn’t reckon on the fury of a woman scorned as Moira and Roddy try to break up the happy couple by ensuring that she arrives at his gambling joint at the same time as the police…

production details
UK / Rank – Two Cities / 70 minutes / 1949

Director: Harold French
Writers: Noel Langley, Lesley Storm, George Barraud, Nicholas Phipps,

cast
Stewart Granger as Adam Black
Jean Simmons as Evelyne Wallace
Helen Cherry as Moira Hannen
Joan Swinstead as Molly
Edwin Styles as Bill Murray
Wilfrid Hyde-White as Col. Bradley
Geoffrey Denton as Inspector Collins