The Velvet Touch
Encyclopedia
The Velvet Touch is an American
drama film
released by RKO Radio Pictures.
's screenplay
, adapted from a story by William Mercer
and Annabel Ross, anticipates the witty repartee in All About Eve
(1950) and Auntie Mame
(1958).
The cast, directed by Jack Gage
, includes Rosalind Russell
as Valerie Stanton, Leon Ames
as Gordon Dunning, Leo Genn
as Michael Morrell, Claire Trevor
as Marian Webster, and Sydney Greenstreet
as Capt. Danbury.
The title song, with lush music by Leigh Harline
and romantic lyrics by Mort Greene, was sung during the opening and closing credits by an unidentified male chorus. It was an atypical choice for a film of this genre.
The film was produced by Russell's husband Frederick Brisson. It was director Gage's only theatrical venture, the rest of his oeuvre being for television.
leading lady Valerie Stanton (Russell), accidentally kills her producer and former lover, Gordon Dunning (Ames), during an argument about the direction her career should take. He expects her to sign for his next production, a typical frothy comedy
for which he is known, while she wants to star in a revival of Hedda Gabler
in order to prove her versatility as an actress.
Other characters involved in the plot are Valerie's new beau Michael Morrell (Genn), supporting actress Marian Webster (Trevor), who is accused of committing Valerie's crime, and police Capt. Danbury (Greenstreet), who may know more than he's willing to disclose.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
released by RKO Radio Pictures.
Production background
The dialogue in Leo RostenLeo Rosten
Leo Calvin Rosten was born in Łódź, Russian Empire and died in New York City. He was a teacher and academic, but is best known as a humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism and Yiddish lexicography.-Early life:Rosten was born into a Yiddish-speaking family in what is now...
's screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, adapted from a story by William Mercer
William Mercer
William Mercer is the name of:*William Mercer , Scottish poet and army officer*William Thomas Mercer , British Colonial Secretary in Hong Kong, 1859–1868*William W...
and Annabel Ross, anticipates the witty repartee in All About Eve
All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
(1950) and Auntie Mame
Auntie Mame (film)
Auntie Mame is a 1958 film based on the novel by Patrick Dennis and its theatrical adaptation by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. This film version stars Rosalind Russell and was directed by Morton DaCosta...
(1958).
The cast, directed by Jack Gage
Jack Gage (director)
Jack Gage was an American film and television director.Gage began his career in 1942 as a dialogue director for films; his credits in that capacity include I Married a Witch, Double Indemnity, A Stolen Life, Sister Kenny, and Mourning Becomes Electra, the latter two films starring Rosalind...
, includes Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
as Valerie Stanton, Leon Ames
Leon Ames (actor)
Leon Ames was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis , as Judy Garland's father, and in Little Women ....
as Gordon Dunning, Leo Genn
Leo Genn
- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
as Michael Morrell, Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor was an Academy Award-winning American actress. She was nicknamed the "Queen of Film Noir" because of her many appearances in "bad girl” roles in film noir and other black-and-white thrillers...
as Marian Webster, and Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Hughes Greenstreet was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca .-Biography:...
as Capt. Danbury.
The title song, with lush music by Leigh Harline
Leigh Harline
Leigh Adrian Harline was a film composer.-Career:Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he worked for various radio stations before joining the Walt Disney studios in 1932 as arranger and scorer...
and romantic lyrics by Mort Greene, was sung during the opening and closing credits by an unidentified male chorus. It was an atypical choice for a film of this genre.
The film was produced by Russell's husband Frederick Brisson. It was director Gage's only theatrical venture, the rest of his oeuvre being for television.
Plot
BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
leading lady Valerie Stanton (Russell), accidentally kills her producer and former lover, Gordon Dunning (Ames), during an argument about the direction her career should take. He expects her to sign for his next production, a typical frothy comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
for which he is known, while she wants to star in a revival of Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
in order to prove her versatility as an actress.
Other characters involved in the plot are Valerie's new beau Michael Morrell (Genn), supporting actress Marian Webster (Trevor), who is accused of committing Valerie's crime, and police Capt. Danbury (Greenstreet), who may know more than he's willing to disclose.