''A Fig Leaf for Eve'' is a 1944 American film directed by

Don Brodie Don L. Brodie (May 29, 1904 – January 8, 2001) was an American film and television actor. Early years The son of Mrs. Lottie Brodie, he attended Hughes High School in Cincinnati and the University of Cincinnati. Before becoming a profess ...

. The film is also known as ''Desirable Lady'', ''Flaming Girls'', ''Hollywood Nights'', ''Not Enough Clothes'', ''Reckless Youth'', ''Room for Love'', and ''Strips and Blondes'' as American reissue titles.

Plot

Young Eve Lorraine ( Jan Wiley) is an exotic dancer at the Club Cézanne in New York who is arrested for indecency while performing Salome's dance one night, when her manager Dan "Mac" McGrath ( Phil Warren) is trying to make a greater impression and get her some publicity. In court Eve meets a bail-bondsman, Gus Hoffman ( Eddie Dunn), who bails her out of jail. They talk to about Eve's background, where she mentions that her parents died when a theater collapsed somewhere twenty-three years ago, which makes Gus suspect that she is the rightful heir of the J.P. Sardam hair tonic empire and estate. There is a $1,000 reward for the one who finds the missing daughter of the Sardam spouses, who died during a Colorado theater collapse, which matches Eve's age and story. Hoffman talks to the lawyer handling the inheritance and reward, Thomas W. Campbell (

Emmett Vogan Charles Emmett Vogan (September 27, 1893 – October 6, 1969) was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934 to 1954, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time. In 1913, Vogan ...

), and he assures him that he indeed has found the missing child. The lawyer tells Hoffman that Eve will inherit millions of dollars. Hoffman brings the great news back to Eve, but her agent Mac warns her to trust Hoffman. Eve is overjoyed by the news, and goes off to the Sardam estate to meet her relatives. She is presented to uncle Horace ( Edward Keane), his wife Lavinia ( Betty Blythe) and their daughter Millicent ( Marilyn McConnell). When they hear that she has been an exotic dancer and even been arrested especially Aunt Lavinia treat her like something the cat dragged in. But before the upset Eve can leave the mansion, she happens upon her great aunt visiting from Wyoming, Sarah Birch (Janet Scott), who turns her mind around. Sarah finds the colorful Eve interesting enough to accept an invitation to the Club Cézanne in New York. Eve gets a substantial advance on her inheritance and moves into an apartment that her uncle has rented for her. She persuades Sarah to come and live with her, and starts adapting to her new way of life, spending money on clothes and lessons in French. With the inheritance case still pending in court, Hoffman starts worrying about getting his share of the money and talks to her agent Mac about an immediate payment. Eve is asked by the Sardam's to perform at an upcoming upscale charity fundraiser, and she rehearses a pretentious Shakespeare piece to blow her audience away. Her efforts result in the audience laughing at her performance and she leaves the stage ashamed and humiliated. After the show she is offered $10,000 as compensation if she retracts her claim in the court, and is even more upset. She goes up on the stage again and performs one of her usual exotic dances, and now the audience is spellbound and impressed. Once Eve comes back to her apartment, Hoffman is there with Mac, demanding his share of the inheritance money. They struggle and Hoffman holds Mac at gunpoint. When Mac tries to take the gun, a shot fires and Hoffman is killed. Mac quickly flees the scene, leaving Eve alone in the apartment with the body. Eve is arrested for murdering Hoffman, but Mac eventually turns himself in and confesses to the killing. Campbell comes to the rescue, informing the police about Hoffman's previous conviction for forgery. Mac is released from jail for acting in self-defence and it turns out that Hoffman had forged the papers that say Eve is the heir of the Sardam estate. Still, both Sarah and Horace are convinced that Eve is the rightful heir, despite Hoffman's antics, and accept her claim. However, Eve decides to withdraw the claim entirely and move with Sarah to Wyoming. She changes her mind when Mac tells her that he has been in love with her the whole time and asks her to marry him.Synopsis at tcm.com
/ref>

Cast

* Jan Wiley as Eve Lorraine / Eve Westland * Phil Warren as Dan "Mac" McGrath * Eddie Dunn as Gus Hoffman - Bail-Bondsman * Janet Scott as Aunt Sarah Birch *

as Thomas W. Campbell - Attorney * Edward Keane as Horace Sardham * Betty Blythe as Lavinia Sardham * Marilyn McConnell as Millicent 'Millie' Sardham *

Dick Rush Richard T. Rush (born 1884) was an Australian-born American character actor of the silent and sound film eras. During his 28-year career, he would appear in between 160 and 300 films (depending on the source). The large majority of his parts wer ...

as Police Desk Sgt. Tomlin *

Cheerio Meredith Cheerio Meredith (born Edwina Lucille Hoffmann; July 12, 1890 – December 25, 1964) was an American character actress. She was described in a 1963 newspaper article as having "a face like a wrinkled rosebud." Early life Meredith was born ...

as Tillie - Old Drunk * Herbert Evans as Sardams's Butler *

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Ma ...

as Waiter *

Jack Cheatham John Preston Cheatham (December 28, 1894 – March 30, 1971) was an American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. During his career he appeared in almost 200 films, with 100 of them being features. Life and career Born John Preston Cheat ...

as Arresting Policeman * Selika Pettiford as Selinka Pettiford - Organ Player * Eleanor Freeman as Piano Solo

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fig Leaf For Eve 1944 films American black-and-white films Monogram Pictures films American drama films 1944 directorial debut films 1944 drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

External links

References