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Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Pack (Three Smart Girls / Something In the Wind / First Love / It Started with Eve / Can't Help Singing / Lady on a Train) (1939) Review
Deanna Durbin is one of the most fondly remembered stars in the history of American movies. Perhaps it is because we never think of her as part of Hollywood, and neither did she. Though MGM may have changed the name of this young and happy girl with the beautiful voice to Deanna, she was always Edna May Durbin on the inside, a real person. That warmth and sincerity came across on the screen and gave her something no one else had.It was lucky for us that MGM unceremoniously dropped Durbin in favor of Judy Garland. What happened to her would never have succeeded with Durbin due to Deanna's personality, her closeness to her big sister Edith, and her parent's watchfulness. But she certainly would have walked away from Hollywood long before she did, so we can all be grateful MGM let her get away.
When Universal signed her it was on the brink of bankruptcy. Only when they saw the rushes from Three Smart Girls did they expand her role, and the rest as they say, is screen history. The film broke box office records, earning over 10 million dollars for the studio and putting them firmly back in the black.
It was really radio star Eddie Cantor who had made this possible. After Jack Sherrill brought Deanna in for an audition, Cantor took the young Durbin under his wing and gave her a three year contract at one hundred dollars a week. Cantor knew talent when he saw it, and his hundreds of thousands of listeners came to love the golden voice of this Canadian born songbird.
Deanna Durbin grew up in front of the entire country, and they continued to love her, because they could tell she was real. She appreciated her fans, but loved music more than the movies. At 15 she had a 7-year contract with Universal and received 9,000 fan letters a week. But she enjoyed the simple things like the comics and her pup Tippy. It never went to her head. She could take stardom or leave it. It was not an act. She only loved to sing.
As she grew into the beautiful young woman with such a deft touch for light comedy, she remained a very real person. She toured Army camps around the US during the war, netting over 50,000 souvenirs from doughboys on one trek. She tried and failed at love until she got it right and it stuck. She could be seen on occasion down at the Hollywood Canteen, leaning against the wall having fun while she waited for a lucky soldier to dance with.
And when she'd had enough, she walked away from Hollywood forever. She always appreciated her fans but not so much the way the industry itself treated their own. She left an entertaining body of work that could never be included on one DVD, but there are some wonderful examples of her warmth and magic here in this first ever DVD collection of her films.
The surprise included here is Something in the Wind. It is very underrated and doesn't often get mentioned with the best of Deanna's films. It's Deanna a little saucy, and singing some pop tunes like The Turntable Song and the fun and breezy title tune. A great supporting cast helps this one move along nicely. It's quite fun and a real treat for Deanna's fans to see it included here.
The other films included here are all excellent examples of Deanna's magic, from her first film as a youth to a fun murder mystery with some comedy and great songs. Every selection here has something great to offer Deanna's fans, and film buffs in general. THREE SMART GIRLS (1936)Deanna Durbin simply burst on to the screen for the first time as Penny, the youngest of three sisters who attempt to break up their father's impending nuptuals so they can get him back together with their mother. This delightful romp made Deanna a star and saved Universal Studios from bankruptcy. The film itself moves at a breakneck pace, following Durbin's lead as she blows like a joyous and funny hurricane right into our hearts.
Nan Grey is Penny's sister, Joan, and Barbara Read is Kay. Charles Winninger is good as always as the parent who hasn't seen his children in ten years, and has forgotten what it means to be a father. But Penny's strong minded enthusiasm is infectious, and it isn't long before the shallow babe after his money doesn't seem near as important as his daughters.
There are some hilarious moments in this fast and furious comedy and Deanna gets to sing "Someone to Care For Me" and a couple of others, as one plot after another is hatched to get rid of the fiance. Mischa Auer is a hoot as the inebriated Count paid to romance away the fiance. But it is a young Ray Milland as Lord Michael Stuart who gets the most laughs when a mix-up occurs and the girls think he is the one they've paid to lure "Precious" away. Stuart is the real deal but plays along with the charade so he can romance Penny's sister, Kay.
An infectious joy runs all through this film and it is easy to see why this was such a hugh hit. It launched the career of one of the most fondly remembered stars of all time. This film begins with Penny, Joan and Kay sailing in Switzerland and it will sail right into your heart when you see it for the first time. A fresh and timeless treasure. FIRST LOVE(1937)I truly love this film. If asked by someone who had yet to see a Deanna Durbin film where to start, in order to get a sense of her magic, I would direct them to this film. She was just beginning to blossom from the teenage sensation who saved Universal Studios from bankruptcy into the natural and lovely actress who would have such a deft touch for comedy, while still maintaining the most beautiful voice to ever come out of Hollywood.
Durbin simply glows here and is pretty enough to make a young man's heart ache in this modern day Cinderella story. Fashioned by Joe Pasternak in a very glossy production and directed by Henry Koster, the screenplay by Bruce Manning and Lionell Houser has just the right blend of the touching, the sweet and the humorous as Deanna would receive her first screen kiss.
The sweet soul Connie (Deanna) is an orphan graduating from an all girls high school presided over by Miss Wiggins (Kathleen Howard). While all her friends are going home after graduation, Connie is headed for New York to live with her uncle Jim (Eugene Pallette) and his spoiled family because he has paid for her tuition and taken care of her in a financial sense since the death of her parents.
From the moment Connie arrives she is a breath of fresh air to the stuffy mansion. Her cousin Barbara (Helen Parrish) is a spoiled brat being waited on hand and foot with no interest outside of her social standing other than the rich young man coveted by all in her circle named Tom Drake (Robert Stack). Her aunt Grace is superficially nice but a little batty about astrology and her cousin Walter (Lewis Howard) spends all his time avoiding work of any kind.
Just as in My Man Godfrey, Eugene Pallette as her uncle Jim is the only normal one in the bunch! So exasperated is he with his family, he is only at home when they are gone and rarely talks to anyone, even Connie. But it is only a matter of time until he blows. Connie's sweet demeanor begins to rub off on all the servants in the houshold as they fall in love with her. Charles Coleman as the Clinton's butler George, Jack Mulhall as the chauffeur, Lucille Ward as the cook and Dorothy Vaughan as the maid are delightful as they come to her aid with improvisational magic when Barbara schemes to keep Connie from going to the big society ballroom party.
Connie is dying to go, of course, as she's met Tom by this time and love has begun to bloom in her young heart. Frank Jenks as the black sheep of the family, Mike, helps detour Barbara and Connie's aunt until midnight, so she can have her chance. Connie makes the most of it, even getting to be the hit of the gala when she mistakenly thinks she is being asked to sing when in fact it was an opera star attending the party!
Durbin's first screen kiss truly was magical, with the breathless excitement of it caught perfectly but not overblown. It was simply a part of the story. But that story ends at midnight for Connie, who leaves in such a rush that she leaves behing a silver slipper. Her mean spirited cousin Barbara tries to take away her momentary euphoria by convincing her Ted was just toying with her.
Even though we can see what is coming next a mile away, there are some genuinely moving moments in this wonderful film. Some lovely songs like Puccini's One Fine Day and the old standard Home Sweet Home are worked into the story nicely. Durbin also gets to sing Spring In My Heart, adapted from Johann Strauss Waltzes with lyrics by Ralph Freed. The finest musical moment here, however, I believe, is when she sings the beautiful Amapola. It will take your breath away.
There is magic all through this film and her name is Deanna Durbin. I can not recommend this wonderful film any higher. I can only say, if you don't love this film, then you simply don't love the movies.
IT STARTED WITH EVE(1941)Deanna Durbin was always fabulous and on this outing has a nice script and fine support from Charles Laughton and Robert Cummings, making this one of her best. This film is warm, funny and delightful. Durban even gets to do a few beautiful songs that are worked into the story in a natural way. This is really a very funny comedy with many fine moments that will leave you smiling when it's over.
Jonathan Reynolds (Charles Laughton), an irracible, rich and socially prominent tycoon, is on his death bed. His son Jonathan Jr. (Robert Cummings) rushes home from Mexico with his new fiance Gloria (Margaret Tallichet) to see him...Read more›
Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Pack (Three Smart Girls / Something In the Wind / First Love / It Started with Eve / Can't Help Singing / Lady on a Train) (1939) Overview
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