DVD 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):
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DVD 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)
Review(s): DVD 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)
A Rose That Never Fades
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 before he dies, an event the papers can't wait for. But when the old man wants to meet young Jonathan's bride to be, she and her hideous mother have left the hotel to go shopping. A desparate Jonathan talks coat check girl Anne Terry (Deanna Durbin) into pretending to be Gloria for $50.00. It is money she needs for train fare back to Shelbyville because she is abandoning her dreams of singing stardom, which are going nowhere.
A teary eyed Anne has a warm and instant connection with old man Jonathan, who adores her and makes an unexpected recovery thanks to her charm and warmth. This causes complications for Jonathan, who has to catch Anne at the train station twice in order to keep the charade going! The interplay between the two as they start bickering about it is priceless. Even when the old man overhears them and knows the truth he goes along because he can see she's the right girl for his son Jonathan Jr., and the daughter-in-law he wants.
Of course, Jonathan Jr. still thinks he wants to marry the real Gloria and there is a subplot about a party which will be attended by Stokowski and Heifetz, friends of the old man. Anne may finally get her chance to be noticed. But she is too sweet to go through with it and plans on returning home to Shelbyville, prompting the wise old Jonathan to hatch up a little plan of his own.
A night on the town where a delightful Durbin teaches Laughton to do the Conga in a swank nightclub is a particular highlight of this stellar film. Deanna's tearful rendition of "Goin' Home" is another. There is also an hilarious fight scene with Durbin and Cummings chasing each other all over the place that involves biting and pinching which will surely leave you on the floor!
This is one of Durbin's best films. She had a flair for light comedy and a warmth and sincerity to her acting. You can't miss this one if you love Durbin or enjoy a great comedy. This is a classy production and a chance to see for yourself the always wonderful Deanna Durbin.
CAN'T HELP SINGING (1944)
If ever a film was filled with sheer joy, this is it. Technicolor only seemed to add to a film's quality in musicals like this one. Can't Help Singing was Deanna Durbin's only film in color and the vibrant hues are stunning as both Durbin and the outdoors have never been photographed so beautifully. The brilliance of the colors is striking and the story is fun and wonderful, making this not only one of Durbin's best films, but one of the best American musicals ever made.
Deanna is a delight as the young Senator's daughter, Caroline Frost, hilariously scheming to marry young calvary officer Robert Latham (David Bruce) against her father's wishes in this adaption of "Girl of the Overland Trail" by Samuel J. and Curtis B. Warshawsky. Jerome Kern wrote some great melodies for the film and E. Y. Harburg gave them lyrics still remembered decades later.
Deanna fakes a fever in hilarious fashion to get out of singing for the president so she can see Robert instead. But when that doesn't work and her dad (Ray Collins) wants to send her to see her uncle in New York, you can see the squirrel cage spinning in her head and the next thing you know she's gone missing, with a 5,000 dollar reward offered by her father for anyone who can find her. She's off to California, of course, as Robert has been sent with the 4th calvary to guard the Carstair holdings.
She gets fleeced along the way and ends up hitching her hopes on a wagon train heading out west. Akim Tamiroff and Leonid Kinskey are a hoot as the bumbling Russian thieves Gregory and Koppa, who spend the entire film attempting to steal Caroline's huge trunk but ending right back where they started! Circumstances pair her with card shark Johnny Lawlor (Robert Paige), who may need to find a new profession.
Of course they have a love-hate relationship which finally becomes just love. Before this one is over Caroline will have to pretend Gregory is her husband to get on the wagon train, then tell Johnny that she's going to California to marry the well known Carstairs (Thomas Gomez)! By the time they arrive in California, of course, all this catches up with Caroline and causes a lot of fun as she has to convince Johnny that he's really the one!
Her dad shows up and knows right away that Johnny's the right pick when he calls Caroline a liar. As her dad explains it, he's a Senator so she can't help it. She comes from a long line of liars! Gomez has a funny bit as Caroline gets him to play along and pretend he's broke up that she's not going to marry him. There is just one fun moment after another in this fine American musical set out west.
A rousing rendition of Californ-I-Ay and songs like Any Moment Now and the fabulous title tune, Can't Help Singing, are quite memorable. Deanna softly sings the Oscar nominated More and More to Johnny by a moonlit lake. This film makes you want more and more.
You'll find out what Cloud 17 is in this most delightful of films and be glad it's here on this grand collection of Deanna Durbin classics.
LADY ON A TRAIN (1945)
This film is a Christmas snowflake from the wonderful Deanna Durbin. She may have saved Universal from bankruptcy as a young musical sensation in the late 1930's, but by the mid 1940's she had matured into a pleasantly gorgeous actress who made several memorable light comedies. This breezy murder mystery is one of her best. The entire film takes place over the Christmas weekend and it is snowing in almost every shot, making a marvelous backdrop to this fun film.
Nikki Collins (Deanna) is on a train bound for New York for the holidays. While reading a mystery by her favorite author, Wayne Morgan (David Bruce), she witnesses the murder of Josiah Warring from the window of her compartment. When no one will believe her, she hunts down mystery writer Morgan and slowly drags him into her enthusiastic search for the killer. He is engaged to a rather stuffy society babe, and we know right away that he and Durbin will end up together before the final curtain.
The murdered man was a rich shipping magnate and when Durbin attempts to snoop around the tycoon's mansion she is mistaken by nephew Arnold (Dan Duryea) for Margo Martin, the nightclub singer to whom Josiah has left everything, much to the chagrin of everyone. This gives Durbin an opportunity to go to the nightclub and do some amateur detective work, as well as do a sexy rendition of "Give Me a Little Kiss, Will Ya?" and the lovely "Night and Day" while she pretends to be Margo.
The real Margo gets murdered, of course, as does the owner of the swanky nightclub. And everyone seems to be after those blood stained slippers Nikki has found which prove the tycoon was really murdered. David Bruce does a nice job as the mystery writer Morgan as does Duryea as the black sheep of the family. Ralph Bellamy is fine as the good nephew. Edward Everett Horten gives a very funny performance as Mr. Haskell, who has been instructed to keep an eye on Durbin by her father, which proves to be a nearly impossible task!
This is an entertaining muder mystery that is a lot of fun to watch. Deanna Durbin and the great cast make this film light and airy. She married director Charles David II later on and maybe that's part of the happiness you feel from the screen. We get to watch a glowing Durbin solve a murder, fall in love and sing some nice songs, all during a snowy Christmas weekend. What could be wrong with that?
IN SUMMATION:
The only gripe one could possibly come up with here is that there isn't more. There are many other great films available that will hopefully soon be included on another release. Spring Parade with Bob Cummings is not even available on VHS! And only in the region 2 format can you purchase Hers to Hold with Joseph Cotton or Christmas Holiday with Gene Kelly. If you're on a budget and can't afford the equipment necessary to watch these classics, you're sunk.
That being said, it's a delight to have these all on one DVD, though I do suggest picking up the VHS versions as you can because the quality is a bit better on some of them. You simply can't beat this for the price! These aren't just movies, but memories of someone special who passed this way. A fine present to yourself or a friend, from the wonderful Deanna Durbin, "The Last Rose of Summer."
A Wonderful Collection of Films
The Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Pack is an excellent DVD collection.
Sadly, Deanna's films are not all that popular today, even though she was one of the biggest stars of the 30's / early 40's. Since she retired in the late 40's and has rarely granted interviews since then, her film legacy is rather forgotten by many of today's filmgoers. Even TCM and other cable channels rarely show her films.
But, this DVD collection is a great beginning.
The films here are all quite entertaining. THREE SMART GIRLS, being her first, is a great place to begin. FIRST LOVE is another fun one, and it co-stars a young Robert Stack. SOMETHING IN THE WIND features a wonderful Donald O'Conner musical number, similar to the "Make em Laugh" number in SINGING IN THE RAIN. IT STARTED WITH EVE is very entertaining and LADY ON A TRAIN is worth buying the entire set for if only to hear her rendition of "Silent Night".
The weakest film in the collection is arguably the Western CAN'T HELP SINGING, but it is also the only color film that Deanna made so it is of interst in that regard.
Hopefully, Universal will release more of her films on DVD as all of them are out of print on VHS. All but 2 or her 21 films are available on DVD in the UK.
IT STARTED WITH EVE! A Fine funny film!
This review only concerns the one film, "It Started with Eve." This is a particularly choice film, not only because it stars the younger Deanna Durbin (much fresher and more delightful than the more mature star), but especially because of a banner, bang-up performance by Charles Laughton. Three cheers!
Charles Laughton turns in a wonder, atypical performance as an impish, sprightly old man. He is the moving force behind the love story in this film, and he is a wonder. A pity we haven't seen more of him in a humorous mode. A fine film all in all, but a great one for this!
Also, the film provides a rare treat of showing Deanna Durbin doing a song in her lower register. She is really a fine mezzo. Unfortunately, Hollywood generally makes her sing high soprano roles. Her "Going Home" is a treat indeed.
While the entire pack of 6 films is super, the star here is "It Started with Eve!"
Related DVD's 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)
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