It’s a Date (1940)

Deanna Durbin plays Pamela, the aspiring thespian daughter to Broadway actress Georgia Drake (Kay Francis). Mother and daughter unknowingly vie for the same part in a play and also for the affections of the same man (Walter Pidgeon). It's a thin plot, but Ms. Durbin and the rest are charming as ever.

Director William Seiter held the reigns for It’s A Date. Seiter’s catalog includes directing Shirley Temple films and early Fred Astaire musicals, such as Roberta (1935) and You Were Never Lovelier (1942). Norman Krasna penned the screen play based on original stories by Ralph J. Block, Jane Hall and Frederick Kohner.  Kohner would later write a novel about another charismatic  fictional teen, which would become a series of movies and  a television show – Gidget.

Deanna Durbin and Kay Francis

Ms. Durbin’s costars from First Love (1939) – Lee Howard and Eugene Pallette- reappear  to round out the comic supporting cast. Hungarian character actor S. Z. Sakall shines in this his Hollywood film debut. Sakall would play the baker Teschek in another of Ms. Durbin’s films, Spring Parade(1940).

Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times is enamored of Deanna Durbin and states that it is her winning personality and “young-girlish magic”  which overcome the “slightness and fragility ” of the plot,  and make It’s A Date a “practically compulsory rendezvous.”  The trailer for the movie bears this same sentiment. It simply repeats the star’s name and the title for the show allowing barely a hint at the plot. Ms. Durbin was so popular by this point, the public would gobble up just about anything in which the megastar was featured.

Deanna Durbin and Lee Howard

Songs (Those performed by Deanna Durbin are in boldface):

• ·         "Gypsy Lullaby" (Unknown)
• ·         "Love is All" (Tomlin, Tobias)
• ·         "Loch Lomond" (Traditional)
• ·         "It Happened in Kaloha" (Freed, Skinner)
• ·         "Musetta's Waltz Song" (Puccini)
• ·         "Rhythm of the Islands" (Cherkose, Belasco, Press)
• ·         "Ave Maria" (Schubert)

Cast:
Deanna Durbin as Pamela Drake, Kay Francis...Georgia Drake, Walter Pidgeon...John Arlen, Eugene Pallette...Governor Allen, Henry Stephenson...Captain Andrew, Cecilia Loftus...Sara Frankenstein, Samuel S. Hinds...Sidney Simpson, Lewis Howard...Freddie Miller, S.Z. Sakall...Carl Ober, Fritz Feld...Headwaiter, Virginia Brissac...Miss Holden, Romaine Callender...Evans, Joe King...First Mate Kelly, Mary Kelley...Governor's Wife, Eddie Polo...Quarter-Master, Harry Owens and his Royal Hawaiians...Themselves

Further Information

•   Watch the original trailer for It’s A Date(1940) 
•   View the It’s A Date photo collection at The Deanna Durbin Devotees Forum 
•   Read The New York Times Review of It’s A Date (1940)
• Joseph Pasternak, producer at Universal Studios, brought the rights for It’s a Date (1940) to his new studio, MGM after Ms. Durbin retired. The film was remade as Nancy Goes To Rio (1950) for  another singing teen star, Jane Powell.

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First Love (1939)

Originally posted on the blog Java's Journey

First Love (1939) stars Deanna Durbin in a modern adaptation of Cinderella.

Orphaned Connie (Durbin) graduates from an all-girls' school and goes to live with her Uncle (Eugene Pallette), his wacky wife (Leatrice Joy), his bossy daughter Barbara (Helen Parrish) and his lethargic son Walter (hilariously played by Lewis Howard). Connie finds love amid the madness.

The film also stars Kathleen Howard, who plays Connie's music teacher, Miss Wiggins. This character is a gruff sort of fairy godmother. Indeed, the film has several somewhat down-to-earth characters who keep this tale from becoming too treacly.

Miss Wiggins: "Crying your eyes out just because you don't have a home of your own to go to, or a mother and father to tell you how pretty and clever you are. Hmmph!"

Optimistic Connie greets the family in a simple traveling coat.

But Connie is surrounded by furs and elegance. This class difference is repeatedly played up.

Barbara, the socialite, uses Connie to trap an eligible guy named Ted Drake (Robert Stack's film debut) into marriage.

Barbara's activities

There are lots of mirrors in this movie. Not the least of which are the full length ones in Barbara's room, which we get to see since she's often primping for some event.

Why do the villainesses have great clothes and hairstyles?

Barbara's hair is cute.

In another mirror, the physical manifestation of Connie's conscience sticks its tongue out at her if she's having a pity party. It also provides Connie with a way to tell the audience what she's thinking when in private. This "magic" mirror also introduces the fantasy element that people expect of this classic story.

Connie does everyone's bidding....

Lazy Walter won't even hold his own cigarette. Hilarious.

... and is sort of caught in a web.

Connie finally fits in with everyone else in the house when the servants buy her an outfit for the ball.

I love Barbara's dress. The aunt is kind of kooky and so she gets the weird dress.

Connie has fallen for Ted, so Barbara makes sure her cousin doesn't go to the big ball to meet him. Our heroine shows up anyway while her friends on the police force detain the rest of the family.

Connie sings a song and Ted finds her irresistible.

They dance as Connie imagines the crowd doesn't exist. Nice bit of special effects.

Love that fake 1930s cityscape in the background.

Barbara discovers Connie has gone to the ball anyway and tells her cousin that Ted was just teasing.

Another mirror for Barbara

Believing Barbara, Connie goes back to the school as an instructor. She has also resigned herself to the life of "old maidenhood."

Miss Wiggins: "I'm a character - a crotchety, lovable old character. I hate being a character. Do you like cats?"

Miss Wiggins finds a way to tell Ted everything as Connie sings one last song then runs down the aisle into the arms of her love interest.

Just to put a button on the fairytale, the filmmakers end with this:

Deanna Durbin sings several songs, of course, including "Un Bel Di (One Fine Day)” from Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” and Johann Strauss' “Spring in My Heart” (lyrics by Ralph Freed).
In a banner year for Hollywood creativity, with such classics as The Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind, etc., First Love was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Art Direction; Best Cinematography, Black and White; and Best Music, Scoring.

This film is also noted for Deanna Durbin's first screen kiss, which tends to be a big deal in a young actress's career (whether she wants it to be or not). I've often found the media and public interest in such things a little prurient and creepy. Still, I mention it here since the incident is reputed to have knocked the European Crisis off the front page; Deanna Durbin's star power was remarkable.

Parting Shots:
Lewis Howard's idle and acerbic Walter is a hoot. He's either leaning or lounging and only walks to get to the next resting spot. Fun stuff.

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100 Men and a Girl (1937)

"I've never seen such a child in all my life!" - Eugene Pallette's producer character says this in reaction to a persistent Deanna Durbin.

In a story that might remind you of her short film "Every Sunday", Deanna wants to start an orchestra for a group of unemployed musicians, including her father, wonderfully played by Adolph Menjou. The chemistry that he and Deanna have is so good that you'll be convinced they are father-daughter.

In perhaps one of her best performances, Deanna stops at nothing to start the orchestra of 100 men, even managing to meet with world-renowned conductor Leopold Stokowski to solicit his help.

It's interesting to note that Stokowski only allowed himself to appear in four motion pictures (as himself of course), the most famous being 1940's Fantasia.

I would think that a film would need to have a really good script in order for him to lend his acting chops, and this movie really is indeed a good one; it's funny and filled with some great musical numbers. Classical music fans will certainly enjoy it. I'm sure Stokowski found Durbin to be a real promising young talent.

Other great comic performances come from Eugene Pallette and Alice Brady as the sponsors of the new orchestra, Mischa Auer as one of the unemployed musicians, and Frank Jenks as a singing taxi driver. His scenes with Deanna in the cab will crack you up.

Needless to say, audiences and critics were really impressed by Deanna and this film. It was nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Original Story, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing. It won Best Musical Score, beating out Lost Horizon, Way Out West, The Prisoner of Zenda, and In Old Chicago. Most surprisingly, it beat Snow White And the Seven Dwarfs!

And Deanna of course went on to star in 19 more motion pictures...

Laura has a great review of the movie at her blog Laura's Miscellaneous Musings

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