New release date for DVD pack: June 30

According to the TCM website and Movies Unlimited, the release date of the 5-pack DVD set has been pushed back to June 30 for unknown reasons.

The collection is to include:

Mad About Music | That Certain Age | Three Smart Girls Grow Up
Because of Him | For the Love of Mary



DEANNA DURBIN: THE MUSIC AND ROMANCE COLLECTION

Description from the Turner Classic Movies "Vault Collection" site:

Universal's beloved singing sensation receives the full star treatment with this five-disc set. In "Mad About Music" (1938), vain movie star Gail Patrick decides she wants to forget about daughter Deanna Durbin, so she sends her to a Swiss boarding school. Songs include "I Love to Whistle." Then, smitten with journalist Melvyn Douglas, teenager Deanna ignores former beau Jackie Cooper until Douglas sets things right, in the romance "That Certain Age" (1938). Songs includes "You're as Pretty as a Picture." "Three Smart Girls Grow Up" (1939) offers Durbin as a young woman getting tangled up in her sisters' love affairs. Songs include "Because" and "The Last Rose of Summer." Then, eager for a shot at Broadway stardom, would-be actress Deanna works to become the protege of veteran stage star Charles Laughton, in the comedy " Because of Him" (1946). And, in her final film, "For the Love of Mary" (1948), Deanna plays a White House telephone operator who gets help from her unseen chief executive boss in straightening out her romantic problems. 7 3/4 hrs. total. The five-disc set includes "Mad About Music," "That Certain Age," "Three Smart Girls Grow Up," "Because of Him," and "For the Love of Mary."

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Price: $49.99 (US Dollars) "Not Available In Stores", per the TCM Vault Collection site---it's available now for pre-ordering from TCM or MOVIES UNLIMITED (same price)

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The new Deanna DVD collection will be available June 9, 2010

Read more about Deanna's movies on VHS/DVD here in a post by Java Bean.
I'm happy to report that the new set of Deanna DVDs is coming out

June 9, 2010

It will have 5 films that were not in the "Sweetheart Pack":

Mad About Music | That Certain Age | Three Smart Girls Grow Up
Because of Him | For the Love of Mary




DEANNA DURBIN: THE MUSIC AND ROMANCE COLLECTION
Description from the Turner Classic Movies "Vault Collection" site:

Universal's beloved singing sensation receives the full star treatment with this five-disc set. In "Mad About Music" (1938), vain movie star Gail Patrick decides she wants to forget about daughter Deanna Durbin, so she sends her to a Swiss boarding school. Songs include "I Love to Whistle." Then, smitten with journalist Melvyn Douglas, teenager Deanna ignores former beau Jackie Cooper until Douglas sets things right, in the romance "That Certain Age" (1938). Songs includes "You're as Pretty as a Picture." "Three Smart Girls Grow Up" (1939) offers Durbin as a young woman getting tangled up in her sisters' love affairs. Songs include "Because" and "The Last Rose of Summer." Then, eager for a shot at Broadway stardom, would-be actress Deanna works to become the protege of veteran stage star Charles Laughton, in the comedy " Because of Him" (1946). And, in her final film, "For the Love of Mary" (1948), Deanna plays a White House telephone operator who gets help from her unseen chief executive boss in straightening out her romantic problems. 7 3/4 hrs. total. The five-disc set includes "Mad About Music," "That Certain Age," "Three Smart Girls Grow Up," "Because of Him," and "For the Love of Mary."

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Price: $49.99 (US Dollars) "Not Available In Stores", per the TCM Vault Collection site---it's available now for pre-ordering from TCM or MOVIES UNLIMITED (same price)

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A newspaper report on Deanna's divorce from Vaughn Paul in 1943

(click on the image for larger view)



As published in the Reading Eagle, October 14, 1943

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Butch and Buddy from "Spring Parade" (1940)

Above: Butch and Buddy with Deanna Durbin in the film "Spring Parade" (1940).

"Butch and Buddy" were a pair of kid actors played by Billy "Butch" Lenhart (1930-) Kenneth "Buddy" Brown (1932-).

They appeared together in several Universal films in the early 1940s. The first pairing was in Universal's "The Under-Pup" (1939) starring Gloria Jean in her first film. They played the sons of Billy Gilbert's character.

Universal needed two young boy actors again for the zany comedy "Sandy is a Lady" (1940) starring 2-year old Baby Sandy, who was Universal's answer to Shirley Temple. Lenhart and Brown were chosen to play "Butch" and "Buddy" in the film, and this is how they got their stage names.

They were such a hit that they were paired together in several more movies over the next five years.

The first film where they were billed together as Butch and Buddy was in Spring Parade starring Deanna Durbin (read the new review here at the Deanna blog)

Their most well known films are:

"Never Give a Sucker and Even Break" (1941) with WC Fields and Gloria Jean

and

"In the Navy" (1941) with Abbott and Costello

After 1945 they pretty much dissovled as a comedy team, as neither had the desire to pursue film acting as a career.

Kenneth Brown appeared in only one other film after 1945, in "36 Hours" (1953) where he had a bit part as a cop.

Films with Butch and Buddy:

"Sandy is a Lady" (1940)
"Spring Parade" (1940)
"Jumpin' Jive" (1941)
"In the Navy" (1941)
"Man from Montana" (1941)
"Never Give a Sucker and Even Break" (1941)
"Doin the Town" (1941)
"Melody Lane" (1941)
"Johnny Doughboy" (1942)
"Cinderella Swings It" (1943)
"Spotlight Revue" (1943)
"A Lady Takes a Chance" (1943)
"Army Wives" (1944)
"Rough Ridin' Justice (1945) (cameo)

As of this writing, I do not know what they did after thier film career, but I am researching this.

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Technical Difficulties on the blog...

I seem to have lost some background images for my sidebar...Now the blog looks so weird. Please bear with me as I work on locating this image and get this all fixed. Thanks. Tom

Update: Everything looks OK now!!! - Tom

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Happy Easter 2010!

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"Spring Parade" (1940)

Deanna looking cute in a babuska (head scarf)

In this cute film set in Austria, Deanna plays a farm girl named Ilonka. One day she goes to a carnival and meets a fortune teller who tells her (among other things) that she will find her husband in Vienna; the next day she travels there and is determined to fulfill the prophecies.

Deanna's character is somewhat carefree, and it's not explained whether or not she had any work or family obligatons back in her unprounouncable village home.

Once in Vienna, she lands a job as an assistant in a local bakery run by the always entertaining S.Z. Sakall. Other bakery employees include Anne Gwynne (Jenny) and the baker's young nephews, played by Butch and Buddy (Kenneth Brown and Billy Lenhart), child stars at the time that never became famous as a team. They were prominently featured on posters for the movie (see the poster below). I wonder what happened to them; I couldn't find much to read about them on the internet.

The spring parade of the title refers to a parade of soilders that passes by the bakery every day. One of the soilders (Robert Cummings) flirts with Jenny, but she has her eye on another man (a Count in fact, Count Zorndorf, played by Allyn Joslyn). Deanna becomes smitten with the soilder, and inspires him to compose songs, including "Waltzing in the Clouds", which Deanna sings.

She also sings two other songs: "When April Sings" and "It's Foolish But It's Fun", which is a great song to describe this movie. There are some funny shennegans and a few cases of mistaken identity, including a scene where the baker gets arrested and Deanna has to clear up matters with the Emperor.

Cameo appearances by Samuel S. Hinds, Franklin Pangborn and Mischa Auer, who buys Deanna's goat at the carnival.

Nominated for 4 Academy Awards:

Best Cinematography
Best Sound
Best Score (Charles Previn)
Best Song ("Waltzing in the Clouds")


For more photos from Spring Parade, check out this link which will take you to the gallery on the Deanna Durbin Devotees site.

Read Laura's review here. 

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Cartoon Short from 1940-"Malibu Beach Party" with a caricature of Deanna

Note: this page has received much attention lately. Have you found what you are looking for? I hope my comments are working; there have been no comments on the post but many views. 


(A Warner Bros. cartoon)

(Note: Deanna's caricature appears after 5 minutes, 14 seconds)

Lampooned this time: radio comedian Jack Benny and a few regular players from his program, including his real-life spouse Mary Livingstone, the show's bandleader (and jokester) Phil Harris (called "Pill Harris"), and Jack's "porter" Rochester (Eddie Anderson) (called "Winchester"). Jack is throwing a beach party in Malibu, and among those to show up include fellow radio pals Bob Hope and Baby Snooks. Some movie stars stop by too, including Bette Davis, Spencer Tracy, Joan Crawford, and James Cagney. Oh and you can't have a cartoon loaded with celebrity caricatures without Clark Gable and Greta Garbo. For sure! (Directed by Friz Freleng)


l-r: Carole Lombard, Don Ameche, Fred MacMurray, Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Charles Boyer, Adolph Menjou, Claudette Colbert



Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone, stars of the popular and long-running radio comedy The Jack Benny Show


Regular Jack Benny Show players Phil Harris (pictured with his wife Alice Faye) and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson


Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, Deanna Durbin, and Mickey Rooney.

Rik Tod, in his blog post on this cartoon, observed how all of the heads of the celebrities are slightly too large for thier bodies, giving them a bobble-head feel. I've identified no less than 30 stars, and they are listed below. See how many you can recognize. Out of all the celebrities, only Mickey Rooney and Deanna Durbin are still living.

Sorry, I couldn't find a version that would allow me to embed it in this page, so you'll have to go to the You Tube site to watch the clip.

Watch "Malibu Beach Party" (1940) (opens in a new tab)

Caricatures, in order of appearance:

Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone
Bob Hope
Bette Davis (as Queen Elizabeth from Warner Brothers' 1939 "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex")
Andy Devine (yelling "Hiya Buck" - a reference to the movie "Buck Benny Rides Again from 1940 which starred Benny and Devine)
Spencer Tracy (in his Henry Stanley garb from the 1939 movie "Stanley and Livingstone")
Kay Kyser
Robert Donat (with a reference to the 1939 movie "Goodbye Mr Chips")
Carole Lombard/Don Ameche/Fred MacMurray/Joan Crawford/Robert Taylor
George Raft
Clark Gable
Greta Garbo (surfing!)
Caesar Romero and John Barrymore
Ned Sparks and Fanny Brice as Baby Snooks
Charles Boyer/Adolph Menjou/Claudette Colbert/James Cagney/Alice Faye
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson
Phil Harris
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
Deanna Durbin, singing soprano
Mickey Rooney
Cary Grant

This cartoon is available on DVD; it's one of the extras to the movie "Dance Girl Dance" (1940), which is part of the Lucille Ball Film Collection.

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