2018 Turner Classic Film Festival (#TCMFF) Day 2

Friday the 27th was the first full day of the TCM Film Festival. It started early, with screenings starting at 9 a.m. There were three good choices: The Merry Widow (1934), Strangers on a Train (1951), and Intruder in the Dust (1949).

I would have liked to have seen The Merry Widow, since I really enjoyed Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in One Hour with You (1932) at last year’s festival. I’ve seen Strangers on a Train numerous times, but you can never watch a Hitchcock film too many times, right? However, I decided to see Intruder in the Dust, a movie I hadn’t seen in decades. Based on a novel by William Faulkner, the movie features a great cast headed by David Brian, Claude Jarman Jr, and Juano Hernandez. Directed by M-G-M’s top director, Clarence Brown, the movie concerns a black man threatened with lynching when he’s accused of murder. The movie was filmed entirely on location in Oxford, Mississippi, using locals as extras. The other standout in this perfectly cast movie is Elizabeth Patterson—immortalized as Mrs. Trumbull on I Love Lucy—as an elderly woman who helps lawyer Brian and teenager Jarman prove Hernandez’s innocence. Film historian Donald Bogle introduced the movie. He interviewed star, Claude Jarman Jr., which was a great treat.

Next up starting at 11:30 a.m. were some more great movies to choose from: Witness for the Prosecution (1957), My Brilliant Career (1979), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944). All of these movies are worth watching, in my opinion, but I decided I wanted to laugh so I went to see The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek. Preston Sturges was a huge hit last year with The Palm Beach Story (1942) at the Chinese. I was sure The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek would be just as big a hit this year. And indeed it was. Even though I’ve seen this film numerous times, I was laughing out loud and actually crying at the end from laughing so long. It was the prefect film to see with an audience that thoroughly enjoyed this timeless classic.

At 2 p.m., another round of great films were screened: Sounder (1972), The Set Up (1949), A Hatful of Rain (1957), Blessed Event (1932), and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Out of all these great films, I chose How to Marry a Millionaire because I’ve never seen it from beginning to end. The digital presentation was flawless. The Technicolor was eye-poppingly beautiful. The interplay between the three stars: Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall was terrific. Bacall’s characterization was the most fleshed out, I thought. The Cinemascope classic featured great support from David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, Cameron Mitchell, and the legendary William Powell.

Deanna Durbin, Barbara Read, Charles Winninger, and Nan Grey in Three Smart Girls

At 5 p.m. it was no contest. As soon as I saw that they scheduled Three Smart Girls (1936), I planned on seeing this gem on the big screen no matter what. The movie that launched the career of Deana Durbin was a hoot and featured a young Ray Milland, alongside veteran character actors Binnie Barnes, Charles Winninger, Alice Brady, and Mischa Auer. Bob Koster, director Henry Koster’s son, introduced the film. Universal Studios was on the verge of bankruptcy when Three Smart Girls was released. The film was such a huge success—it was even nominated for Best Picture—that it’s attributed with saving the studio from disaster. Durbin went on the make more hits for Universal until she abruptly retired from the movies and left Hollywood in 1949 at the ripe old age of 28.

As it got later in the evening, there was another easy choice for me, even though the other films in competition—The Exorcist (1973), Romeo and Juliet (1968), Point Blank (1967), and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957)—were all worth seeing.

 

The Technicolor wonder that is Leave Her to Heaven (1945) was my choice from the beginning. The opportunity to see this film in a nitrate print at The Egyptian Theatre was a rare treat. The melodrama starring Gene Tierney, Cornell Wilde, and Jeanne Crain is based on Ben Ames Williams’s best-selling novel of the same name. It was Twentieth Century-Fox’s biggest box office success until The Robe (1953). The supporting cast featured a pre-horror Vincent Price and Ray Collins. Tierney—looking amazing in Technicolor—playing  the insane Ellen Berent was nominated for Best Actress, but lost to sentimental favorite Joan Crawford.

After the first full day, I was ready for bed so I could start all over again on Saturday. Saturday morning was one of the toughest of choices: His Girl Friday (1940), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), and A Letter to Three Wives (1949). Decisions, decisions!

10 Things You May Not Know About Deanna Durbin

Deanna Durbin (1921 – 2013) was one of the biggest stars of the 1930s and 1940s. She had an international fan club that was the largest in the world. With her beautiful soprano voice and genuine charm on screen, Durbin endeared herself to a generation of film fans. Her fame is still celebrated today.

1. Durbin was born in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada. In 1923 her parents moved the family—Deanna had an older sister, Edith (b. 1909)—to Southern, California, and became United States citizens.

A very young Deanna Durbin

2. In 1935 she was signed to a six-month contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but her option was dropped in 1936. The studio had another girl singer named Judy Garland.

3. In 1936 she signed with Universal Studios, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, at the tender age of 14. Her starring role in Three Smart Girls (1936) made her an overnight sensation and put Universal in the black.

4. Durbin auditioned for the voice of Snow White, but Walt Disney thought her voice sounded “too old” for the part. She was 15.

5. She was one of Anne Frank’s favorite movie stars. If you visit the Frank house in Amsterdam, Holland, you will see pictures of Durbin on Frank’s bedroom wall.

Deanna Durbin with Gene Kelly from Christmas Holiday

6. In 1938, Durbin received an Academy Juvenial Award for “bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth.” 

7. When Durbin was kissed by Robert Stack in First Love (1939), the press dubbed it “The kiss heard around the world!”

8. In 1941, Durbin starred in what many consider her best film, It Started with Eve, costarring Charles Laughton and Robert Cummings.

9. During her reign at Universal, Durbin always received top billing.

10. In 1947, Durbin was the highest paid woman in America. She retired the next year (at age 27), never to work in show business again.

Deanna Durbin: Winnipeg’s Sweetheart

This post is part of the O Canada blogathon hosted by Kristina of Speakeasy and Ruth of Silver Screenings. For more on famous Canadian movie folk, see the link at the bottom of this post.

Deanna Durbin sang on
Eddie Cantor’s radio show.

Canada born
Deanna Durbin was born on December 4, 1921 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In 1923, Durbin’s parents moved to Southern California where they raised Deanna and her older sister Edith. From a young age, Durbin’s extraordinary singing voice was recognized and nurtured. Before long, Hollywood took notice and Durbin was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1935.

That other girl singer
At M-G-M, there was another girl singer singed to a movie contract named Judy Garland. The studio starred Durbin and Garland in a short film, Every Sunday (1936). The film was a showcase for the vocal talents of both young women. Garland’s contemporary “swing” style of vocalization contrasted with Durbin’s classical operatic voice. After the film’s release, the studio dropped Durbin from their star roster, but kept Garland. There are a lot of stories surrounding the reason Durbin’s contract was not renewed, but it just appears to have been more of an oversight than the studio preferring Garland.

M-G-M’s loss was Universal’s gain

A mature glam shot from
the 1940s.

When M-G-M didn’t renew Durbin’s contract, she was signed immediately by Universal Studios. Producer Joe Pasternak cast her in her first feature film, Three Smart Girls (1936). It was a box office bonanza and is credited with helping to save the struggling studio from bankruptcy. The film was so popular that it made Durbin an overnight sensation. She, along with Mickey Rooney, received a juvenile Oscar for their film work in 1938.

International superstar
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Durbin was one of the biggest and most beloved movies stars in the entire world. She was one of Anne Frank’s favorites; Frank had a picture of Durbin on her bedroom wall, in the home where the Frank family hid during World War II. When Durbin received her first screen kiss in 1939’s First Love, from Robert Stack, the press dubbed it “the kiss heard around the world.”

One of  Durbin’s most enduring films

Highest paid woman in the world
By the time Durbin celebrated her 21rst birthday, she was the highest paid woman in the United States and the highest-paid female movie star in the world. One of the best movies she made during this period was the romantic comedy It Started With Eve (1941), costarring Charles Laughton and Robert Cummings. As Durbin matured, she wanted to tackle more serious roles. She starred in the dark murder-mystery Christmas Holiday (1944), based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. The dark-themed movie paired her with screen newcomer, Gene Kelly. With the innocuous title, Durbin and Kelly fans were probably expecting a musical rather than a noirish, melodrama. To many, it proved Durbin could act and if given the proper vehicle, she might have transitioned to more challenging adult roles. Even though Christmas Holiday was a box office success, Durbin’s fans preferred her in lighter fare. Durbin followed up Christmas Holiday with Can’t Stop Singing, her one and only Technicolor film. The musical, featuring a score by Jerome Kern with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg, was a box office smash. It broke all records at New York’s Loew’s Criterion Theatre between December 1944 through January 1945.

Durbin puts her hands and feet in cement
at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre

Little Miss Fixit no more
During the rest of the 1940s, Durbin continued to star in successful light romantic comedies. Even though the quality of her films wasn’t always the best, she was still a big box office draw and her fan club was the largest in the world. Growing tired of the poor scripts Universal was giving her, Durbin later declared, “I couldn’t go on forever being Little Miss Fixit who burst into song.” By 1949, Durbin turned her back on Hollywood and decided to retire at the ripe old age of 28. She married for a third time to producer-director Charles David and moved to France where she lived a very private life as wife and mother.

Gene Kelly and Durbin in
Christmas Holiday

Leave me alone!
Durbin turned down numerous offers to star in films at other studios. Bing Crosby wanted her to costar with him in Top o’ the Morning and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (both 1949). Pasternak, now at M-G-M, tried to lure Durbin to his new studio. Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II wanted Durbin to star in the Broadway production of Oklahoma! Durbin was Alan Jay Lerner’s first choice to play Eliza Doolittle in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady. For years the offers would come and Durbin would turn them down. She shunned the press for decades. She reluctantly agreed to an interview in 1983.

My Deanna Durbin Coffee Mug

Lasting legacy
In spite of Durbin’s disillusionment with Hollywood, she left a body of work that documents her extraordinary vocal range. Combined with her natural acting abilities, Durbin endeared herself to a generation of moviegoers. Today, Durbin’s films might seem corny and formulaic, but even in her most pedestrian vehicles, her warmth and charm shine through. Deanna Durbin may have turned her back on Hollywood and all that came with screen stardom, but her fans never turned their backs on the girl with the golden voice.


Some Durbin essentials:

Three Smart Girls (1936)
One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937
Mad About Music (1938)
That Certain Age (1938)
Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939)
First Love (1939)
It Started With Eve (1941)
Can’t Help Singing (1944)

See and hear Deanna sing “I Love To Whistle” from Mad About Music

Portions of this blogpost appeared in a post dated December 4, 2010, Ms. Durbin’s 89th birthday.

Can’t get enough of Canadian movie folk? Click here for more interesting posts in the O Canada blogathon!

Deanna Durbin: The Reluctant Movie Star

Deanna Durbin was born on December 4, 1921, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In 1923, Durbin’s parents moved to Southern California, where they raised Deanna and her older sister Edith. From a young age, Durbin’s extraordinary singing voice was recognized and nurtured. Before long, Hollywood took notice, and Durbin was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1935.

At M-G-M, there was another girl singer signed to a movie contract named Judy Garland. The studio starred Durbin and Garland in a short film, Every Sunday (1936). The film was a showcase for the vocal talents of both young women. Garland’s contemporary “swing” style of vocalization contrasted with Durbin’s classical operatic voice. After the film’s release, the studio dropped Durbin from their star roster, but kept Garland. There are a lot of stories surrounding the reason Durbin’s contract was not renewed, but it just appears to have been more of an oversight than the studio preferring Garland.

When M-G-M didn’t renew Durbin’s contract, she was signed immediately by Universal Studios. Her first feature film, Three Smart Girls (1936) was a box office bonanza and is credited with saving the struggling studio from bankruptcy. The film was so popular that it made Durbin an overnight sensation. In 1939, she, along with Mickey Rooney, received a juvenile Oscar for her film work in 1938.

Durbin, center, with her Three Smart Girls screen sisters Nan Grey, left, and Barbara Read

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Durbin was one of the biggest and most beloved movie stars in the entire world. She was one of Anne Frank’s favorites; Frank had a picture of Durbin on her bedroom wall, in the home where the Frank family hid during World War II. When Durbin received her first screen kiss in 1939’s First Love, from Robert Stack, the press dubbed it “the kiss heard around the world.”

By the time Durbin celebrated her 21rst birthday, she was the highest-paid woman in the United States and the highest-paid female movie star in the world. At her peak, she was earning $400,000 per picture. One of the best movies she made during this period was the romantic comedy It Started With Eve (1941), costarring Charles Laughton and Robert Cummings. As Durbin matured, she wanted to tackle more serious roles. She starred in the dark murder-mystery Christmas Holiday (1944), based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. The dark-themed movie paired her with screen newcomer Gene Kelly. With the innocuous title, Durbin and Kelly fans were probably expecting a musical rather than a noirish melodrama. To many, it proved that Durbin could act, and if given the proper vehicle, she might have transitioned to more challenging adult roles. However, this was not to be; Durbin’s fans preferred her in lighter fare.

Cheerful publicity shot of Durbin and Gene Kelly from the dark-themed Christmas Holiday

During the rest of the 1940s, Durbin continued to star in successful light romantic comedies. Even though the quality of her films wasn’t always the best, she was still a big box office draw, and her fan club was the largest in the world. Growing tired of the poor scripts Universal was giving her, Durbin later declared, “I couldn’t go on forever being Little Miss Fixit who burst into song.” By 1949, Durbin turned her back on Hollywood and decided to retire at the ripe old age of 28. She married for a third time to producer-director Charles David and moved to France, where she lived a very private life as wife and mother.

Durbin turned down numerous offers to star in films at other studios. Bing Crosby wanted her to costar with him in Top o’ the Morning and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (both 1949). Supposedly, Durbin was Alan Jay Lerner’s first choice to play Eliza Doolittle in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady. For years, the offers would come, and Durbin would turn them down. She shunned the press for decades. She reluctantly agreed to an interview in 1983.

Durbin, the voice that saved a studio and charmed the world

In spite of Durbin’s disillusionment with Hollywood, she left a body of work that documents her extraordinary vocal range. Combined with her natural acting abilities, Durbin endeared herself to a generation of moviegoers. Today, Durbin’s films might seem corny and formulaic, but even in her most pedestrian vehicles, her warmth and charm shine through. Deanna Durbin may have turned her back on Hollywood and all that came with screen stardom, but her fans never turned their backs on the girl with the golden voice.

For a glimpse of Durbin and her extraordinary voice, check out the clip below from Mad About Music (1938). She was 16 years old when she recorded this version of  "Ave Maria."