Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Pack (Three Smart Girls / 100 Men and a Girl / First Love / It Started with Eve / Can't Help Singing / Lady on a Train)

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Summary: Disturbin' Durbin in Lack-luster DVD Transfers!
Review: "Deanna Durbin: Sweetheart Pack" is Universal's celebration of the adolescent soprano that MGM discarded after screen testing her opposite Judy Garland in the musical short "Every Sunday." In hindsight MGM's decision to can Durbin is sound, though after the success of her debut film L.B Mayer was probably kicking himself. However, although Durbin is a pre-teen operatic sensation she lacks the star power or dramatic acting chops needed to make her a full fledged musical star. Not that anyone noticed during her tenure at Universal. Durbin was one of the most popular and most successful of that studio's stars. But her films lack the effervescent abandonment and stunning creativity behind MGM's Jane Powell film vehicles. Aside: this collection of Deanna's greatest hits DOES NOT contain the film "100 Men & A Girl" - currently advertised on some web sites as part of this collection and undoubtedly the best film Durbin ever made during her tenure. One can only assume that its absence from this collection will result in "Deanna Durbin: Sweethearts #2."

This collection begins with "Three Smart Girls," Deanna's entrée into films at Universal. There is a definite sense from studio big wigs that they were testing the waters for Durbin's public appeal. She stars as Penny Craig, a precocious youngster who conspires with her two sisters to unite their divorced parents. The script is chalked full of musical numbers to cleverly hide the fact that Durbin's primary asset is her singing ability. As standard musical tripe this film trips tunefully by, but it has no staying power once you've finished with it. "Something In The Wind" is a grossly misleading premise for a film musical. Durbin plays Mary, a disc jockey who gets mistaken for her mother, also named Mary. Mary Sr. has been collecting support payments from her dead lover's estate for some time. However, when relatives mistake young Mary as the beneficiary, they plot to destroy Mary's credibility as a means of getting the support payments to stop. Once again it's the musical program that rescues this film from melodramatic oblivion. "First Love" is the best film in this collection: a Cinderella fable in which Durbin is Connie Harding, an orphan sent to finishing school by a philanthropic uncle. There she finds true romance with Ted Drake (Robert Stack). Ironically, the solid story is buttressed by only a few songs. Clearly, Universal knew the dramatic portion of this film was above par for a Durbin vehicle and tempered their urge to go all out on a song fest. "It Started With Eve" is a close runner up to "First Date". When the son of a millionaire, Jonathan Reynolds (Robert Cummings) suspects that his father (Charles Laughton) is dying, Jonathan is determined to fulfill a last request; namely that his father should meet his fiancée. However, when she isn't available, Jonathan grabs hat check girl, Anne-Terry (Durbin) as a quickie replacement. But his deception backfires when dad makes a speedy recovery. "Can't Help Singing" is aptly the only reason why one would invest time in this trite little tale of Caroline Frost (Durbin), a head strong girl from back east who tackles the old west and romance with a cavalry officer (David Bruce). Finally, there's "Lady on a Train," a curiously sour note in Durbin's repertoire. She plays a sleuth in a murder mystery opposite a handsome writer (David Bruce, again). There's more than the prerequisite of twists and turns in this convoluted tale but this film is no "Strangers on a Train" and, with the inclusion of predictable songs it really can't decide whether to play as a musical or a suspense thriller. Ultimately it winds up being a mutt, half and half: uninspired and pretty forgettable.

Universal hasn't paid much attention to quality on this collection. The gray scale on almost all films in this set is poorly balanced with low contrast levels, weak blacks and very unclean whites. With the exception of "First Love", the rest of the films in this batch are riddled with age related artifacts and a considerable amount of film grain. Some edge enhancement, pixelization and shimmering of fine details crops up now and then to further degrade the image quality. There's also a complete lack of tonal quality in the audio. Durbin sounds exceptionally shrill when she sings and dialogue is often buried under a barrage of pops and hissing that further detracts from your listening pleasure. Ultimately this isn't an outstanding effort - either from Durbin, Universal or the stellar capabilities of the digital format. I don't recommend this set to anyone who is NOT a die hard Deanna Durbin fan. One final note: the insert for this collection is merely tucked in between the gate fold, making it easy to misplace damage and lose.



Rating:
Summary: Deanna durbin Sweetheart Pack
Review: At last Universal Pictures is going to release six of Deanna Durbin's movies on DVD i am certinly looking forward to her movies, finaly coming to DVD, "Three Smart Girls", "100 Men and a Girl", "First Love", "It Started With Eve", and her only movie in Tecnicolor "Can't Help Singing", and "Lady On a Train". Let's have the rest of Deanna's movies released on DVD, Universal.

Rating:
Summary: Deanna - a well kept secret
Review: Deanna Durbin is a well-kept secret, but a secret with which you should become well acquainted. Her movies have great entertainment value, both from a comical standpoint, as well as Deanna's great singing skills. Not too many movies were able to combine these two factors and succeed.

Universal has done a decent job on these movies, something which is a bit of a surprise considering they have so many quality control problems with their Abbott & Costello series. I made it through all five movies without any stalls or skips.

The transfer for "Three Smart Girls" definitely could have used some attention. It is full of grain and film damage. The rest of the movies rate from average to excellent in their transfers. None of the movies are visually poor enough to be unwatchable, and that is a great thing, because these are movies you will want to watch over and over.

Universal's biggest problem with this set is the packaging, which is horrendous. A loose flyer is inserted in the package, which undoubtedly will become lost or damaged over time. The package itself has no sleeve in which to insert it, so it springs open unless placed between other packages on a shelf. All in all, a very poor design.

It is doubtful these movies will ever see another release on DVD, so don't pass up the opportunity to see them. They are delightful, and getting six movies for this price is still a bargain, even if the packaging is poorly designed and the transfers aren't perfect.

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Summary: At Last!!
Review: Finally! We, devoted fans of Deanna Durbin, will be able to own her wonderful movies on DVD! I disagree, though, with the reviewer who stated that SOMETHING IN THE WIND was one of her worst. There are NO worst Deanna Durbin films; simply favorites. It happens that SOMETHING IN THE WIND is one of my favorites, and 100 MEN AND A GIRL is not. In this case I shall be pleased with the new choice, but others will be disappointed. Hopefully, we shall see ALL of her movies on DVD eventually; and all shall all be pleased!

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Summary: It is a Great purchase!
Review: First of all I have to admit that although I'm an ardent "classics" movie buff, I had never seen any of Deanna Durbin's movies, mainly because they were never shown on TV, at least in my country. Since I had read a lot about her persona, amazing voice, her status as Universal's prime superstar, etc., I was eager to watch her on film.

I got this wonderful package last year as a gift and sincerely, after watching the first of six feature films, I had to watch them all, as soon as possible, because I fell completely under the spell of Durbin's lovely screen persona: unaffected, sincere, pretty, down-to-earth, sweet, etc.

The films included in this collection are at least good and most of them very good. In spite of what I've read from other customers, I have to say that almost all the copies of the films are in very good condition, with the only exception perhaps, of "Three Smart Girls", which is somewhat grainy and not so sharp as the others, but then, it is the oldest of the lot (1936), and anyway is in pretty decent conditions.

"Three Smart Girls" is her best known film included here, because it was her breakthrough film, the one which made her a star, as a young girl-she is not even top billed here- who helps her elder sisters to try to bring their estranged parents together. There's some fine comedy, nice songs and expert supporting players.

In my humble opinion, the best films of the bunch are "First Love" (1939) and "It Started with Eve" (1941), both lovely Cinderella-type tales in which her natural talent and unaffected acting shine thoroughly.

There's also a "whodunit"-mystery film, "Lady On a Train" (1945), directed by her second husband, French director Charles-David, a fine and absorbing movie. On the other hand, "Can't Help Singing" is a glorious Technicolor musical with a score by the legendary Jerome Kern, with Deanna looking ravishingly beautiful in period costume, surrounded by "western" outdoors.

"Something in the Wind" (1947), maybe the weakest of the films which belong to this pack, but is a nice, engaging, mistaken-identity-comedy with Deanna as a discjockey.

In these films she acts with and is supported by some of the finest actors in Hollywood, such as Mischa Auer, Robert Cummings, Robert Stack, Charles Laughton, Donald O'Connor, Guy Kibbee, Akim Tamiroff, Binnie Barnes, Charles Winninger, Alice Brady, Ray Milland, Eugene Pallette, Kathleeen Howard, Ralph Bellamy and Edward Everett Horton.

Since I only saw Deanna on film for the first time last year, for me she was really Hollywood's best kept secret! Enjoy!


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Summary: Yours to Hold !
Review: Hey folks! ....if you take a look at Amazon's U.K. page, you will see that a fabulous 19 DVD set of Deanna's movies has just been released here.
That's almost all of her movies in one set. The only two missing are "Spring Parade" and "It's a Date". Why these two are not available, I don't know !
I havn't received my set yet, but will post further details after viewing.
Enjoy !

Rating:
Summary: Three cheers for Deanna Durbin
Review: I am so happy to hear that these Deanna Durbin movies are coming to dvd.I have seen all of these movies. I agree with the viewer from Ventura California. Please transfer all of Deanna Durbin's movies on to dvd. My favorite Deanna Durbin movies are "His Butler's Sister" and "Spring Parade". I hope that they will come out on dvd, in the near future.

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Summary: Deanna Burbin is now one of my favourites
Review: I had not seen much of Deanna Durbin before this DVD, but now I am hooked. She really is wonderful in these films and I cannot wait for more of them to come out onto DVD. The packaging is charming but the films (both black and white and colour) are addictive. I know I shall keep watching these films. I do prefer her more adult roles but then her voice is lovely no matter what.

I would encourage anyone who loves the older Hollywood musicals to try this DVD. They take your mind off the day-to-day irritations and stress, and you enter into Deanna's bueatiful world. I fully intend to lose myself there quite often.

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Summary: What a Great Deal!!!!
Review: I just watched the first of these 6 movies - Three Smart Girls. What a wonderful movie. They don't make them like this anymore. I bought this set for my wife and decided to preview it first. What a wholesome and funny movie. Plus you get 6 movies for under $20...and they are...so far...great movies. What a deal! But the absolute best picture on this set is, "It all Started With Eve". What a wonderfully funny movie. Very well done and entertaining. This setr is worth every penny!!! If you like old movies and have a DVD player, jump on this set with both feet...hurry!

Rating:
Summary: Adorable Deanna!
Review: I love it when you read a review here where the viewer brought the two-disc Deanna Collection, watched every scene, and then fire-balled poor Deanna and the six movies in this collection. Has that viewer ever heard of the "Stop" button? Is he aware there are thousands of titles to choose from, rather than being tortured by Deanna's work? I am one happy viewer who is thrilled with having on disc six of her movies. The grain problem is especially apparent on "Three Smart Girls" and "First Kiss" but the restoration of "It Started With Eve" is superb. These movies allow you to watch a legendary artist evolve over the years. Deanna steals everything but the cameras in "Three Smart Girls" and matures in every production. From the point in time, savvy movie buffs can study how a major studio like Universal experimented with different scripts and looks and cast members. "First Love" looks as if the studio was still not sure how to present the obviously mature Deanna in her first adult role. She plays her role of the rejected orphan with an icky frailty and passivity that isn't what we remember most about Deanna. Two of her greatest musicals, "HIs Butler's Sister" and "Nice Girl?" will hopefully be included on the second Deanna collection. In these two movies, you see full-on how Universal invested in hiring the best supporting casts in Hollywood with top-flight production values and musical numbers. Let Deanna's naysayers take a hike and go watch something more on thier level--like Jackass. Her army of fans love the fabulous Deanna! We want more, more, more!