Mad About Music (1938)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Marcella Burke (story)
Felix Jackson (writer)

Release Date:

27 February 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Drama

Plot:

A young woman at a girl's school in Switzerland makes up stories about and writes herself letters from...

Plot Keywords:

Mother Daughter Relationship | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars.

Cast

Deanna Durbin	...	Gloria Harkinson
Herbert Marshall	...	Richard Todd / Mr. Harkinson
Gail Patrick	...	Gwen Taylor
Arthur Treacher	...	Tripps
William Frawley	...	Dusty Turner
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Olga
Helen Parrish	...	Felice
Jackie Moran	...	Tommy
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Annette Fusenot
Nana Bryant	...	Louise Fusenot
Christian Rub	...	Pierre
Charles Peck	...	Henry
Sid Grauman	...	Himself, Sid Grauman
Cappy Barra	...	Leader, Harmonica Ensemble (as Cappy Barra and His Harmonica Band)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S

Company:

Universal Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: Orientation of a suitcase between Pierre and Tripps during the carriage scene.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Christmas Hymns (1954)

Soundtrack:

A Serenade To The Stars

Mad About Music

Hidden away in a school for girls in Switzerland, Gloria Harkinson (Deanna Durbin), the daughter of a movie-star mother (Gail Patrick) passes off letters written by her as those of her imaginary father, a big-game hunter in Africa. When one of her fellow pupils (Durbin's regular movie-nemesis, Helen Parrish) grows suspicious about these letters, Gloria is forced to enlist the aid of visiting composer Richard Todd (Herbert Marshall) to divert suspicion by posing as her father.

Things didn't look too promising after the first few minutes of this film. Teenage girls riding their bikes through a fairy-tale Swiss village while singing a song about whistling don't exactly float my boat, but there is something undeniably appealing about Durbin that kept me watching for the duration. While she lacks the supermodel looks of a movie star, her winning personality, effortlessly captured by director Norman Taurog, overcomes any aesthetic shortcomings, and she comes across in a way that most actresses rarely do. Even in a lightweight comedy such as this, anchored firmly in a make-believe world that bears only a passing resemblance to ours, there is something oddly down-to-earth and believable about her.

Of course, an engaging personality isn't enough to carry a film, but Durbin is favoured with a witty script from German scriptwriter Felix Jackson and able support from the likes of Herbert Marshall, Gail Patrick and William Frawley.

Catch this one if you can.