Slideshow
ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL
U.S., 1937
Directed by Henry Koster
Starring Deanna Durbin, Leopold Stokowski, Adolphe Menjou, Alice Brady, Mischa Auer
Production Design by John Harkrider
Approx. 84 min. 35mm.
This delightful musical served to solidify the stardom of sweet 16-year-old Deanna Durbin, whose astounding celluloid success helped to save Universal Pictures from bankruptcy. Under the tutelage of producer Joe Pasternack and director Henry Koster, the perky young actress with the beautiful soprano voice blossomed onscreen. Kids and adults alike might find this movie old-fashioned, but it's also surefire entertainment, a story of underdogs and of a determined girl who makes against all odds. Durbin is a delight, but she's surrounded here with a peerless cast of old pros who make the most of every comic moment. Deanna plays Patsy Cardwell, who schemes to find employment for her jobless trombonist father (Adolphe Menjou) and his musician pals. (The title refers to the one-hundred-member orchestra Patsy ends up establishing for them.) Along the way, this spunky heroine connives to convince the renowned Leopold Stokowski to lead the orchestra. Stokowski then was the head of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, and was one of America's reigning conductors. Given its scenario, most of the music in the film is of a classical or operatic nature. There are compositions by Berlioz, Liszt, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Verdi, and others, and ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL thus serves as a fine introduction to the joys of classical music and opera. Meanwhile, preteen girls should relate to Durbin because of her character's vitality and the way she thrives in an adult world. Indeed, a year after the release of ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL, Durbin and Mickey Rooney were given special Academy Awards® for “bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth.” – Leonard Maltin's Family Film Guide
with
Our Gang Follies Of 1938
U.S., 1937
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Starring Carl Switzer, Spanky Mcfarland, William Thomas Jr., Darla Hood
Approx. 21 min.
The biggest-budgeted “Little Rascals” short ever made, a lavish musical starring Alfalfa, Spanky, Darla, Buckwheat, and Porky – partly set in a High Deco nightclub.