In Nice Girl? Deanna Durbin chased after Franchot Tone but he turned her down because she was too young - but now they're together and it feels slightly ick because he is old enough to be her father. But Tone can act and Durbin is very good - she totally commits to being into Tone, and you go with it for her.
The plot of this isn't bad - Durbin's brother Pat O'Brien is a butler to Broadway producer Tone and Durbin gets a job there as a maid to impress Tone with her singing. The execution is wonkier - there's a lot of contrived misunderstandings, with Tone not finding out Durbin is a singer and O'Brien's sister until appropriate points in unbelievable ways.
It's actually a return to form for Durbin after her dodgy last few movies. It has a strong atmosphere (it's set in a never never land of rich Broadway producers and their butlers - cutely there's a screen scroll at the beginning saying "we know there's a war on this is set before the war"). Lovely support from the maid and the various butlers in the building who all adore Durbin, including Akim Tamiroff.
The director was Frank Borzage and the film benefits from his skill and sensitivity. The musical interludes are well done, it looks good, Durbin is beautiful.
A surprise weakness is the Pat O'Brien part. His acting is fine but I didn't buy it that he barely remembered Durbin and I didn't like him for getting her sacked, and then liking her after she learned to sing. Really this person should have been an uncle and played by some old loveable character or something. The heart of Durbin films were often her relationship with a father figure - this should have been the one here, but it feels cold.
Still, as I said, better than her previous two movies - her best since losing Joe Pasternak.
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