The first Deanna Durbin movie in a number of years not produced by Felix Jackson (their marriage would soon end) and the quality drops sharply. The initial set up is weak but you could do something with it - John Dall thinks Durbin is a hussy who was his recently dead grandfather's lover. Now you could do something with that - it could have been set up a lot better - but it's so contrived here... It could all be explained with one chat but they come up with super weak reasons why Durbin doesn't just go "oh its my aunt"... then the problems are compounded by having John Dall and Donald O'Connor kidnap Durbin! Ugh!
The film was struggling for me even up til then - Durbin seems puffy and overweight and not into it and Dall is not a good romantic lead in this sort of movie. Donald O'Connor threatened to bring things back on track with one of his spectacular song and dance numbers "I Love a Mystery". Then the movie went back to being terrible... O'Connor asks Durbin to break up Dall and Helena Carter because he loves Carter and is convinced she loves him... and she goes for it. Just because.
It's so stupid. I liked Durbin and O'Connor - they would be a great on-screen brother and sister and I wish they'd worked together again on.a better movie. Durbin has no real motivation - why not just have her want to be a singing star? It's stupid. Durbin goes away from her job for ages and doesn't get fired (why not have Dall be responsible for her getting fired so she can have revenge).
There's some good bits like Durbin smiling as O'Connor dances and an opera duet between Durbin and a cop in a police cell. At times I wondered if Durbin was stoned/drunk. Some nice tunes.Dall looks so awkward and isn't motivated to like Durbin and the two of them have nil chemistry. Helena Carter adds some dash and beauty as his fiancee but why no scene between her and O'Connor?
Probably Durbin's worst movie.
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