One Hundred Men and a Girl

How many have heard of Shirley Temple? How many have heard of Judy Garland? Now, how many have heard of Deanna Durbin? You may be surprised to learn that Deanna Durbin at the time this film was released was more popular than either Temple or Garland, made more money than either, saved her studio from going broke, and had as much merchandise marketed in her name as either. Then why is she all but forgotten today? Because she simply announced that enough is enough and walked away from the so-called glamorous life of a Hollywood star to live in France as a nobody. But we can be thankful that before she made such a fateful decision, she starred in a few classic movies that showcased her magnificent voice.

"One Hundred Men and a Girl" is a wonderful family-type film to share with others. Made during the Great Depression, it gave the audience an optimistic view that those out of work would find jobs, or as the New Deal spin-doctors put it, "Prosperity is just around the corner." Patsy (Deanna Durbin) attempts to put her unemployed father John Cardwell, played to perfection by the marvelous actor Adolphe Menjou, back to work as a trombone player. She tries to convince classical director Leopold Stokowski to put her father in his orchestra but to no avail. While returning a pocketbook her father found to a wealthy society matron (Alice Brady), she misunderstands a joke as a serious proposal to offer a radio contract to her father if he can get an orchestra together composed of his out of work musician friends. The rich lady's husband John Frost is brought into the deal when his wife suddenly leaves for an extended vacation in Europe. The rest of the film revolves around Patsy getting it all together by persistence and unknowingly giving the story to the media. For viewers, it's fun all the way.

There is also an assortment of gifted character actors to add mirth and merriment to the proceedings, to name a few: Eugene Palette, Mischa Auer, and one of the funniest men in the movies Billy Gilbert. Of particular note is a hilarious performance given by Frank Jenks as a singing cab driver with a penchant for opera who appreciates Deanna's talent.

A bonus is all the fantastic classical music played by Stokowski and his orchestra. Stokowski was everyone's ideal of what a conductor should look like and sound like. Disney recognized this and put him in "Fantasia." Stokowski was largely responsible for bringing classical music from its long hair ivory tower status to make it accessible to the average American. All this plus the enchanted singing of Deanna Durbin. Who could ask for anything more?

A postscript: Keep your eye on the feather in Deanna's hat.

A young girl forms an orchestra to help her out-of-work father in "100 Men and a Girl," a 1937 film starring Deanna Durbin, Adolphe Menjou, Leopold Stokowski, Alice Brady, and Mischa Auer. When Patsy Cardwell returns an evening bag her father found, she winds up at a huge society party where she entrances everyone with her singing. Explaining that her father is an unemployed musician, she gets the idea to form her own orchestra and believes the society matron (Alice Brady) when she carelessly agrees to sponsor the orchestra. Many complications ensue, especially when the eminent conductor Leopold Stokowski is sought to lead the new orchestra in concert.

It was interesting to read the "Wizard of Oz" comparisons on this page, because Deanna Durbin reminds me of Judy Garland in a way - in this era, they both wore their hair the same way, were both teenagers, and both had mature voices, Durbin of course leaning more toward the classical. To say that Durbin is an energetic actress is an understatement. She's completely hyper, and that high speaking voice only adds to the anxiety level. As Patsy, she is very pretty and sings well. Like all sopranos of that era, she backs off of her high notes, but the middle voice is quite beautiful and as she grows into a young woman, it will become even more so. She does a credible job on Mozart's "Alleluia" and "Libiamo" from "La Traviata" despite some pitch problems. Given her age, these are minor criticisms. She has a great deal of poise, too, for someone so young.

The rest of the cast is very good, and Stokowski makes a nice contrast against Durbin as his calm, deliberate and very professional self.

"100 Men and a Girl" is about a determined young woman with an outlandish dream who makes it come true. This isn't a fantasy like "Wizard of Oz," nor is it very realistic, I suppose, but the way it's presented - well, you just believe it could happen.

I haven't seen this in about 17 years to be honest, but my memories of it are quite clear-take a great singing actress-Durbin, throw in a fine supporting cast of Mejou, Auer, Stowkowski, Pallette, and a 'we made a band and saved the day' type of plot, and you get a very fine movie.

I remember it as being well produced, joyfull to watch, Durbin's voice was terrific and her presence onscreen like no one else's. It's weird that you don't hear about her much nowadays-she was that good.

So-fond memories will have to do here---

I give it ***1/2 outta ****. If you like Capra, you will prob. like this one.

This delightful family picture reflects how the public taste changes over the years. Movies, in general, were kinder to serious music then, something that no studio would even consider in tackling these days. This was a vehicle for Deanna Durbin, who reigned supreme at Universal and who had movies tailor made for her to showcase her talents.

Ms. Durbin was a cute young girl in those years. She was wonderful in the way she projected charm without being obnoxious, or bratty. Her singing voice was amazing and it was always prominently heard in all the movies she made.

The story is something typical of those years. Director Harry Koster was able to present the material in a good fashion. The film follows Ms. Durbin in her quest to help her impoverished father and his musician friends. With the help of the rich Frosts, she is able to bring together the talented unemployed music men into forming an orchestra and convincing the great Leopold Stokowski to make music with them.

The film will not disappoint Ms. Durbin's fans. Adolph Menjou plays her father. The wonderful Alice Brady and Eugene Palette are seen as the generous Frosts, and Mischa Auer plays the family friend Michael.

ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL (Universal, 1937), directed by Henry Koster, features teenage soprano Deanna Durbin in her second motion picture lead, following her enormous success in THREE SMART GIRLS (1936). With Universal best known for his horror thrillers ("Dracula" and "Frankenstein") or best selling based love stories ("Back Street" and "Imitation of Life"), the Durbin products brought forth a new cycle of screen entertainment, venturing into the world of classical music with the celebrated musical conductor, Leopold Stokowski, appearing as himself. Durbin, who shared screen time with other Universal starlets, Nan Grey and Barbara Read, in THREE SMART GIRLS, becomes the sole focus here, sharing screen time with one hundred men, being her father and his group of unemployed musicians.

Set in New York City, John Caldwell (Adolphe Menjou), is seen as an unemployed musician who makes a desperate attempt confronting conductor Leopold Stokowski at Carnegie Hall for a job, but is consistently chased about by stage doorman, Marshall (J. Scott Smart), with pleas ignored by Stokowski's manager, Mr. Russell (Jameson Thomas). After being shown out the door, Caldwell acquires a lost purse on the crowded street with cash inside. Unable to locate its owner, he returns home where he uses the found money to pay off his back room rent, giving his teenage daughter, Patricia (Deanna Durbin) a indication that he's now working under Stokowski with advance in salary. In due time, however, Patricia, learning the truth, locates the identification inside the purse and does the right thing by returning it to Mrs. Frost (Alice Brady) at her luxurious home. Telling her and society guests about her father's orchestra, Mrs. Frost agrees to have her husband, John R. Frost (Eugene Palette), sponsor them on his radio program. As Caldwell organizes his orchestra in the garage, Patricia comes to the Frost home to follow up on her promise only to find that the absent-minded Mrs. Frost has gone to Europe. After locating Mr. Frost's whereabouts, she asks him for financial support, but dismisses the girl and her story as one of many practical jokes by his friend, Tommy Bitters'(Jed Prouty). With unexpected results, news reaches the media of Stokowski conducting for Caldwell's unemployed musicians, causing complications for all concerned, considering Stokowski is going on a six month concert tour in Europe.

A delightful Depression era/ fairy tale type story helped by the presence of Deanna Durbin's self confidence and energetic personality. It's hard to believe how virtually new she is to the movie business and natural she is as a performer. It's not so easy to forget Durbin's blink of her eyes that bring a happy smile to her sad-faced father (Menjou). Aside from its original screenplay by Bruce Manning, Charles Kenyon and James Mallhauser, the film is highlighted by a mix of contemporary and classic music, including "Symphony # 5, 4th Movement" by Peter Ilyich Tchiakowsky (conducted by Leopold Stokowski); "It's Raining Sunbeams" by Frederick Hollander and Sam Coslow (sung by Deanna Durbin); "The Rakoczy March" by Bezloiz; "A Heart That's Free" by Alfred G. Robyn and Thoms T. Railey; "Prelude to Act II" from Richard Wagner's "Loitengrin"); Mozart's "Allelua in 'F' Major" "Second Hungarian Rhapsody" by Franz Liszt; and "Libiamo Ne Liete Lauci" from Guiseppi Verdi's "La Traviata" (sung by Durbin). With these classical pieces, good production values and high notes, 100 MEN AND A GIRL gives the distinction of looking more like an MGM product than Universal's.

The supporting cast includes such Hollywood reliables as Mischa Auer (Michael Borodoff, a musician and close friend of the Caldwells); Billy Gilbert (The Garage Owner); Frank Jenks (The Taxi Driver); Edwin Maxwell (Ira Westling); with John Hamilton, Jack Mulhall and Charles Coleman in smaller roles. The performance given by Leopold Stokowski may provoke laughter to contemporary viewers for his wavy combed back hairstyle and mechanical way of conducting his orchestra with the use of his hands instead of a baton.

ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL earned an Academy Award nominee for Best Picture of 1937. After frequent public television revivals that took place in the 1980s, this now Durbin classic got further recognition on home video around 1994. In 1996, it had occasional revivals on American Movie Classics, and later on Turner Classic Movies where it premiered February 20, 2006. If movie does not prove satisfactory with its story, then it should for classical music lovers. (****)