Délicieuse

Movie star Gwen Taylor (Gail Patrick) has a secret daughter, 14-year-old Gloria (Deanna Durbin). Gloria lives in an all-girls boarding school in Switzerland. She never met her late navy pilot father but has fabricated a fictional living father to the other girls. She is forced to construct more and more elaborate lies until she picks Richard Todd (Herbert Marshall) at random to play the part. Luckily, he is willing to play along.

This got four smaller Oscar nominations. Deanna Durbin is cute and sweet. She's showing off her operatic voice. The whistle song is pretty catchy although too much of it can be very repetitive. The story has some teen girl mayhem which reminds me of various Disney teen misadventures. It's a very touching story of family dysfunction with an emotional ending.

Deanna Durbin is irresistible as 14-year-old Gloria Harkinson. Living at a ritzy girls' school in Switzerland and blessed with friends and talent, Gloria is nevertheless lonely for a parent—and gets herself into a mess by writing herself letters from her imaginary big-game-hunter father.

Composer Richard Todd (Herbert Marshall) steps off a train in the small Swiss village and finds himself recruited to play the role of that father; Marshall gives a most charming performance as the initially reluctant phony parent who rather quickly takes to Gloria and looks to help her out.

Durbin sings beautifully….the picture opens with a bicycle-riding gang of girls singing "I Love to Whistle"; she sings "Ave Maria" in front of a boys choir; and she performs a beautiful number called "Chapel Bells" with Marshall (a composer, after all) sitting at the piano.

A strong cast includes Gail Patrick as Gloria's movie star mother—although she misses her daughter, she follows the guidance of her agent (William Frawley), who thinks his "glamor girl" client's fans would be shocked if it were known that she even had a daughter. Arthur Treacher is amusing as Marshall's (very) English valet.

The best supporting roles belong to the kids: Jackie Moran as Gloria's young would-be suitor; Marcia Mae Jones as her loyal friend Olga; and especially Helen Parrish as Felice—suspicious from the start of Gloria's tales about her father, she is eventually softened by kindness received.

The plot is of course fantastic, but when characters are this charming, who cares? It all comes across as the kind of thing we would love to believe if only it could be true. –And I guess that's what the movies are all about.

Tasteless movie with bad singing and worse acting or overacting

Widow Gail Patrick shows up at agent William Frawley's office, anxious to work for her and her babe in arms. Frawley tells her she can't be a young, glamorous movie star with a baby, so they park the infant in Switzerland. Fourteen years later, Miss Patrick (who was ten years older than Miss Durbin) is a successful glamor star, and her daughter is Deanna Durbin at a girls school in Switzerland, who makes up stories about her father, the explorer.

After some issues with her fellow student, Miss Durbin is with them at the train station, and announces Herbert Marshall is her father. He goes along with the gag, but Miss Durbin keeps showing up, much to the confusion of his valet, Arthur Treacher. They part, but then Deanna learns her mother is going to be performing in Paris, so off she goes, only to run in again to Marshall.

Little Miss Fix-it eventually fixes everything, sing "Ave Maria" and "I Love To Whistle", charms groundskeeper Christian Rub, and so does everything that her fans loved to see her doing. It's pleasant, it's fun, and will surprise no one.

One of Deanna Durbin's early films, and one that showcases her acting and singing abilities like few others do. Watch out for how her facial expression changes when Herbert Marshall is about to expose her storytelling and then re-considers, or when she sings the serenade to the stars and is about to burst into tears. She was definitely one of the best teenage actors Hollywood ever attracted. Her singing is awesome, too, especially Gounod's Ave Maria: I never heard it sung better. Herbert Marshall is perfect for the role of willing Ersatz-father, and it is a pleasure to see Gail Patrick cast against type. Still, it is Deanna's film - next to her, all others, no matter how experienced, are no more than supporting actors.