Toute à toi

Deanna Durbin is a girl in a small town with a couple of sisters and solo daddy Robert Benchley. Her boyfriend is Robert Stack. He seems more interested in his souped-up car than her. When visiting anthropologist Francot Tone shows up to speak with daddy, the girls practically swoon. Miss Durbin wangles a way to spend the evening with him. Nothing happens, but when she returns to the town the next morning, tongues start to wag.

Surprisingly, it's Benchley who takes the palm for acting awards, despite a cast that also includes Helen Broderick and Walter Brennan. It's a trifle, really, in Miss Durbin's series of box-office winners for Universal, in which she sings no orchestral or classical songs -- although she does a nice version of "Swanee River", and gets two concluding songs. While the American version ends with a patriotic song about the good old USA, the British release concludes. With "There Will Always Be An England." The version that shows on Turner Classic Movies has both.

The first part centering around family life in the Dana family is utterly charming. The three spirited sisters are feeling the pangs of youth and the opposite sex. That scene where a romantically inclined Jane (Durbin) goes riding with her car crazy boyfriend (Stack), only to have him more interested in putting a potato in his exhaust pipe than being with her is a hoot. Poor Jane. Then there's the budding Nancy (Gillis) and older sister Sylvia (Gwynne), both with their share of guy problems. Good thing dad's (Benchley) on hand to dispense fatherly wisdom. Note too how the family shares meals and talks together around a family table with no TV or cell phone in sight. In similar fashion, this first part is both amusing and insightful into norms of the day.

But once the attractively sophisticated Calvert (Tone) arrives, the focus shifts to preserving Durbin's iconic virginity. In short, her virtue wobbles while in the overnight company of bachelor Calvert. And though there are still amusing moments, much of the earlier charm diminishes. Nonetheless, Durbin shines, especially in close-ups, while getting to show off her highly musical voice. The song selection, however, is undistinguished, except for Old Folks At Home. At the same time, the approaching big war is sensed in the two patriotic compositions coming at the end.

Too bad that Durbin is largely forgotten today. But then social norms reflected in her career have changed drastically. Nonetheless, she was a highly talented performer whose close-ups continue to project a timeless magic.

If this film tries to cast Durban against type it singularly fails. She couldn't be anything else but nice and catch the boys, what with her looks and her voice. Still her father has enough to do with three good looking girls to keep in-line with home spun wisdom and a firm hand. Typical Durban. Enough said.

NICE GIRL? (Universal, 1941), a Joe Pasternak Production, directed by William A. Seiter, stars Deanna Durbin in one of her current attempts of changing her screen image from vibrant teenage soprano to attractive young woman. Still relatively a teenager and a soprano with a very fine singing voice, this product, based on the play by Phyllis Duganne, returns Durbin to earlier material from THAT CERTAIN AGE (1938) where her character finds herself interested in an older man (Melvyn Douglas) and ignoring a boy (Jackie Cooper) of her own age. Not quite original but an attempt to make something very special out of this material, and in true essence, works out quite favorably.

Following the glittering Universal logo, and before the opening credits reach the screen, a mailman is seen leaving the post office to start his daily duties. After the conclusion of the title credits, the story, set in Danbury, Connecticut, begins with character introduction: Hector Titus (Walter Brennan), the postman, heading towards the Dana household delivering their mail. The Dana home consists of Cora Foster (Helen Broderick), the housekeeper and Hector's romantic interest; Professor Oliver Wendall Holmes Dana (Robert Benchley), a widower with three daughters, Jane (Deanna Durbin), the eldest who not only studies the habits of rabbits, but tires of the stigma tagged to her name as a "nice girl"; Sylvia (Anne Gwynne), an ambitious actress wanna-be; and Nancy (Ann Gillis), the instigating youngest with two teenage boyfriends fighting over her affections. Jane loves Don Webb (Robert Stack), her childhood sweetheart, but plays second fiddle to his custom-made futuristic-style automobile. When Dana receives a telegram from the Van De Meer Foundation sending Richard Calvert to pay him a visit, Jane, expecting a bearded elderly gentleman, drives over to the train station to greet him. While there, she finds her imagined older gentleman Calvert (Franchot Tone) a 36-year-old distinguished gentleman. Originally planning to spend time in a hotel, Calvert is invited to stay over as their guest. After the 4th of July gathering comes to a close, Jane borrows Don's car to take Calvert to the train station bound to New York. Arriving too late to board the train, Jane drives Calvert to his home instead. Along the way with the top down, they get caught in a rain storm and are drenched. Calvert invites Jane into his home to dry off and change into his sister's clothes. Being very much alone, with the exception of Austin, the butler (Leoanard Carey), misunderstanding occur to have Jane leave rather than spend the entire night with a single man. As Jane drives back in the early morning hours alone, she is spotted by nosy neighbors assuming the worst, followed by talk of the town rumors about Jane's "nice girl" reputation. And how does Don feel about that?

NICE GIRL can be best described as Universal's delayed answer to Warner Brothers' dramatic story of FOUR DAUGHTERS (1938). For NICE GIRL?, there's only three daughters, a widowed father and a housekeeper in a small quaint town. While portions of the screenplay may sound dramatic, it's actually a leisurely paced, wholesome family-friendly production with doses of quaint humor.

With Durbin in the cast, there's song interludes added for her singing talents. Song interludes include: "Perhaps," "Beneath the Lights of Home," "Swanee River" (the old American classic by Stephen Foster); "Love at Last," "Beneath the Lights of Home" (reprise); and "Thank You, America." As much as "Swanee River" had been vocalized by other legends of song as Bing Crosby in MISSISSIPPI (Paramount, 1935) and Al Jolson in SWANEE RIVER (20th Century-Fox, 1939), Durbin's rendition is quite beautiful, as is the film's best song of all, "Beneath the Lights of Home." Interestingly, following the "Thank You, America" finale, there's an alternate ending to another patriotic song, "There'll Always Be an England" displayed on both 1999 home video release, DVD, and premiering on Turner Classic Movies November 20, 2016.

As with other Deanna Durbin movies of the thirties and forties, which were extremely popular at the time with critics and audiences alike, NICE GIRL? certainly has faded away to obscurity until brought back on public television on various public television stations in the 1980s after being out of commercial television in various states for nearly two decades. With Durbin as its star attraction, the supporting cast is secondary to none. Franchot Tone, formerly of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1933-1939), offers no great demands in his role but properly cast as the visiting gentleman. Robert Stack, who gave Durbin her first screen kiss in FIRST LOVE (1939), returns the favor here once again, but this time off camera. Walter Brennan, unrecognizable and looking very German with his mustache and glasses, playing both postman and musical conductor. Helen Broderick, best known for her droll humor and wisecracks from the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals as TOP HAT (1935) and SWING TIME (1936), offers little promise through her limited scenes. Others in the cast are: Elisabeth Risdon (Martha Peasley); Tommy Kelly (Ken Atkins); Nella Walker and Marcia Mae Jones, among others.

A reflection of the times long ago and far away from today, especially when family invites perfect stranger as their guest into their home, NICE GIRL?, at 95 minutes, a nice movie about a nice girl,and another winner from the Deanna Durbin movie gallery, is something to consider. (***).

"Nice Girl?" is a very good comedy set in a small town where Prof. Oliver Wendell Holmes Dana is the principal of the high school. He is a widower with three daughters and a housekeeper-cook. He also is doing research with rabbits at his home. The girls are growing up under the wings of a correct grammarian and language parent. And the banter between the family members is deliciously funny. Theirs is a home with humor, as the one rule of the Dana house is that all jokes are funny.

Although Robert Benchley is in a supporting role as Prof. Dana, his role stands out. He's at the heart of much of the dialog humor. Others contribute their share in incidents, situations and some lines. Deanna Durbin is Jane, the middle and older teenage daughter. She's also a local celeb of sorts who sings at community events. That's what qualifies this also as a musical, but it's mostly a comedy with some drama.

Jane's sisters are Anne Gwynne as Sylvia and Ann Gillis as Nancy. Helen Broderick is the housekeeper, Cora Foster; Walter Brennan plays Hector Titus, the mailman and community band leader who also is fond of Cora; and Robert Stack is Don Winthrop Webb, the next-door neighbor, genius of a car mechanic and boyfriend of Jane. Franchot Tone plays Richard Calvert, the advance man for a foundation that has just awarded Prof. Dana a two year research grant.

All the Dana household expect the advance man to be an old, pudgy guy with a beard. So, when Calvert arrives, the three girls vie for his attention initially. And, his arrival leads to most of the mayhem that ensues.

The story isn't particularly unusual. It is a comedy and part drama with a somber segment. But the humor and the small town portrayal give it a feel of wholesomeness. And, with the relationships among members of the Dana household, including Cora, this is a very good picture of family. For these reasons and the quick and clever dialog in places, I rate this film fairly high.

When the family sits down to eat, Prof. Dana says grace, "We thank you for this food and the fun of eating it together in peace. Amen." The poignancy of his prayer would be felt instantly by the audiences at that time, because global war had begun.

This movie came out in February of 1941. World War II was in its second year, although the U. S. wouldn't be drawn into the war for 10 months. Still, the U. S. was supporting Great Britain and the Allies. At film's end, Don joins the Army and Jane sings a rousing song, "Thank You America." Then, a video attached at the end has Deanna singing a chin-up song for the Brits, "There'll Always Be an England." As the film ends, the standard appeal to buy war bonds and stamps appears.

I think most people will still enjoy this film well into the 21st century. Here are some favorite lines.

Prof. Dana, talking to himself as he writes at his desk, "This is the thesis of my exegesis. Thesis of my exegesis? Exegesis... treatise. This is the thesis of my treatise."

Jane Dana, as she makes notes while feeding rabbits, "No, it'll be a long time before I know anything, except maybe the habits of rabbits."

Prof. Dana, "Anything wrong?" Jane, "Well, why, Dad? You notice a change in me?" Prof Dana, "Oh, no sudden change. Of course, since the day when I used to walk the floor with you, you have grown up a little."

Jane Dana, "I'm afraid I'm not very sophisticated." Prof. Dana, "Sophisticated? Heh, now you are being young. Real sophistication, dear, is just another name for good taste. Sophistication isn't doing, it's knowing."

Jane Dana, "You know any more tricks with potatoes?" Don Webb, "Well, no." Jane, "Then, let's go home."

Sylvia Dana, to Nancy, "One does not blow on one's soup." Nancy Dana, "Oh, doesn't one?" Prof. Dana, "Well, there are several schools of thought on the art of soup cooling. There are the blowers, the fanners, the diluters with ice water, and the wait-till-it- coolers."

Nancy Dana, when the phone rings, "May I be excused? I think it's for me. I'm anticipitating (sic) a call. " Jane Dana, "Nancy, anticipating." Nancy, "Thank you, Jane."

Sylvia Dana, "father, you really should do something about that child." Prof. Dana, "What, lock her up? We tried that with you. By the way, whatever became of that butcher boy with adenoids?" Cora Foster, "Oh, he's still got 'em."

Nancy, to Sylvia, "One does not read one's book when one's at the dinner table." Sylvia, "Father, speak to Nancy." Prof. Dana, "Hello, Nancy."

Prof. Dana, "There's only one rule in this house, Mr. Calvert. All jokes are funny."

Cora Foster, "Listen, little big mouth. Lightning doesn't always strike in the same place, but your father isn't lightning." Nancy, "That was a very coarse remark."

Nancy, "Hector, I found out what men really are - apes. All of 'em, apes!. After today, I will look upon all men with impunity." Prof. Dana, "First, I'd look up impunity in the dictionary. Hi, Hector." Hector Titus, "Howdy, professor."

Jane Dana, crying on her dad's shoulder, "Oh, dad, I did something that was so stupid, so cheap. I threw myself at him, and he didn't even kiss me. He didn't even try." Prof. Dana, holding back a delighted laugh, "Why, the bounder!"

Prof. Dana, "Well, I wouldn't say that your homecoming went unnoticed. And you must be prepared to have a few eyebrows raised at you. But what's a little gossip when those who count know the truth."

Prof. Dana, "What this town needs is a good five-cent scandal."