100 Men and a Girl

source: 100 Men and a Girl

Judy Garland wasn't the only little girl in movies with a big voice. ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL must be why all those Jane Powell movies took shape, with Jane pestering Jose Iturbi to do this or do that while she ran through a gamut of girlish schemes. Here we have DEANNA DURBIN in her teen years trying to get her father (ADOLPHE MENJOU) and some unemployed musicians noticed and employed by Leopold Stokowski, and successfully too, in time for a happy ending. Deanna spends the entire film breathlessly scheming her way to gain attention for her father's out of work plight. After the smashing success of this film, Deanna was destined to spend the remainder of her career at Universal pretty much in the Little Miss Fixit role she established here with so much pep and sincerity. JANE POWELL was to do the same thing at MGM, except that her films were in Technicolor and given bigger budgets. It's all a bit dated now, taking place at a dreary time in America--the Great Depression--when almost everyone had problems finding, let alone holding, a job. But once DEANNA DURBIN lifts her voice in song, the film can do no wrong. This girl was magic in front of the camera and her voice was pure gold for Universal. ADOLPHE MENJOU does a nice job as her musician father and ALICE BRADY and EUGENE Palette play a rich married couple who have the good sense to help Deanna. Stokowski plays himself agreeably enough without hurting the story. Summing up: Threadbare story only works because Durbin has the energy and charm to carry it, along with her beautiful soprano voice. Should be of major interest to Durbin fans.

Interesting, but weak film about an out-of-work trombone player (Adolphe Menjou) and his aggressive, go-getter daughter Patsy (played by Deanna Durbin) who takes it upon herself to wheel and deal her father and friends into their own orchestra of unemployed musicians. Young Miss Durbin is attractive and charming, and has a very beautiful singing voice - I did, however, find her acting style in this to be a bit hyper and shrill-voiced, which was a bit annoying, though I loved hearing her sing. Another slight annoyance - all the characters in this film seem to treat Patsy as if she were about eight years old, sort of her own version of Shirley Temple - yet she is almost an adult. Especially at one party scene where all the well-heeled party guests seem to gather around her in an "ah, isn't she a cute little girl" style that just seems a bit ridiculous. I did enjoy the comic back-and-forth exchange of practical jokes between two of the characters - the character of Mr. Frost is particularly fun to watch, well played by actor Eugene Palette. Decent film, though nothing great, probably best for Deanna Durbin fans only.

About a month and a half ago, I got this movie on video and, let me tell you (if you're a fan of classic, old-school films which I am), you'll find it irresistible! It is unique in many ways just like FANTASIA is. Had it not been for perhaps the black and white and the fewer number of compositions which are a bit briefer, this would certainly live up to Walt Disney's outstanding, revolutionary classic. Not for one minute though am I taking back my previous words of praise for 100 MEN & A GIRL and besides, as far as quality and production is concerned, FANTASIA is probably only about 15% better than this 1937-hit out of 100. The two films are so much alike in many ways and yet they are both immediately thrilling so much so that they will take you by sudden excitement or awe even if you have seen one them before. The similarities between the two films are the fact that classical music is very much involved with how they are set up, we see and hear Leopold Stokowski who will be celebrated the 30th anniversary of his death next Thursday and the main characters (Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice for FANTASIA) were troublemaking ones who always got up to no good. Here, the beautiful actress Deanna Durbin plays a very mischievous young lady who is determined to restore her family to their former wealth after her father loses his job as a musician and so she single-handedly takes charge of a big orchestra which could mean that she and her family will earn more money but there's still something wrong. Deanna realises that to make up a brilliant orchestra she'll need a proper conductor and I expect you know just who she exactly has in mind - that's right! Conductor Leopold Stokowski. But he is, in this classic movie, a busy man and I think I ought to just leave the rest of the storytelling to a video or DVD you must, must MUST have of it. Like any old film which would originate around this early part of the 20th century, I wouldn't recommend this for spunky teenagers or other people who are more-or-less made up of 21st Century fashion for obvious reasons. My sister would definitely say right now, "oh god! You're like SO 20th century!". Yes I certainly am! And although this is in black and white, it isn't at all dated but a memorable masterpiece.

I didn't expect much from this movie, as I'd never heard of it before though I'd seen other Deanna Durbin movies. I was surprised to find that it was really charming. Durbin is at her most effervescent but somehow manages to avoid being "cutesy." In fact, the setbacks her character ("Patsy") encounters as she tries to get the orchestra going are sometimes genuinely moving. The movie juxtaposes scenes of the super-wealthy and the down-on-their-luck in this post-Depression movie to very good effect. Much of the comedy came from wonderful character acting by the always-excellent Eugene Palette, among others. All in all, a buoyant,fast-moving vehicle with the bonus of a few lovely orchestral numbers conducted by Stokowski. Definitely worth seeing for fans of Durbin and classic black-and-white films of the 30's.

This movie was nominated for best picture in an era when they used to have ten nominees. I can see why it was nominated. Generally, in the days of ten nominees there was always a spot for a smartly written family picture and this is the exact definition I am talking about. Deanna Durbin is the best child actress Hollywood has ever produced, period and she brings the charms to this movie that already had her getting above the title billing while such established names and stars like Adolphe Menjou are relegated to below the title. This is her movie from start to finish. The plot line of this movie is not original if you are familiar with the Pasternak musicals. He always opted for classical music over current pop and standard pop songs of their time were always done opera style to suit the sopranos he liked to cast in his movies. Durbin, a not very pretty teen who makes up for it with an avalanche of charisma sings the song. It's the depression. 100 musicians are out of work and need a job. Therft leads to reward which leads to deceit which leads to the fate of circumstances which leads to harmony in this hopeful picture. And a scene in the conductor's house when the 100 men come to play is one of the better constructed and filmed shots in cinema history. Old pro henry Koster nails every shot and makes you want to throw away all those auteur theory books. And the final scenes leave you warm as apple pie inside and happy and cheerful. If this is not what cinema is meant to do, then what else is it for! A classic!

If you like musicals, they can be wonderful escapes to an earlier time, a chance to see and hear what was popular at an earlier time in our history. I've found a musical, though, in which the music is timeless. The film opens with legendary composer Leopold Stokowski conducting his orchestra in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. (I'm led to believe that the recording itself was made by Stokowski's Philadelphia Orchestra.) The story itself is somewhat tied to the Great Depression, when I assumed unemployed classical musicians were wont to board together by the dozens. It is from these unemployed musicians that "Patsy" Cardwell (Deanna Durbin) forms an orchestra, manages to find an unwitting sponsor (Eugene Palette), and lets the orchestra convince Stokowski to conduct them, by having the entire orchestra perform Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 in the conductor's palatial home. The story is appealing: an innocents convinces and tricks the wealthy and powerful into helping the penniless and powerless. The acting is good: Eugene Palette is as good as ever as the sponsor, Alice Brady is hilarious as his mindless wife, Adolphe Menjou is empathetic as the father, and Durbin is a splendid actress and vocalist. Comparing her to Judy Garland is not at all fair to Miss Garland, a fine "pop vocalist" for her time. Durbin's voice is trained, and she performs well in two standard numbers as well as Mozart's "Alleluia" from Exultate Jubilate and Verdi's "Libiamo" aria from La Traviata. (The latter suffices as her "remarks," given at Stokowski's prompting, at the end, as her personal tax driver (Frank Jenks) looks on. I was pleasantly surprised when, as Durbin's character tried to sneak into the concert hall during rehearsals to speak to Stokowski, the orchestra played the Scherzo from Beethoven's under-appreciated "D Symphony" (Symphony no 2). They then broke into Wagner's Lohengrin Prelude, which left Durbin's character overwhelmed. You do not have to be a lover of classical music to enjoy this film. Anyone who pulls for the underdog and smiles when they see a character with whom they might relate ought to like this one. Henry Koster's direction is excellent.

Enjoyed viewing this great film classic from 1937 and enjoying a long forgotten actress, Deanna Durbin,(Patsy Cardwell),"For the Love of Mary". Patsy plays a very talented young girl who has a fantastic voice and a father who is an unemployed musician played by Adolphe Menjou,(John Cardwell),"Bundle of Joy". John Cardwell goes behind the scenes where Leopold Stokowsk has just conducted a Symphony Orchestra and asks him for a job as a trumpet player or even a trombone or whatever. There is some drama and great classical music selections along with plenty of comedy by great talents like Billy Gilbert and Eugene Palette (John R. Frost)," The Mark of Zorro". Leopold Stokowsk was a famous conductor during this period of time and married a few women and had children, one of the marriages was to Gloria Vanderbilt. If you like an old time Classic, this is a good film to view and enjoy the great singing of Deanna Durbin. Enjoy

A 16-year-old singer/actress plays a girl who travels around a city seeking a mysterious white-haired man of power who can make all her dreams come true … where have we seen that since? Though it's a naturalistic (if not realistic) film instead of a fantasy, "One Hundred Men and a Girl" seems to me strikingly close to "The Wizard of Oz" (the legendary 1939 MGM version) not only in its plot structure but its overall approach. I can't help thinking that Judy Garland screened it and based her performance in "Oz" largely on Deanna Durbin's acting here, just as I suspect Victor Fleming studied Henry Koster's direction of this film to figure out ways to make "Oz" believable on screen. Aside from the "Wizard of Oz" parallels, "One Hundred Men and a Girl" is a first-rate film, a masterpiece within the limits of its genre, with a class consciousness we're more likely to see from Warners than Universal — one of its most moving aspects is the way the jokes and polite tossed-off remarks of the rich characters become heartbreaking when the poor characters take them all too seriously. Incidentally, apropos of some of the "trivia" entries on this film, the orchestra actually heard in the film was the Philadelphia Orchestra, recorded in the Philadelphia Academy of Music on a multi-channel sound system, the first time one was used in a film (contemporary reports differ on whether 12, 14 or 28 microphones were used); by then Leopold Stokowski was no longer the Philadelphia's main conductor but he was still the orchestra's principal guest conductor and he used them in other movie projects, including "Fantasia" (1940).

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.