The title, "One Hundred Men and a Girl," conjures visions of Dorothy Lamour in a sarong, stranded on a desert isle with dozens of scantily clad men. However, this Depression-era feel-good movie is a G-rated star vehicle for Universal's money making ingenue, Deanna Durbin. Durbin plays young Patricia Caldwell, the daughter of an unemployed trombone player. After an attempt to get a job with Leopold Stokowski, the elder Caldwell finds a ladies purse filled with money outside the concert hall. After he pays the overdue rent, his daughter finds an address in the purse and returns it to the wealthy woman who dropped it. As she gives the purse back, the young girl proposes to the woman and her spoiled friends that they sponsor an orchestra of unemployed musicians. The woman casually agrees in order to humor the child, then she promptly forgets and sets off to Europe. Needless to say, young Patricia takes everything seriously, and the predictable storyline plays out to everyone's satisfaction.
At age 16, Deanna Durbin was already a confident screen personality with a fine voice that lent itself to classical music. As Patricia, Deanna manages to side-step most of the saccharine moments and win the audience through her manipulation of the adults. As in all Durbin films, music plays an important role, and conductor Leopold Stokowski, who plays himself, conducts several works throughout the film. Andre Previn, who is credited with the movie's score, won an Oscar for his work. The supporting cast includes an interesting mix of character players; Adolphe Menjou effectively plays Durbin's single father, while the frog-voiced Eugene Pallette is husband to Alice Brady, whose lost purse set the story in motion. Mischa Auer, Billy Gilbert, and Frank Jenks also appear to good effect.
Directed by Henry Koster, the film was nominated for Best Picture, likely because its uplifting message played well during the Depression. However, contemporary viewers may gag a bit at the film's naivete and the easy duping of elders by a child. Aficionados of classical music may enjoy seeing and listening to Stokowski and his music, and fans of Durbin will be pleased with her singing. While the movies remains entertaining, unfortunately, Durbin's appeal has not endured like that of her cinematic rival Judy Garland. Although this film strikes similar chords to the Garland-Rooney "let's put on a show" series of musicals, perhaps Durbin needed her own Mickey Rooney.
At age 16, Deanna Durbin was already a confident screen personality with a fine voice that lent itself to classical music. As Patricia, Deanna manages to side-step most of the saccharine moments and win the audience through her manipulation of the adults. As in all Durbin films, music plays an important role, and conductor Leopold Stokowski, who plays himself, conducts several works throughout the film. Andre Previn, who is credited with the movie's score, won an Oscar for his work. The supporting cast includes an interesting mix of character players; Adolphe Menjou effectively plays Durbin's single father, while the frog-voiced Eugene Pallette is husband to Alice Brady, whose lost purse set the story in motion. Mischa Auer, Billy Gilbert, and Frank Jenks also appear to good effect.
Directed by Henry Koster, the film was nominated for Best Picture, likely because its uplifting message played well during the Depression. However, contemporary viewers may gag a bit at the film's naivete and the easy duping of elders by a child. Aficionados of classical music may enjoy seeing and listening to Stokowski and his music, and fans of Durbin will be pleased with her singing. While the movies remains entertaining, unfortunately, Durbin's appeal has not endured like that of her cinematic rival Judy Garland. Although this film strikes similar chords to the Garland-Rooney "let's put on a show" series of musicals, perhaps Durbin needed her own Mickey Rooney.