Deanna Durbin in Hollywood: Her Life, Films and Music

by Barry Lowe

Overview

Known as the first film teenager, Deanna Durbin was one of the most popular actresses of the 1930s and 1940s. From starring alongside legends like Judy Garland to playing the lead role in classic film musicals, her rise to fame seemed almost like fantasy. But her life behind the scenes was anything but glamorous. Though Durbin was a princess to the public, she was a puppet to film studios and producers and a punching bag for critics and gossip columnists. At the end of her twelve-year career, her only wish was to be forgotten. Impossible.

This book pays tribute to Deanna Durbin by detailing her life and career in the context of her time and appraises her film work from both a contemporaneous and a modern view. It includes a short biography, an in-depth discussion of her films, and an extensive filmography and bibliography of her work. Readers will discover the true identity behind the people's Cinderella and how Durbin's career opened Hollywood's studio gates to a generation of adolescent performers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476685335
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	02/23/2024
Pages:	238
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.48(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Writer Barry Lowe lives in Malta.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction: The People’s Cinderella
 1. Edna Mae to Deanna: Every Sunday
 2. Two Smart Men and a Girl: Three Smart Girls
 3. One Hundred Men and Deanna: One Hundred Men and a Girl
 4. Daddy Issues: Mad About Music
 5. That Certain Age
 6. Growing Pains: Three Smart Girls Grow Up
 7. Cinderella’s First Kiss: First Love
 8. Ready for Romance: It’s a Date
 9. Love at Last: Spring Parade, Nice Girl?
10. It Started with Eve
11. Suspension
12. At Your Service
13. Universal’s Rules of the Game: The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
14. A Fine Romance: Hers to Hold
15. Everybody Ought to Have a Maid: His Butler’s Sister
16. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: Christmas Holiday
17. Deanna in Glorious Technicolor: Can’t Help Singing
18. Murder, She Says: Lady on a Train
19. The Second Time Around: Because of Him, I’ll Be Yours
20. Turning the Tables: Something in the Wind
21. The Trouble with Deanna: Up in Central Park, For the Love of Mary
22. ­Happy-Go-Lucky and Free
Filmography
Song List
Radio
Recordings
Bibliography
Index