1h 30min | Comedy, Romance, Musical | 1 September 1948
Director: Frederick De Cordova
Stars: Deanna Durbin, Edmond O'Brien, Don Taylor, Jeffrey Lynn, Ray Collins, Harry Davenport.
Approved | 1h 30min | Comedy, Romance | 1 September 1948 (USA)
Nick Castle ... dance director Miss Durbin's songs staged by
Available free online (ok.ru)
Last film of DD (b. '21).
Louise Beavers plays the chef in Gustav's restaurant.
DD doesn't just get a job as a WH operator; she was previously an operator for the Supreme Court, and her (very old) father works security in the WH already. And she doesn't get involved with politics: politics gets involved with HER.
Songs performed (11 chapters, no menu):
- ch3. On the Wings of a Song, sung by DD
- ch5. On Moonlight Bay, sung by DD, JL & justices
- ch5. I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen, sung by DD, JL & justices
- ch5. Let Me Call You Sweetheart, sung by JL & justices
- ch9. Largo al factotum (1816) from The Barber of Seville, sung by DD
On the Wings of a Song is actually a Strauss waltz with 20th century lyrics; nice. The crown jewel of the songs is the Barber of Seville aria, normally sung by Figaro (a baritone, rarely sung by a tenor), sung by lyric soprano DD. I believe this is the primary place Nick Castle plied his trade, giving her a barber pantomime to do without props while singing in a public park to an audience of 1 (DT). None of the other songs has any "business" or dancing. [I added 3 of these songs to the Soundtracks (from the AFI full details page), and got Musical added to the genres, all approved while writing this post.]
The plot is wonderfully absurd. Because DD is so charming and willing to say anything to anyone (sweetly, politely), she was a regular singing partner of 3 Supreme Court justices. So when her love life goes awry, they get involved. In her new job at the WH, she immediately establishes a phone relationship with the President, and he sends his delegate (Chief of Staff? Secretary? played by Ray Collins) to get involved in DD's life too.
Not only do her father and these senior government officials "love" Mary (DD), but she has 3 "suitors" of a more romantic bent. One was her fiance (JL) who still wants to marry her, one is an ichthyologist trying to reach the President, one is a frustrated naval officer (EO) assigned to the WH (but he wants to be at sea) and then by the President to escort DD.
The resolution of all the plot points in one very clever off-screen negotiation is refreshing and fun.
I totally respect DD's quitting showbiz. Per the Robt Osborne intro on the dvd, she never even sat for an interview in the remaining 61 years of her life (but the IMDb mini-bio cites one in '83; she died in 2013 in her French hometown; her husband died in Paris, 1999).
I would be happy to have more DD films instead. The good news: I haven't seen them all yet.
Universal, dir. De Cordova; 7+
