Judy by the Numbers: "Americana"
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 8:00AM 
Anne Marie here with one of the foundational building blocks of the legend that is Judy. This week it's the story you've probably heard: young Judy Garland sings in a two-reel with another mostly-unknown MGM child actor named Deanna Durbin. Mayer sees the short and decides to dump one of the girls. Which he chooses and why is up for debate, but the practical fallout turns one girl into a big star at a small studio, and puts the other on the road towards a mythmaking career.
The Movie: "Every Sunday" (MGM, 1936)
The Songwriter: Roger Eden
The Players: Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin directed by Felix E. Feist
The Story: When young Judy had signed with MGM, she had done so without a screentest. The powers that be decided to rectify that in 1936, casting Judy with Deanna Durbin, another girl singer whose classical style contrasted nicely with Judy's big, swingtime voice. Durbin's option at MGM was about to expire, and the studio decided not to renew it. Durbin was rapidly scooped up by Universal, cast in Three Smart Girls, and became a nearly overnight sensation. These are the facts as we know them.
Many variations on this storyfeature heavily in the Judy Garland myth. In some versions, Mayer tells an underling to "get rid of the fat one," and the studio mistakenly lets go Durbin. In others, Arthur Freed recognizes young Garland's talents and intercedes on her behalf. Whatever the real reason was, this story remains the most romanticized near-miss in Hollywood musical history. It's a story of foils: Classical Deanna vs Brassy Judy, the flashpan sensation vs the undying star, the nonegenarian vs the talent gone too soon. Every good myth needs an origin story, and this moment, when Judy's career nearly stopped before it began, serves neatly as the genesis for Judy Garland, Child Star.
Reader Comments (14)
Interestingly, Durbin retired from show biz a year before Garland was fired from MGM.
Durbin apparently lived happily out of the public eye for nearly 65 years in a farmhouse near Paris. Garland's remaining near-20 years was a series of comebacks and setbacks. Judy got the legend, but Deanna got the happy ending.
I have always thought it strange that MGM felt it was so imperative to cut one of them. It's easy to see that BOTH are talented, why such frugality? This is the very definition of a false economy.
To my ears, Deanna Durbin's style of singing strikes me as a fine Operetta style of voice. Almost Edwardian in it's good taste.
Whereas, Judy is most definitely a big band type of voice, which was the definition of modern at the time. If MGM had cut Judy Garland, some studio would have picked up her contract and made a musical with her, she wasn't doomed to obscurity.
Judy shows an innate sense of rhythm, during the last 30 seconds, you can see she just wants to dance along to the beat. So much talent about to burst forth into a very cold hard show business life.
That's a wonderful, if somewhat precious short. I never quite understood why they dropped Deanna since at the time MGM was deep into the Jeannette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy musical phase. Deanna would have seemed an ideal choice to mold into a younger version of Jeannette, their coloring was even similar. A few years later they did that exact thing with Kathryn Grayson who was almost the same age as Deanna.
This short focuses on her operatic ability, as did most of her early films but as she grew up, into a dazzlingly beautiful woman, she widened her repertoire and some of her films, such as Lady on a Train, featured only popular music with no high notes which she carried off equally well.
Still for Deanna being dropped was the best possible result. It just a pity that Universal wasn't able to provide her with better material, several of her films are charming-It Started with Eve is the best of the lot and Christmas Holiday a bizarrely twisted noir-but none are really top flight classics, and she grew to loath the goldfish bowl aspect of show business to the point that before she consented to marry her final husband she made him promise that he'd give her her greatest wish "The life of a nobody." They married and she became Madame Edna David moving permanently to France (Edna was her given name-she had always remained so behind the scenes) and gave only one interview in the eighties and then withdrew back into her privacy. She spoke about Judy briefly during the interview remarking that Judy could never have walked away as she did because she needed the audience as she needed to breathe.
There's also a story that years after Deanna had retired Judy was in London and had an immense triumph at the Palladium. Giddy with the success of it she called up her old friend afterwards and finally reached her late at night waking Deanna up. Judy described her triumph at great length including telling her 'Tonight I had the greatest audience of my life!' When she finally finished describing her sucess there was a long silence and then Deanna responded 'Are you still in that asshole business?'"
i'm already loving this series so much since it gives me a weekly dose of Judy (my heart) and old hollywood (my curiosity)
LadyEdith - in one of the versions of the story, it's reported that MGM only had "room" for one girl singer. Whether that's true or not (or whether the perception existed) is unclear.
joel6 - Durbin's life is fascinating in that Hollywood way, though I have to confess that I find her as a performer fairly uninteresting. Her observation on Judy is well-stated, though.
I'm realizing that I've never been much interested in pre-Oz Judy (give or take a Mr. Gable or an Andy Hardy), so these formative clips are a real kick.
Anne Marie-The juvenile Deanna doesn't really do much for me either but when she entered into her early adulthood I find her much more charming and less unctuous. She reportedly didn't think much of the characters she was handed to play either saying that her screen persona never had any similarity to her, not even coincidentally. That and Universal's refusal to find more varied material for her despite the fact that her one venture into darker realms, Christmas Holiday, was very successful added into her dissatisfaction with the business and strengthened her determination to walk away.
joel6, you're sort of freaking me out since a lot of what you say is what I would have said. Though I have not much knowledge of Deanna Durbin. I do recall having seen her in a (boring) movie or two where she played the youngest and most charming of a bunch of sisters. Does that sound right? I have to admit I find her a little bland, but who cares what I think? She got what she wanted out of life it sounds, and I really, really hope that she liked Judy and didn't resent her success and that the "asshole business" story is true. :-)
The part of the "legend" story that rings true is that I really do think Louis B. Mayer's personal taste leaned towards that European operetta style of singer. He had Jeanette McDonald and he would eventually have Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell. I can't tell any of them apart when I listen to them, except I don't like any of them. Snerk.
So I think that if Mayer was left to decide, he would have chosen Judy. I bet it was Roger Edens and a few others who pushed to have the more modern, futuristic singer kept on at MGM. And I am grateful for that! The greatest singing actress at the best studio for musicals at the time. I shudder to think what might have happened to her at Fox (answer? nothing much).
Dave-I can't say I'm a huge fan of the operatic style either though out of the bunch you mentioned I only find Jeannette MacDonald too much to take.
Here's a link to a part of Deanna's final interview, she obviously was very happy with her decision and never regretted it.
http://javabeanrush.blogspot.com/2010/11/DeannaDurbinInterview.html
I think both Judy and Deanna were wonderful and I find both of their careers fascinating. Whether one likes her soprano voice or her operatic style of singing or not, I intend no slight to Judy, whose career has been endlessly documented and whose iconic status is well deserved, when I say that from all I've read about it, I Deanna had a remarkable, and, in many ways, unique, career.
For example, I'm open to suggestions, but offhand I can't think of another musical star of the Studio Era, male or female, child or adult, classical or popular vocalist, singer or dancer, whose films were solely and exclusively sold on his/her star power and appeal as Deanna's were. She was THE star, both onscreen and off (e.g., publicity for her films) of every one of the 21 feature films she made for Universal, and never once appeared opposite a comparably popular star to help attract audiences. The closest she came to a comparably popular co-star were her two films with Charles Laughton (who she later referred to as her "special friend" among the many she made in Hollywood), and Laughton's career was in a slump at the time the made 1941's IT STARTED WITH EVE, and she did it in the most modest and unadorned of onscreen circumstances.
Musically, Deanna was unique in that she was almost always the only singer (often the only significant musical presence period) in her films, and her numbers were very simply staged, focusing on her radiant face as she stood in the bend of a piano, sat in a chair, on a bed, or solo on a stage (occasionally with a small choir behind her) singing. No elaborate production numbers, no, elaborate dance routines, no comparably popular/talented co-stars, no first-rate original scores composed by Broadway's and Hollywood's best and brightest (1944's CAN'T HELP SINGING being the only possible exception) and only one Technicolored film, to excite audience
I also can't think of another child performer/star of that period who had less prior performing experience/training than Deanna did before THREE SMART GIRLS, her first film for Universal, made her an instant superstar. She is unique among contemporaries like Judy, Shirley, Mickey, Donald, Jane (both Withers and Powell), Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, etc. in being the only enduring musical child star who did not come to films with a substantial prior resume as a performer in vaudeville, radio, film shorts, professional schools, etc. In contrast to the others, Deanna had approximately 2 years of vocal training on the local level (one lesson a week) at the Ralph Thomas Music Academy, and singing at local churches, before MGM signed her to her first contract.
Despite this very limited resume, her debut on Eddie Cantor's TEXACO TOWN radio show in September 1936, caused an immediate sensation and, at least if the many reports in the media are to be believed, induced the Metropolitan Opera to seek an interview with her to discuss a potential debut with that celebrated company. Reportedly, she (I assume accompanied by her agent/parents/ since she was a minor) met with the Met executives on her 15th birthday in 1936 and turned them down, citing her already overcrowded schedule at Universal. She went on to win the "Favorite New Artist" Award from RADIO GUIDE magazine in July 1937, with, according to an unpublished biography by Australian writer Alexander McRobbie, a remarkable 5,000,000 votes, and following her two year contract with Cantor, she was offered her own radio show, which she turned down.
Onscreen, she created an even bigger hit than on radio, and one indication of her tremendous early success, was that she extended an invitation to plant her hand and footprints in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre (an industry wide acknowledgement that a performer had staying power) at the premiere of her second film, 1937's ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL. THREE SMART GIRLS, a film originally put into production as the most cost efficient method of Universal ridding itself of a bunch of employees it no longer wanted and could afford to pay, became a (modest) "A" list feature film solely because of Deanna's participation in it, and like many of her early films, was considered among the "Best" films of the year. She is also the only adolescent star in movie history that I can think of who matured onscreen in a completely lineal fashion, each film showing her as a little older and more mature than the one before it.
Like Judy and other child stars, as she matured, Deanna chafed at the restrictions of her "Little Miss Fixit" persona, but there's no denying the enormous appeal of her performances in that role, not only among film audiences, but world leaders. Although she debuted at the height of classical singing's popularity in films, she quickly displaced the talented and popular Jeanette MacDonald as the most popular female star at the British box office, a position she held for 4 years consecutively (in 1939, the most popular star). She had a similar popularity throughout Europe, and in 1941, Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini wrote an open letter to her in his personal newspaper asking her to serve as a model for American Youth in rejecting FDR's efforts to bring America in to what became World War II. She was a favorite of FDR's, was invited to several of his birthday parties, sang at one of his inaugurations, and on several radio birthday tributes and was asked to sing the "Ave Maria" at the first national radio tribute following his passing in 1945.
Although her popularity declined after World War II ended, possibly in part because she had made such radical offbeat films as CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY and LADY ON A TRAIN, for several years in the 1940s, she was the highest paid woman in the United States.
Although I don't know how much money she managed to save, apparently between her and her third husband, Charles David, it was enough that she managed to avoid the sad fate of many of her contemporaries in having to scramble for a buck after their years of child stardom ended, and although she apparently had no interest in continuing her career once she married M. David, she received many offers for which any top musical actress would sell her soul, including the opportunity to originate the role of "Eliza Doolittle" in MY FAIR LADY, a contract with MGM, which would have included the lead in the film version of KISS ME KATE (she was also sought for the London version of this show) and a "blank cheque" to appear in concert in Las Vegas.
From all that I've read about her, Deanna was a great admirer of Judy's and, though they didn't have much contact, remained friendly with her throughout their lives. The "asshole business" comment attributed to Deanna is pure fiction. Reportedly in the 1980s, Deanna was briefly interested in writing her memoir, but ultimately abandoned the idea when she realized she'd have to do publicity tours for it and this would destroy the privacy she'd worked to establish. While I think it was the right choice for her, I'm sort of sorry Deanna didn't follow through with it. I think she would have had quite a story to tell.
Mark, you inspired me to listen to Deanna Durbin all afternoon. I like her operatic songs the best, rather than trying to squeeze her voice into regular pop songs. Leave that to Judy! :-)
What movie of hers should I most seek out?
Hi Dave: I like both Deanna's opera and "pop" songs. As Ethan Morrden said of her singing singing: "Like most classical movie singers, Durbin sang both opera and pop. Her singing has neither the grandeur of a Lawrence Tibbett or a Grace Moore, nor the demotic zeal of a Bing Crosby or a Judy Garland. Durbin splits the difference, but her opera has a confidence one finds lacking in the singing of the coeval Jane Powell and Kathryn Grayson and her pop is pleasureable."
As to which film to seek out, if you like her classical singing and are looking for a film she made as a child star, you should probably try ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL, since her co-star was Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and she sings both the "Allelujah" from Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate and the Brindisi from Verdi's LA TRAVIATA,. It's also one of her best remembered films. You could also try 1938's THAT CERTAIN AGE which has both the Waltz from Gounod's ROMEO AND JULIET and Les Filles de Cadiz by Delibes. IT STARTED WITH EVE, the first film she made with Charles Laughton in 1941, and the film that marked her transition to adult actress, is considered one of her best. She sings only inicidentally in it (3 songs, but, due to the plot machinations, she only sings 1 completely).
Personally, while I think there were many talented young sopranos who made their mark in the movies, Deanna was not only the first, she was the most successful and finest young soprano Hollywood ever promoted. She not only had the purest voice of the group, but her singing had neither the stylized formality of talented adult contemporary operatic singers like Jeanette MacDonald, Grace Moore and Lily Pons, nor the slightly arch, vibrato-laden singing of talented contemporary young sopranos like Jane Powell, Kathryn Grayson and Gloria Jean.
If you were looking for the film that best showcases her "pop" singing, I'd suggest 1947's SOMETHING IN THE WIND with Donald O'Connor. It's probably the best of the last 4 films she made (for Universal-International) and it gives her several "pop" songs to sing by Johnny Green and Leo Robin, as well as an English language version of the "Miserere" duet from Verdi's IL TROVATORE with Metropolitan Opera tenor Jan Peerce.
Dave I'd also suggest Lady on a Train, it's a trim little comic mystery and was directed by the man who took her away from it all, Charles David. She sings only popular tunes, but that fits the plot, and a beautifully shot version of Silent Night and looks a million. That one also has a strong cast supporting her, Ralph Bellamy, Edward Everett Horton, Dan Duryea and Elizabeth Patterson.
I forgot to mention re EVERY SUNDAY (since that's what the thread is about) that Deanna had already been dropped by MGM and signed by Universal when the short was filmed in late June/early July 1936. A provision in Deanna's MGM contract allowed MGM to request her services for 90(I think) days following its' termination, providing she wasn't already in the process of making a new film at another studio or appearing onstage, etc. Since THREE SMART GIRLS wasn't scheduled to begin production until September, Deanna found herself back on the MGM lot making ES with Judy.
Of course, the two girls had earlier appeared in an Exhibitor's Reel that was shown only to studio executives and theatre owners at an MGM convention, and sadly, has apparently been lost. I remember reading a comment by Deanna that she wished that it was this short that MGM had released instead of ES, and I think Judy agreed with her. I think was the short to which Judy was referring later when she humorously recalled: "I had a dirty face and an apple in my mouth and she was the Princess of Transylvania or some crazy thing!"
I also agree about the recommendation for LADY ON A TRAIN. It's a fast and fun "screwball noir" and though some of Deanna's outfits/hairstyles are pretty outlandish, it's a lot of fun to watch (and listen to). In addition to the great supporting cast (which includes future "Little Ricky" babysitter Elizabeth "Mrs. Trumble" Patterson), the terrific cinematography by Woody Bredell and the excellent background score by Miklos Rosza are other assets, and though David Bruce wasn't William Powell or Cary Grant, he's one of Deanna's better leading men and does a fine job as the confused mystery writer she coerces into helping her solve the crime. It's too bad M. David didn't direct more American films.
Another good Durbin film for admirers of her classical singing is 1939's FIRST LOVE, the film where she got her first onscreen kiss (from Robert Stack). It includes her rendition of the "Un bel di" aria from MADAMA BUTTERFLY (in English) and it's a fun and fairly clever updating of the "Cinderella" legend to boot.