A Few Words About A few words about…™ 100 Men and a Girl – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Deanna Durbin appeared in about 20 films between 1936 and 1948.

Her first, a Universal production, Three Smart Girls, was directed by Henry Koster, a recent emigre from Germany. Together, the two would be joined in six productions.

There's a terrific story here, but I'll leave it to HTF member Kevin Koster to post it, as he knows the details a bit better than I.

What I find interesting, is that none of these films had every made it to Blu-ray.

Fortunately, that oversight has been given a helping hand by Kino, in releasing what will hopefully be the first of a series of Universal Durbin films. It would be nice to begin at the beginning with the 1936 Koster / Durbin production, Three Smart Girls -nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Interestingly, especially knowing the history of the director, it was nominated for the Mussolini Cup at the 1937 Venice Film Festival.

Fortunately for us, the master supplied to Kino by Universal works nicely for a 83 year-old film.

A bit of movement, reasonable grain, good shadow detail and black levels. Not perfect, but fine.

Ms Durbin is supported by Adolphe Menjou, Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, with an appearance by Leopold Stowkowski.

To own this one, you'll have to purchase the set, which also includes Three Smart Girls Grow UP and It Started with Eve.

I'm loving these Kino boxed sets!

Image – 4

Audio – 4.5

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from DVD - Certainly

Recommended

 

[timk1041]

Deanna Durbin appeared in about 20 films between 1936 and 1948.

Her first, a Universal production, Three Smart Girls, was directed by Henry Koster, a recent emigre from Germany. Together, the two would be joined in six productions.

There's a terrific story here, but I'll leave it to HTF member Kevin Koster to post it, as he knows the details a bit better than I.

What I find interesting, is that none of these films had every made it to Blu-ray.

Fortunately, that oversight has been given a helping hand by Kino, in releasing what will hopefully be the first of a series of Universal Durbin films. It would be nice to begin at the beginning with the 1936 Koster / Durbin production, Three Smart Girls -nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Interestingly, especially knowing the history of the director, it was nominated for the Mussolini Cup at the 1937 Venice Film Festival.

Fortunately for us, the master supplied to Kino by Universal works nicely for a 83 year-old film.

A bit of movement, reasonable grain, good shadow detail and black levels. Not perfect, but fine.

Ms Durbin is supported by Adolphe Menjou, Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, with an appearance by Leopold Stowkowski.

To own this one, you'll have to purchase the set, which also includes Three Smart Girls Grow UP and It Started with Eve.

I'm loving these Kino boxed sets!

Image – 4

Audio – 4.5

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from DVD - Certainly

Recommended

Great review. She appeared in exactly 21 films all at Universal. It would nice if all of them made it to blu ray.

 

[Tony Bensley]

It would be nice to begin at the beginning with the 1936 Koster / Durbin production, Three Smart Girls -nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Interestingly, especially knowing the history of the director, it was nominated for the Mussolini Cup at the 1937 Venice Film Festival.

Especially considering the sequel IS included in this set. Issues with the film elements and/or release rights issues, perhaps?

Great review. She appeared in exactly 21 films all at Universal. It would nice if all of them made it to blu ray.

I wholeheartedly concur on the great review by RAH, and yes, they should all be on Blu-ray!

CHEERS!

 

[Kevin EK]

I'm standing by to receive my copy of the Kino set. (I should say jumping up and down, but that would be unseemly.)

I'm hoping they'll include Three Smart Girls in their releases, along with First Love. The sixth film my grandfather made with Ms Durbin, Spring Parade, is sadly unlikely to ever see a legit presentation - given the legal quagmire that surrounds it. (The short version on that one is that it would take a lot more time and effort by Universal and anyone involved to try to put it out than would be merited by the financial reward at this point. I'd love to see it done, but my interest wouldn't be enough to motivate all those legal maneuvers...)

One Hundred Men and a Girl, up to now, has only been available on DVD in what's looked to me to be a port of the earlier laserdisc presentation. The Universal DVD I have of it is from their MOD "Vault" series, and that was not available in the US until 2015. I believe a more regular DVD was made available in Europe earlier.

One Hundred Men and a Girl was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Writing, Best Sound and Best Editing. It won the Academy Award for Best Music Score, which was given to Universal department head Charles Previn as there was no individual composer on the movie. (He'd supervised some classical music and used two original songs) I believe the Best Sound nomination was due to the way the orchestra was miked - I've been told that Leopold Stokowski arranged the microphones himself for the best presentation, and that this arrangement was used for decades afterwards.

I also note that the new Kino release has commentary tracks (remember those!) for One Hundred Men & A Girl (with Stephen Vagg) and It Started With Eve (with Samm Deighan).

Three Smart Girls Grow Up is a personal favorite of mine, if for no other reason than the song "The Last Rose of Summer", which is a heartbreaker. I also have always enjoyed the magnificent stage set for the primary mansion location - a significant jump up in production value from what Universal was allowing my grandfather before that time. (Look at the sets in Three Smart Girls and then look at the sets in this movie and it's a head-spinning difference. Making a few movies that did great box office and got big awards nominations does tend to make your budgets healthier...) No awards nominations for Three Smart Girls Grow Up, from anything I've seen. It's true that one or two other movies might have been released in 1939 that might have gotten more attention, but I can't imagine what those could have been...

It Started With Eve was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score. It was the last movie that Deanna Durbin did with my grandfather. There were a couple of other projects discussed and even announced but none happened.

I've reached out to Kino to see if there's any way my father might be able to help contribute to the remaining Koster/Durbin films they might have in their roster. But it's also possible that these are the only Henry Koster films that will be in the Blu-ray sets they're doing of her output.


I note that with this release, there are now 12 of my grandfather's films that have been made available on Blu-ray:
-100 Men and a Girl
-Three Smart Girls Grow Up
-It Started With Eve
-The Bishop's Wife
-Harvey
-No Highway in the Sky (also Kino - with a commentary that my father helped create)
-My Cousin Rachel (Twilight Time)
-The Robe
-Desiree (Twilight Time)
-Stars & Stripes Forever
-A Man Called Peter (Twilight Time)
-Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (Twilight Time)

 

[battlebeast]

I'm standing by to receive my copy of the Kino set. (I should say jumping up and down, but that would be unseemly.)

I'm hoping they'll include Three Smart Girls in their releases, along with First Love. The sixth film my grandfather made with Ms Durbin, Spring Parade, is sadly unlikely to ever see a legit presentation - given the legal quagmire that surrounds it. (The short version on that one is that it would take a lot more time and effort by Universal and anyone involved to try to put it out than would be merited by the financial reward at this point. I'd love to see it done, but my interest wouldn't be enough to motivate all those legal maneuvers...)

One Hundred Men and a Girl, up to now, has only been available on DVD in what's looked to me to be a port of the earlier laserdisc presentation. The Universal DVD I have of it is from their MOD "Vault" series, and that was not available in the US until 2015. I believe a more regular DVD was made available in Europe earlier.

One Hundred Men and a Girl was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Writing, Best Sound and Best Editing. It won the Academy Award for Best Music Score, which was given to Universal department head Charles Previn as there was no individual composer on the movie. (He'd supervised some classical music and used two original songs) I believe the Best Sound nomination was due to the way the orchestra was miked - I've been told that Leopold Stokowski arranged the microphones himself for the best presentation, and that this arrangement was used for decades afterwards.

I also note that the new Kino release has commentary tracks (remember those!) for One Hundred Men & A Girl (with Stephen Vagg) and It Started With Eve (with Samm Deighan).

Three Smart Girls Grow Up is a personal favorite of mine, if for no other reason than the song "The Last Rose of Summer", which is a heartbreaker. I also have always enjoyed the magnificent stage set for the primary mansion location - a significant jump up in production value from what Universal was allowing my grandfather before that time. (Look at the sets in Three Smart Girls and then look at the sets in this movie and it's a head-spinning difference. Making a few movies that did great box office and got big awards nominations does tend to make your budgets healthier...) No awards nominations for Three Smart Girls Grow Up, from anything I've seen. It's true that one or two other movies might have been released in 1939 that might have gotten more attention, but I can't imagine what those could have been...

It Started With Eve was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score. It was the last movie that Deanna Durbin did with my grandfather. There were a couple of other projects discussed and even announced but none happened.

I've reached out to Kino to see if there's any way my father might be able to help contribute to the remaining Koster/Durbin films they might have in their roster. But it's also possible that these are the only Henry Koster films that will be in the Blu-ray sets they're doing of her output.


I note that with this release, there are now 12 of my grandfather's films that have been made available on Blu-ray:
-100 Men and a Girl
-Three Smart Girls Grow Up
-It Started With Eve
-The Bishop's Wife
-Harvey
-No Highway in the Sky (also Kino - with a commentary that my father helped create)
-My Cousin Rachel (Twilight Time)
-The Robe
-Desiree (Twilight Time)
-Stars & Stripes Forever
-A Man Called Peter (Twilight Time)
-Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (Twilight Time)

Oh, I do so hope KINO can use your father on any of the next two sets!

 

[timk1041]

I'm standing by to receive my copy of the Kino set. (I should say jumping up and down, but that would be unseemly.)

I'm hoping they'll include Three Smart Girls in their releases, along with First Love. The sixth film my grandfather made with Ms Durbin, Spring Parade, is sadly unlikely to ever see a legit presentation - given the legal quagmire that surrounds it. (The short version on that one is that it would take a lot more time and effort by Universal and anyone involved to try to put it out than would be merited by the financial reward at this point. I'd love to see it done, but my interest wouldn't be enough to motivate all those legal maneuvers...)

One Hundred Men and a Girl, up to now, has only been available on DVD in what's looked to me to be a port of the earlier laserdisc presentation. The Universal DVD I have of it is from their MOD "Vault" series, and that was not available in the US until 2015. I believe a more regular DVD was made available in Europe earlier.

One Hundred Men and a Girl was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Writing, Best Sound and Best Editing. It won the Academy Award for Best Music Score, which was given to Universal department head Charles Previn as there was no individual composer on the movie. (He'd supervised some classical music and used two original songs) I believe the Best Sound nomination was due to the way the orchestra was miked - I've been told that Leopold Stokowski arranged the microphones himself for the best presentation, and that this arrangement was used for decades afterwards.

I also note that the new Kino release has commentary tracks (remember those!) for One Hundred Men & A Girl (with Stephen Vagg) and It Started With Eve (with Samm Deighan).

Three Smart Girls Grow Up is a personal favorite of mine, if for no other reason than the song "The Last Rose of Summer", which is a heartbreaker. I also have always enjoyed the magnificent stage set for the primary mansion location - a significant jump up in production value from what Universal was allowing my grandfather before that time. (Look at the sets in Three Smart Girls and then look at the sets in this movie and it's a head-spinning difference. Making a few movies that did great box office and got big awards nominations does tend to make your budgets healthier...) No awards nominations for Three Smart Girls Grow Up, from anything I've seen. It's true that one or two other movies might have been released in 1939 that might have gotten more attention, but I can't imagine what those could have been...

It Started With Eve was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score. It was the last movie that Deanna Durbin did with my grandfather. There were a couple of other projects discussed and even announced but none happened.

I've reached out to Kino to see if there's any way my father might be able to help contribute to the remaining Koster/Durbin films they might have in their roster. But it's also possible that these are the only Henry Koster films that will be in the Blu-ray sets they're doing of her output.


I note that with this release, there are now 12 of my grandfather's films that have been made available on Blu-ray:
-100 Men and a Girl
-Three Smart Girls Grow Up
-It Started With Eve
-The Bishop's Wife
-Harvey
-No Highway in the Sky (also Kino - with a commentary that my father helped create)
-My Cousin Rachel (Twilight Time)
-The Robe
-Desiree (Twilight Time)
-Stars & Stripes Forever
-A Man Called Peter (Twilight Time)
-Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (Twilight Time)

Henry Koster was your grandfather? That is interesting. I enjoyed reading your review on those films you mentioned. I do hope more of these films get released soon.

 

[richardburton84]

One Hundred Men and a Girl was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Writing, Best Sound and Best Editing. It won the Academy Award for Best Music Score, which was given to Universal department head Charles Previn as there was no individual composer on the movie. (He'd supervised some classical music and used two original songs) I believe the Best Sound nomination was due to the way the orchestra was miked - I've been told that Leopold Stokowski arranged the microphones himself for the best presentation, and that this arrangement was used for decades afterwards.

I must confess I have only seen a few clips from this film, but even then I find the Best Score win baffling, especially since Snow White was up for the Oscar that year (the fact is if it had been released in later years, I doubt it even be eligible due to its strong reliance on classical music).

 

[Will Krupp]

I got mine yesterday in the first of two boxes I'll be receiving from the recent Kino sale and I'll be digging in today. I can't believe these are on blu-ray!

The sixth film my grandfather made with Ms Durbin, Spring Parade, is sadly unlikely to ever see a legit presentation - given the legal quagmire that surrounds it. (The short version on that one is that it would take a lot more time and effort by Universal and anyone involved to try to put it out than would be merited by the financial reward at this point. I'd love to see it done, but my interest wouldn't be enough to motivate all those legal maneuvers...)

It's a DAMN shame that SPRING PARADE remains the rarest of all the Durbin films to see. This was also the one where your grandfather met his future wife and your future step-grandmother if I'm correct, yes?

The films Deanna made with your grandfather remain the best known and most fondly remembered of her output. If there are additional blu-ray releases (buy them people!!) I would imagine it's a safe bet his work would HAVE to be represented!

 

[AnthonyClarke]

Can't afford those US prices ... the kino sale isn't available out here. But maybe there'll be a local release ..... I do love those movies.

 

[Marc Hampton]

Gotta place my order for this.

Durbin was my late grandmothers favorite actress. She said all the girls in Catholic school were obsessed with her. They'd sing "Ave Maria" in church and pretend to be her. Ha.

Im still holding out hope for her film noir CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY to get a release in the US...but when I asked Kino if that was possibly in their lineup...they said its still tangled up in rights problems for the foreseeable future. ugh!

 

[Kevin EK]

A few quick notes to catch up:

Jack, looking at the nominees for Best Score for 1937, there were several good options. To be fair, I have a feeling that with 14 nominees, this turned into a bit of a bumper car situation, where two or three shows cancelled each other out and another option came up the middle. We've seen that at various times over Academy History. I would argue that it's why Django Unchained won two Oscars in 2012 - as both categories were loaded with good options that all crashed into each other.

Will, as it turns out, my grandfather met Peggy on First Love. She is not listed in the cast, but she had a bit part, playing one of the students in school with Durbin at the beginning of the movie and in one other scene in a dressing room. He gave her this little part, and right after that, she got the part of the cigarette girl in Ninotchka, and one thing led to another. She of course stopped acting after they got married, and there is a famous story about how he told her he would put her in every movie he made, and then had a bust made of her that was present somewhere in every movie. (With a special Roman version for The Robe)

Spring Parade was not a pleasant shoot, according to my grandfather. It was at the time that Durbin was tiring of doing these movies and playing parts like these, and there were issues about that on the set. They only did one more movie together after that, which was It Started With Eve.

I do hope that Kino gives us Blus of the original Three Smart Girls and First Love. I just don't know if that's in the cards, and I have not heard back from them.

 

[Matt Hough]

First Love was the first Durbin film I ever saw (on television, of course), and it has always remained one of my top favorites.

 

[timk1041]

A few quick notes to catch up:

Jack, looking at the nominees for Best Score for 1937, there were several good options. To be fair, I have a feeling that with 14 nominees, this turned into a bit of a bumper car situation, where two or three shows cancelled each other out and another option came up the middle. We've seen that at various times over Academy History. I would argue that it's why Django Unchained won two Oscars in 2012 - as both categories were loaded with good options that all crashed into each other.

Will, as it turns out, my grandfather met Peggy on First Love. She is not listed in the cast, but she had a bit part, playing one of the students in school with Durbin at the beginning of the movie and in one other scene in a dressing room. He gave her this little part, and right after that, she got the part of the cigarette girl in Ninotchka, and one thing led to another. She of course stopped acting after they got married, and there is a famous story about how he told her he would put her in every movie he made, and then had a bust made of her that was present somewhere in every movie. (With a special Roman version for The Robe)

Spring Parade was not a pleasant shoot, according to my grandfather. It was at the time that Durbin was tiring of doing these movies and playing parts like these, and there were issues about that on the set. They only did one more movie together after that, which was It Started With Eve.

I do hope that Kino gives us Blus of the original Three Smart Girls and First Love. I just don't know if that's in the cards, and I have not heard back from them.

I just have a feeling they will be. If Kino decides to release more box sets, those couple titles would very likely be included.

 

[timk1041]

Gotta place my order for this.

Durbin was my late grandmothers favorite actress. She said all the girls in Catholic school were obsessed with her. They'd sing "Ave Maria" in church and pretend to be her. Ha.

Im still holding out hope for her film noir CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY to get a release in the US...but when I asked Kino if that was possibly in their lineup...they said its still tangled up in rights problems for the foreseeable future. ugh!

Yes. That was one of the 3 titles Universal didn't release years ago on VHS, along with Spring Parade and Hers To Hold. It's A Date was put on VHS by MGM Home Video. So eventually 18 of Durbin's 21 films were commercially released on VHS in the U.S. back in the 1990's. Most have since made it to DVD and now we have 3 of them on blu ray.