Customer Reviews

First Love [VHS]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those who are wondering what all the fuss over singing star Deanna Durbin is, "First Love" is a great place to find out.

A truly sweet retelling of the classic Cinderella fable, this gentle film rolls along at a steady pace with fun songs and quite of bit of humor. Deanna stars as a poor orphan coming to live with her rich relatives, most of whom are not very nice.

Along the way she meets and falls for a wealthy young man, played by a very young Robert Stack. Deanna sings Puccini's "One Fine Day" among other classics and basically charms everyone in sight (even my best friend loved Deanna in this film , and she hates black and white movies because they "confuse" her).

"First Love" is an absolute must-have for Durbin fans and a great additon to any Classic Film lover's library.

This wonderful film has my vote for the BEST Deanna Durbin film ever made. "First Love" presents Deanna as an orphaned teenager who goes to live with her uncle's rich family... and boy, are they a bunch! The perfect cast includes Eugene Pallette as the harried uncle who can't stand his family, Leatrice Joy as the ditzy aunt, Helen Parrish as a deliciously mean and spoiled cousin who jealously tries to keep Deanna from attending the big party of the season, and a very young and handsome Robert Stack as New York's most eligible bachelor.

The plot has a certain not-too-accidental resemblance to a fairy tale that we all know and love, and it provides Deanna with the perfect showcase for her magnificent voice: "Amapola", Strauss's "Spring Song", and Puccini's "One Fine Day" from Madam Butterfly, one of the most famous arias in all opera. It makes you wish that singers with this kind of talent still made movies today.

Unfortunately, this film, like most of Deanna's, is never shown on television. Home video was made in order to allow us to enjoy gems like this one that would otherwise never be rediscovered. Sound and picture quality are exceptional for a film of this vintage... TRUST me on this one -- you won't be disappointed!

Although it's over sixty years since it was released, "First Love" still holds up exceedingly well, partially due to the skill of director Henry Koster, and partially due to Deanna's charm and singing ability. Typically, the studio surrounded their star with outstanding character actors. Though just shy of eighteen, her voice displayed surprising competence and she was rapidly becoming a skilled comedienne. The print and soundtrack are excellent, especially considering the age and recording techniques of the time. This one is a winner! - for entertainment, and for memorabilia purposes.

The first time I saw "First Love," two things happened. I fell in love with Deanna Durbin's beautiful voice, and with the very young and terribly handsome Robert Stack! I still sigh when I see him in this movie. And if the two charming leads aren't enough, the music is enchanting and the story is innocent and romantic. This is a MUST OWN for any fan of Deanna's and Robert's, and for anyone who loves good old-fashioned romantic charmers!

I'll take my Cinderella with Prokovief, but after watching First Love, a first-rate film with a quease-inducing title, I'll place this Deanna Durbin vehicle second.

"You go up there to New York," says Miss Wiggins, a crotchety, spinster music teacher, to Connie Harding, who has just graduated from a fancy private school. "Make those people love you just as much as we do." Connie is an orphan, and Miss Wiggins is referring to her uncle and his family, wealthy New Yorkers who have paid all her bills but were just too busy to drive down for her graduation. They sent one of the family's limousines for her. "And then," Miss Wiggins says, "maybe, someday, you will meet a prince, and you'll live happily ever after."

"Those fairy stories haven't come true for over 100 years, Miss Wiggins," Connie says.

Miss Wiggins thumps the floor with her cane. "Fiddlesticks! We just have to dust them off...streamline them a bit."

And this is what director Henry Koster, one of the best of Durbin's directors, has managed to do. He is aided immeasurably by a clever script ("This is terrible," says Barbara, Connie's awful cousin, "I can't be more than an hour and a half late to Wilma's party...she's one of my personal friends!") and solid, pungent performances by some very good character actors. The story's sweetness is genuine, based on the intrinsic sympathy for a young girl who manages to overcome obstacles with the help of others, and then finds happiness. Deanna Durbin at 18 is an intriguing combination of naturalness and skill. We like her the moment we see her, and her ability to win us over is enhanced when we meet the family. Her uncle (Eugene Pallette) is a gruff man who seemingly only wants to keep far away from his wife and children, as well as away from Connie. When we meet the rest of the family, we sympathize with him. His wife (Leatrice Joy) is unpleasantly scatter-brained. His daughter (Helen Parish), a year older than Connie, is a snobbish, selfish, manipulating terror. His son (Lewis Howard) is so languid he make laziness seem tiring.

There's a lavish ball, and Connie gets to go thanks to the intervention of the servants, led by that great butler-playing specialist, Charles Coleman. She meets a prince of a wealthy young man, Ted Drake (whom she met once before with mud on her face). When they waltz at the ball, all the other dancers fade away in a clever bit of instant love setting by Koster. Then Durbin receives her first screen kiss, from Robert Stack as Ted, as naturally as she acts. After the usual ups and downs for Cinderella, there's a happy ending which involves a matching slipper. Her uncle becomes the worm who turns, dealing brisk and satisfying retribution to his family, and even Miss Wiggins smiles. We are assured that Connie and Ted live happily ever after.

Durbin sings two or three songs, including the hoary old tear-jerker "There's No Place Like Home." More impressively, she sings "Un Bel Di." Impressively, because not many 18-year-olds I've heard of would be able to handle the emotions Puccini lays on with such a trowel. The aria is a tear-jerker, too, but a great one. It takes a singer who knows what she's doing to handle the emotions (in Italian) as well as the notes. Durbin carries it off impressively with her usual uncanny poise.

First Love, except for that title, is completely and satisfyingly charming. It's in the top two or three of Durbin's best films. The movie is one of six that come on two DVD discs as part of the Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Pack. It has a fine picture and audio transfer.

This movie is so sweet. Deanna Durbin shines in a role that could've been sweetly sick but instead often has spunk. Helen Parrish is awesome as her evil cousin and this movie has some great songs and some great scenes. Deanna's performance in this movie is so good that it makes one wonder what Deanna may have done with Wizard of Oz.

I truly love this film. If asked by someone who had yet to see a Deanna Durbin film where to start, in order to get a sense of her magic, I would direct them to this film. She was just beginning to blossom from the teenage sensation who saved Universal Studios from bankruptcy into the natural and lovely actress who would have such a deft touch for comedy, while still maintaining the most beautiful voice to ever come out of Hollywood.

Durbin simply glows here and is pretty enough to make a young man's heart ache in this modern day Cinderella story. Fashioned by Joe Pasternak in a very glossy production and directed by Henry Koster, the screenplay by Bruce Manning and Lionell Houser has just the right blend of the touching, the sweet and the humorous as Deanna would receive her first screen kiss.

The sweet soul Connie (Deanna) is an orphan graduating from an all girls high school presided over by Miss Wiggins (Kathleen Howard). While all her friends are going home after graduation, Connie is headed for New York to live with her uncle Jim (Eugene Pallette) and his spoiled family because he has paid for her tuition and taken care of her in a financial sense since the death of her parents.

From the moment Connie arrives she is a breath of fresh air to the stuffy mansion. Her cousin Barbara (Helen Parrish) is a spoiled brat being waited on hand and foot with no interest outside of her social standing other than the rich young man coveted by all in her circle named Tom Drake (Robert Stack). Her aunt Grace is superficially nice but a little batty about astrology and her cousin Walter (Lewis Howard) spends all his time avoiding work of any kind.

Just as in My Man Godfrey, Eugene Pallette as her uncle Jim is the only normal one in the bunch! So exasperated is he with his family, he is only at home when they are gone and rarely talks to anyone, even Connie. But it is only a matter of time until he blows. Connie's sweet demeanor begins to rub off on all the servants in the houshold as they fall in love with her. Charles Coleman as the Clinton's butler George, Jack Mulhall as the chauffeur, Lucille Ward as the cook and Dorothy Vaughan as the maid are delightful as they come to her aid with improvisational magic when Barbara schemes to keep Connie from going to the big society ballroom party.

Connie is dying to go, of course, as she's met Tom by this time and love has begun to bloom in her young heart. Frank Jenks as the black sheep of the family, Mike, helps detour Barbara and Connie's aunt until midnight, so she can have her chance. Connie makes the most of it, even getting to be the hit of the gala when she mistakenly thinks she is being asked to sing when in fact it was an opera star attending the party!

Durbin's first screen kiss truly was magical, with the breathless excitement of it caught perfectly but not overblown. It was simply a part of the story. But that story ends at midnight for Connie, who leaves in such a rush that she leaves behing a silver slipper. Her mean spirited cousin Barbara tries to take away her momentary euphoria by convincing her Ted was just toying with her.

Even though we can see what is coming next a mile away, there are some genuinely moving moments in this wonderful film. Some lovely songs like Puccini's One Fine Day and the old standard Home Sweet Home are worked into the story nicely. Durbin also gets to sing Spring In My Heart, adapted from Johann Strauss Waltzes with lyrics by Ralph Freed. The finest musical moment here, however, I believe, is when she sings the beautiful Amapola. It will take your breath away.

There is magic all through this film and her name is Deanna Durbin. I can not recommend this wonderful film any higher. I can only say, if you don't love this film, then you simply don't love the movies.

i have seen this movie a few times and deanna durbin is very good in this role. it is always a joy to watch these classic movies and this is no exception. as in all of her movies she ia a joy to watch. opposite a very young robert stack she handles herself just
beautifully. a great twist on the cinderella theme this is a movie you can enjoy over and over again. i always enjoy it no matter how many times i see it.

In 1939, singing sweetheart Deanna Durbin was eighteen years old, all grown up and ready for her very first screen romance. She found it in FIRST LOVE, a delightful spin on the "Cinderella" story, in which she co-stars with a young Robert Stack.

Orphaned Connie Harding (Deanna Durbin) has just graduated college and moved in with her rich uncle's family. The servants welcome her with open arms, but her snooty cousin Barbara (Helen Parrish) is another story. However, kind-hearted Connie always goes out of her way to be of help, even assisting Barbara's none-too-subtle plans to land handsome bachelor Ted Drake (Robert Stack). After she's stopped from attending a large party at Ted's mansion, heartsick Connie is given a helping hand by the kind servants who provide a beautiful new dress, white fur coat and a police escort to the party! But what will happen when Connie accidentally stays past midnight and loses her shoe whilst trying to flee from suspicious Barbara?

Love finally comes calling for Deanna in this, perhaps the most delightful of all her movies. This adorable "Cinderella" tale is a delight from start to finish. Impeccably cast, Durbin's co-stars include familiar faces like Eugene Pallette, Charles Coleman, Leatrice Joy and Marcia Mae Jones. Deanna sings her immortal "One Fine Day" from 'Madama Butterfly', plus "Amapola".

If you adore Deanna Durbin, you'll fall head over heels for FIRST LOVE...

Deanna Durbin stars in First Love, her own version of Cinderella. She plays a sweet, innocent, and friendly orphan named Connie who goes to live with her spoiled socialite cousin Barbara (Helen Parrish) when she graduates from an all girl's school. She wins over the staff with her well-trained singing voice and energy who encourage her to break her cousin's rigid rules and have a little fun. However, Barbara constantly tries to guilt Connie into doing things for her, such as feigning sick to stall her friends so she can sleep in. On this escapade, Connie runs into the guy everyone seems to love (Robert Stack) who becomes fascinated with the mysterious Connie. Later, they meet again when the staff helps Connie go to a party despite Barbara's efforts to detain her. There, Connie is a sensation, singing and dancing all night with a love-struck Ted. However, after being advised to leave by midnight to avoid running into Barbara and her mother, she leaves in a hurry leaving an enchanted Ted with only a shoe to remember her by.

It is strange how much Durbin and Parrish look alike, which really compliments the film. However, the two couldn't be more different in this film. They make the trite but true story of Cinderella come to life in a way different enough not to bore.

The music in this film is very much like an operetta, but one cannot deny Durbin's talent in this type of singing.