I’ve been attending the Deanna Durbin film series at the historic Heights Theater. I had never heard of her before, but she was extremely famous in the late 30s and early 40s, and apparently saved Universal Studios from bankruptcy. She quit show business in the late 40s and retired to France where she still lives.

I find her just delightful!

Below is a clip from 1941’s It Started with Eve. The premise: a man’s dying father (played by Charles Laughton) wants to meet his new fiancée, but she is unavailable, so he substitutes a hat-check girl (played by Deanna Durbin). When the father unexpectedly recovers, mayhem ensues with the son trying to juggle his fiancee and the hat-check girl without his father finding about the ruse. Meanwhile the hat-check girl is trying to stay in their lives long enough to meet a family friend who is a famous musician.