Two from Deanna Durbin on DVD

I always thought of Deanna Durbin as some darling of the musical cinema in the late 30s and 40s, although I think I've only seen her as a juvenile singing the "legit" contrast to Judy Garland's swing. Well, I got a double dose of adult Deanna with It Started with Eve and Can't Help Singing, two musical films Miss Durbin made for Universal in 1941.

Eve is a more a mad-cap comedy with a couple of songs interpolated into it. Durbin plays a young classically trained singer who through a series of misadventures and lies poses as the fiancee of a young, wealthy playboy from New York City (Robert Cummings). The four songs Durbin sings during the film are operetta standards or art songs (one in Spanish). No one else sings in the film--probably a blessing as Robert Cumming's father is played by Charles Laughton. While Durbin's singing is first rate, the material is really lacking in substance. In particular, the film could have used a big, showy finale number for its star; as it is the story just ends.

Can't Help Singing is more of a traditional film musical, although there are only four songs in it, provided from the pen of Jerome Kern and Yip Harburg. I don't know if these songs were used elsewhere. Only the title song caught my ear, although Durbin's co-star Robert Paige has a nice voice.

I very much like Deanna Durbin's voice and regret that she didn't have a bigger, glitzier film career. Her voice has much more character than Kathryn Grayson or Jeannette MacDonald.

Can't Help Singing

It Started with Eve

released by Universal Pictures in 1941 and 1944

Cast: Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, Robert Paige, Charles Laughton

Roberta on film

Ol' fashioned American operetta meets new-fangled Hollywood movie musical with a dash of Borscht-belt humor thrown in for good measure in the 1935 film version of Jerome Kern's 1933 Roberta.

The title character is not the focus of the story, but the starting point. Roberta is a Parisian couturier, producing high-end women's fashion. When her nephew, John Kent (Randolph Scott, pictured) inherits the business upon Roberta's death, shop manager Stephanie (Irene Dunn) must learn to work with the former football player. Love blossoms among the swatches.

The comedic couple is band leader Huck Haines (Fred Astaire) with Ginger Rogers playing an American "faking it" as Comtesse Scharwenka. The comtesse's first name is Tanka, so she is Tanka Scharwenka. How long had this joke been used in the Catskills?

The score includes some of the best songs Jerome Kern ever wrote: "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "I Won't Dance, Don't Ask Me" and "I'll Be Hard To Handle". If the songs don't really move the story along, be forgiving, this was before that was part of the plan for a musical. It is nice to know that Kern had a more swinging period of his song-writing; this was after Showboat.

The Broadway cast was really interesting, but I'm sure their performances were lost to the ages. Bob Hope originated the Astaire role. Ray Middleton, who would go on to originate Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun, played John Kent. It appears that the story of the stage play has been altered a bit in translation to film, so I'll look for a recording of a stage version to see if I can learn more.

Ginger Rogers is delightful in this film, singing, dancing and striking the right chords with the schticky humor. Astaire feels a bit heavy-handed at times with the humor, but has a tap routine that is not to be equalled. Irene Dunn has the waivery soprano voice that this era seemed to prefer--similar to Jeannette McDonald. Since Randolph Scott just stands around looking gorgeous, he doesn't sing. That's okay, too.

I think Lucille Ball has a brief appearance on screen as one of the "mannequins" in the big finale fashion show. She's a blonde.

Roberta
Music by Jerome Kern
Book and Lyrics by Otto Harbach
Film by RKO Pictures released in 1935

Based on the stage musical produced in 1933
Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Irene Dunn

Sitting Pretty Studio Cast Album on 2 CD set

I had never heard of Jerome Kern's 1924 musical Sitting Pretty when I bought this studio cast album of the "reconstructed" score. I probably bought it because of either Jason Graae or John McGlinn. More on them later.

This show is more old-fashioned than Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe. While the songs do have some emotional connection to the characters performing them, the music is equally extractable without missing any of the context. In other words, it's not a book musical, where the songs are specific to time/place/character.

That being said, there is a lot to like in listening to this album that was released in 1990. There are very listen-able performers such as Mr. Graae, Judy Blazer, Beverly Lambert, and Paige O'Hara who continue to have musical careers. There is operatic soprano Roberta Peters. And there are hummable tunes, that while being clearly of another era, have some vitality. And the 'legit' soprano song "Days Gone By" sung here by Ms. Peters is a beautiful operetta aria, in the vein of "Vilja" from The Merry Widow.

Musical historian and conductor John McGlinn includes extensive notes on the back story of Kern and collaborators P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton. He also clearly appreciates this music. Even if his love of this score is a bit over-zealous, he rightfully credits Sitting Pretty with paving the way for more substantial shows like Kern's Showboat.

I mentioned that Jason Graae is in this cast, and he is a delight. I've heard him perform live and always thought of him as a character singer, but he proves here to have a pleasant, light baritone voice with some true legato to it.

Sitting Pretty
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by P.G. Wodehouse
Book by Guy Bolton
1990 Studio cast recording conducted by John McGlinn
Cast: Judy Blazer, Davis Gaines, Merwin Goldsmith, Beverly Lambert, Paula Laurence, Paige O'Hara, Jason Graae, Paul V. Ames, Richard Woods, Roberta Peters

Showboat Recording

My listening pleasure today is a 1962 studio recording of Showboat by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. The liner notes say it was recorded to take advantage of the new Stereophonic recording capabilities. John Raitt sings Gaylord Ravenal; Barbara Cook is Magnolia; William Warfield sings Joe. The rest of the cast are not familiar names to me.

Is there any Broadway baritone who can compare to John Raitt? This is how I dreamed I would sing once I was leading my life upon the wicked stage. There's such an ease to his upper register that I've never been able to achieve. I remember watching, I think it was an Ed Sullivan clip, where John Raitt sings the "Soliloquy" from Carousel. At the end he interpolates at high b-flat. Most operatic baritones don't have that note.

Barbara Cook's singing is luminous. I have to say that William Warfield's voice does not have the rumble I think is needed to sing "Ol' Man River". I have other recordings of his singing and I like his voice, but this song calls for a true bass.

The CD reissue that I have includes four bonus tracks, one of which is Paul Robeson singing a song which was written for the 1936 film version; I'd prefer to hear Mr. Robeson sing "Ol' Man River."

Who knew PG Wodehouse shared the lyrics credit with Hammerstein? I must investigate the Wodehouse connection. PS. I discovered that Wodehouse wrote the lyrics for the song "Bill"-- a good song, no doubt, but certainly misleading on the credits of this recording cover, especally since other songs in the show have lyrics by writers other than Hammerstein.

Showboat
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and PG Wodehouse and others
Columbia Broadway Masterworks recording
Recorded December, 1961; CD reissue 2000
Cast: John Raitt, Barbara Cook, William Warfield, Anita Darian, Fay De Witt, Louise Parker, Jack Dabdoub
With bonus material sung by Tess Gardella, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, Jan Clayton