Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

MartinHafer "First Love" is a slight reworking of the Cinderella tale--updated to 1939 and starring Deanna Durbin. As a Deanna Durbin film, you can be sure there is a lot of her singing. While Miss Durbin had an incredibly powerful and operatic voice, it is not at all the style I like nor would it appeal to a lot of folks today--though it made her immensely popular back in the day.The film begins with the graduation of Connie (Durbin) from a girls school. Sadly, she has no family at the graduation--her parents are dead and her aunt, uncle and their family just doesn't want to be bothered. However, she is invited to come live with them. Once Connie arrives, she sees that her family is too self-absorbed to make her feel the least bit welcome. What's worse is that her vain cousin Barbara (Helen Parrish) feels threatened by Connie and does nothing but demean her. Fortunately, like Cinderella, Connie is so sweet that by the end of the film she gets her own happy ending. However, unlike Disney's Cinderella, Connie gets help from the nice servants that work for her aunt and uncle--not a bunch of cool animated mice! This is a highly enjoyable film from start to finish. It did, however, feature a lot of singing--during which time I usually fast-forwarded the DVD! The ending also was a tiny bit weak but still enjoyable. Overall, this is fun--at least as much fun as the animated version. Plus the use of a lot of wonderful supporting actors really helped as well as the film's nice sense of humor.

mkawagoye Reviewers before me have ably stated the performers and crew who have contributed to this timeless presentation of the Cinderella story.I join with a previous enthusiast who identifies the Strauss medley sung by Miss Durbin at the Royal Ball as being singularly excellent. The third melody which was unidentifiable at that time turns out to be a waltz from Strauss' little known operetta "A Night in Venice". Thus we have: 'Life is sweet and gay. . .' the Schatz waltz from the "Gypsy Baron"; 'This is Maytime. . . .' from the "Southern Roses"; and finally, 'Spring in my heart.. . .' from " A Night in Venice". It is the 'Gondellied' or Venetian Boat Song from that operetta. And yes, the accompaniment flourish at the end includes a few bars of the '1001 Nights' from the "Gypsy Baron" before finishing with 'Voices of Spring'. The medley has been seamlessly sewn together by Hans J. Salter, and Ralph Freed supplied the lyrics. A joy to listen to.The success of the movie is first and foremost the performance of Deanna Durbin, of course, but turning her rendition of "One Fine Day" into a happy ending is to be recognized as an achievement by the producers and writers. All in all, a movie for everyone.

itsmits If you are fortunate enough to be blessed with a golden goose, you take very good care of it. The lovely singing sensation from Winnipeg was leaving her adolescent years behind and developing into an extremely attractive young woman when Universal dared to expose her to 'her first screen kiss'. The story didn't have to have great lines; just a happy ending. "Cinderella" updated was deemed sufficiently safe.Hollywood discovered that in the middle of the Depression, movie fans loved to escape into the swank life of millionaires with large mansions requiring equally large servant staffs. Thus, our Cinderella had only to endure the acid tongue of Helen Parrish who seemed to make a small career of being mean to Deanna Durbin a la Jane Withers and Shirley Temple. With only one evil stepsister (first cousin in this instance)with whom to contend, our heroine had two good fairies. One was the finishing school principal, Kathleen Howard, and the other was the butler played ably by Charles Coleman. Other recognizable supporting cast members included Mary Treen, Frank Jenks, Eugene Palette and Thurston Hall. There are four numbers which Miss Durbin sings in "First Love"."Home, Sweet Home" is sung by the graduating heroine at the request of her classmates. "Amapola" is sung at the occasion of her first encounter with the servant staff at Uncle Jim's mansion.The piece de resistance which captures Prince Charming's attention at the ball is s Strauss medley strung together seamlessly into what sounds like a single song but consists of brief melodies from "The Gypsy Baron"(Schatz waltz); "Roses From the South"; a third melody unidentifiable at this writing; and an orchestral finish with "Voices of Spring". Lyrics were provided by Ralph Freed and musical direction by Charles Previn who conducted many of Deanna Durbin's recordings for Decca.The final piece is 'One Fine Day' from Madame Butterfly which has been done by other sopranos such as Grace Moore and Rise Stevens but not with the intent and purpose of a good fairy to win the hearts of a panel of judges nor more surprisingly, with a happy ending which Puccini certainly never intended.If you want realism, then this would certainly not be your cup of tea but if you are even considering a Deanna Durbin movie, then you are probably not in that group. If you want to learn more about this amazing screen star who rivaled Shirley Temple and Judy Garland as an international box office draw, this is the movie you should see as she gave up her perky adolescent ways from her first five movies and moved into the ranks of an adult star. If you have the opportunity to see this film, don't miss it but hold onto your heart!

Neil Doyle A maturing DEANNA DURBIN and a strikingly handsome young ROBERT STACK are the enjoyable romantic leads in this Cinderella tale that spins along with a few Durbin songs tossed in for good measure. Deanna plays the orphaned cousin of a rich and snobbish family that tries to get her to stay home from a lavish ball. With the help of servants (instead of mice), Deanna gets to attend the ball, delivers an outstanding solo, meets the handsome "prince" (Stack) and has to fend off the insults of her snobbish cousin (Helen Parrish). The slight plot moves effortlessly toward a happy ending. Durbin fans should love this one--it's easy to take and easy to love. Eugene Pallette gives a fine comic performance as her gruff uncle and the rest of the cast does a professional job under Henry Koster's direction.