Possibly due to her death, a  boxset of six of her films showed up at Sam's Club at a reasonable price, so I took the plunge and have watched my first Deanna films.  I would note that the three films I have watched, from 1936, 1939, and 1945, showcase three different Deannas.

Three Smart Girls (1936)--Deanna was 14 and sang three songs, but this film seems less a musical than a typical and rather good screwball comedy of the era with a fine cast.  I read that Deanna once said that she played perfect and unrealistic young girls.  I don't know about realistic, but she had plenty of mustard in this role-I can even see her viewed as a kind of pain, but she came across as so charming, who cares.  Her singing is something to hear.  Disney rejected her as Snow White because he felt she sang like an adult, and I agree with his point.  Her singing sounds so adult it is kind of hard to believe she is not dubbed, but she wasn't.  The plot is the one about children (three daughters) trying to get Mom and Pop back together and breaking up Pop's coming marriage in the process.  Silly at times, but a very entertaining film.

First Love (1939)--a direct Cinderella tale with Robert Stack okay as the Prince, but I found the last third weak and the ending not quite what it should be.

Lady on a Train (1945)--Well, Deanna in a sexy, adult role.  She sings her three numbers very well, but I was reminded of the Esther Williams critique ("Wet she's a star.  Dry?")  Singing Deanna is a star.  When not singing she impressed me as just another ordinary leading lady.  She seemed to lack the spark she had as a young teen. The movie is an entertaining enough comedy-mystery, somewhat confused and unlikely (none of the family know the mistress of the rich old geezer who was murdered by sight?  Hard to believe.) Ralph Bellamy and Dan Duryea are first rate as two brothers who are the major suspects, but the Mad Ghoul himself (David Bruce) is the romantic interest, and he is just uninteresting.

Last Edited By: atenolol Jun 10 13 1:39 PM. Edited 2 times.