Mad About Music
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Mad About Music |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1938 |
| length | 98 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Norman Taurog |
| script |
Bruce Manning Felix Jackson |
| production |
Joe Pasternak for Universal Pictures |
| music |
Charles Previn Frank Skinner |
| camera | Joseph A. Valentine |
| cut | Ted Kent |
| occupation | |
| |
Mad About Music is a 1938 American film starring Deanna Durbin and directed by Norman Taurog .
action
Gloria Harkinson is the 14-year-old daughter of the famous Hollywood star Gwen Taylor. In order to maintain the image as a glamorous vamp, Gwen put her daughter in an exclusive Swiss boarding school years ago. Promising not to reveal her true origins to anyone, Gloria is forced to tell increasingly extreme lies in order to maintain the illusion of an intact family. She writes letters to herself that supposedly come from her father and creates a fantasy world around her parents. Felice, a classmate, is beginning to have doubts as to whether the wild adventures that Gloria's father allegedly experienced actually happened. She decides to expose Gloria as a liar in front of all the girls. Desperate Gloria asks Richard Todd, a complete stranger to her, whom she meets at the train station, to play her father. The plan works, the world thinks Richard is Gloria's long-lost father and Felice suddenly appears as the notorious liar. Gloria takes a liking to her fake father and secretly follows Richard to Paris, where she arranges a meeting with her mother. After a few complications, Richard and Gwen discover their love. At a press conference Gwen finally confesses to her daughter and everyone involved lives happily to this day.
background
After her successes in Three Smart Girls from 1936 and 100 Men and a Girl , which went on sale in 1937, Deanna Durbin had become the only real star at Universal Studios . The studio had revised their contract after the successes and paid Durbin $ 3,000 a week. The basic premise on which her films were based, however, remained unchanged: Deanna Durbin plays the smart young girl who shows the adults again and again where the way is and how their problems can be solved. Because of this image, the press often referred to her as Miss Fix-It .
Mad About Music was the first film without Henry Koster as a director and, at the same time, the last in which Durbin is still completely devoid of any romantic entanglements of his own and is completely occupied with helping adults through their emotional problems.
music
As in every Deanna Durbin film, the star sings a mix of classical pieces and contemporary songs. In the course of the plot, the following musical numbers are used:
- "I Love to Whistle"
- "Ave Maria"
- "Chapel Bells"
- "Serenade to the Stars"
Awards
At the Academy Awards in 1939 , the film received nominations in the following categories:
- Best Original Story (Marcella Burke, Frederick Kohner)
- Best Cinematography (Joseph A.Valentine)
- Best Score (Charles Previn, Frank Skinner)
- Best equipment (Jack Otterson)