CLiealio Sunday Trihune

a Busy Movie Star at 14Her Daily Schedule WouldStagger Many Adults

Deanna Durbin

Mixing Pictures and Schoola Difficult Task

By ROSALIND SHAFFER

Hollywood, CaZ."SOMETIMES it's hard mix-

ing school and movies.From a crying scene on

the set to Napoleon's strategy atWaterloo isn't an easy jump."Deanna Durbin, 14-year-old rno-tlon picture singing star, speak-ing; place, her home in Los FelizHeights, in the Hollywood Hillssection of the city.Deanna is without predecessor

in this matter of being a singingstar at the age of 14.We went to her home to have

a qutet talk with the young ladyand her mother, Mrs. Ada Dur-bin, to see just what her life islike - what she thinks about,what she eats, and generally howshe is different from other girlsher age.The above statement fro m

Deanna gives you some idea ofhow it looks to her. It will tellyou something else, too; if youthink of it. This young lady isnot only exceptional in the mat-ter of having a fully maturedvoice; she possesses the balanceof a much older person when itcomes to forming opinions andmaking estimates.She speaks with poise, but

with none of the offensive self-assurance that often character-izes child screen stars.' Thereare no silly giggles, mannerisms,nor assumed airs about Deanna.She speaks sincerely and makesan effort to reply to questionswith thoughtfulness. Perhapssome of the secret of her natu-ralness is the fact that she comesof an English·Canadian family,where tradition does not toleratenonsense in children.The youngster faces a daily

schedule of work that wouldstagger the average adult. Whenshe is working on a film Deannahas a studio day of nine hours.This includes sessions with thehairdresser, the makeup depart-ment, her education in the studioschool. and her work on the set.When she isn't working in a filmthere are just as many matters

••I used to like to sew," Deannasays, ••but there isn't time for that

now,"

to occupy her, For instance,every afternoon brings a voicelesson with Andres De Segurolafrom 1 to 5.Her school work must be fitted

in in the morning and lessonsdone somehow, as she is now inhigh school, where home workis necesary to keep up progress.Then when she is in preparationfor a new film she not only hasall the routine things, such asfittings and tests, which film ac-tresses have, but in addition shemust learn many songs, fromwhich those wanted for her filmwill be selected by elimination.This is outside her singing lessontime. •••The future holds everything

for Deanna; as a possible operastar (the Metropolitan has rnanl-fested interest in her) the worldcan be hers. Yet it is a little sadto see that her girlhood is boundto be so crowded with ••musts"that there will be little chancefor her to do the girlish thingsthat an ordinary youngster does."I used to like to sew," says De-anna. "There isn't time forthat now."In answer to whether she

plays a musical instrument shesays: ••I used to be fairly goodon the piano, but I have had togive that up for the time being."Since she started in films a yearago she has had no real vacation.Has Deanna any chums? For-

tunately, yes; she is proud thatshe has the same friends todaythat she used to have over at theManchester Avenue school andat the Bret Harte Junior Highschool in Los Angeles. She haslittle chance to see them, but she

was noted by Jack Sherrill, aneighbor who is an actors' agent,who heard her remarkable sing-ing voice. At that time she hadbeen having voice lessons withRalph Thomas, who coached herfor two years before De Seguro-la took over her training. Metro,which then had Schumann-Heinkunder contract, was looking fora child singer to impersonateMadame as a young singer inher lile story, which was to bemade for the screen. Sherrilltook her to the studio, wheretests were made and the young-ster signed.Meanwhile Mme. Schumann-

Heink was not well and produc-tion on the film was delayed.

The pro) e c thad to be aban-doned arter herdeath, andthere was noapparent usefor young MissD u r bin's tal-ents in Metrostudio. At t e r

Her girlhood is so crowded with ••musts" that there is little chance forher to do th. things that ordinary youngsters do. Here she is on location

during the filming of ••Three Smart Girls," (Acme photo.)

does look them up when she canget away for a little.During the six months that

she was under contract at Metroshe became friendly with theother children on the lot-JudyGarland, Jackie Cooper, MickeyRooney, Barbara Reid, Billy Bur-rud, and Nan Grey. ••I havesuch fun when Judy and I can betogether. Sometimes I can steala little time; last week I wentout on the old,lot and had a finetime with the' kids," she said.The story of her sudden rock-

eting to fame is well known. Tosum it up, at the age of 13 she

the end of six months Metro lether contract lapse after usingher in a musical short.Universal, then under the old

regime of Carl Laemmle, signedDeanna, feeling the youngsterhad some unique possibilities.When the Charles Rogers outfitbought the studio from Laemm-Ie, Deanna was among the fewassets facing the new manage-ment. Amongst a whole batteryof young talent, unknown tofame, signed at that time, Dean-na has made the best progress-in fact, record- smashing prog-ress. "Three Smart Girls" was

launched as a ••B" picture, de-veloped during the making intoan ••A" production.It knocked the box office rec-

ords into tail spins, and a newstar was on her way.Deanna's most recent produc-

tion, "100 Men and a Girl," hasConductor Leopold Stokowski asDeanna's musical" co-star." Thisproduction is being launchedwith accompaniments of Iavtsh- •ness. Tentative plans are that"Little Lady" will be her nextproduction. •••Deanna was born Edna Mae

Durbin. When Universal studiowanted to rename her somethingunusual that would look good inlights, Hubert Voight, veteranpublicity man, now with Repub-lic Films, rebaptized her Deanna.Her family, Mr. and Mrs. JamesDurbin, come from Manchester,England, where her rather wasapprenticed .as an ironworker.They emigrated to Winnipeg,Canada, where Deanna was born.

When she wasa year old thefamlly movedto Los Angeles,where Deannahas Itved eversince. Deannah as an eldersister, E d 1 t h,

well known as a fencer.In addition to her fillp work

Deanna has done other singing;she has been on the Eddie Cantorradio show during the past year.

All dressed up like a grownup. Deanna (right) with her mother at thepremiere of her most recent picture. (Acme photo.)

Her grandmother, Mrs. W. Readof Winnipeg, takes great delightin getting both the east and westbroadcasts of the program. Infact, she won't go to bed untilshe has heard both programs,Deanna's most recent visit withher grandmother was during thelast spring, just after Easter,when she was returning fromPhiladelphia, whither she had

gone to make. some recordingswith Stokowski.One of Deanna's thrills was

attending the Lily Pons concertat the Hollywood bowl in com-pany with the famous conductor.With him she has also been adinner guest at the home ofGreta Garbo, who, through herfriendship for Stokowski, has be-come interested in the little girl.

Fame Brings Obscurity

.•Bootleg" photograph of Mary Dees, no pictures of whom are beingreleased by her studio. This was taken when she had a small part in

••Double or Nothing:'

~.i£e .1 .Le ~.~ie F•• Letters published in this department should be «''Titten on One' side of the paper.If you wish a personal reply please inclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Dear Miss Tinee: You being a paidmovie critic and lone who finds faultgratis, this mis-sive will surely belittle appreclated.More so, becausemy fault· findingis directed towardone of your re-c e n t inconspicu-ous reviews.Don't you be-

lieve you were abit off color onreviewing "T h eWander,lng Jew"?I don't see howyou could justifythe sanctity ofyour column andthe intelligenceof your readersby giving t hatpicture s u c h ashort, senile send-oft. I can honestly saywithout fear of treading on the betterjudgment of the average moviegoer thatthis vehicle, starring Conrad Veidt, estab-lishes a new height In motion picture artis-try, emotionalism, and dramatics. ConradVeidt's acting, the superb photography,and the excellent direction make this with-out doubt another masterpiece. 'As a classic It compares with the greatest

of acting achievements and deserves a rat-

CONRAD VElDTAmataur critic thinks w.1I

of his actln9.

ing second to none. For its abillty topreach a sermon a thousand times as im-pressionable as any words delivered fromthe pulpit It should not only be sanctionedby the censor board but should encouragejuvenile as well as adult audiences. Wherecould the spirit of "love thy neighbor"and the need for "brotherly love" be bet-ter exemplified than in this movie?Hoping you are well and that your future

cinema sallies find a more agreeable read.er, I am, sincerely, A. L. SELRAHC.Editor'8 note: I am ve111well, thank you.

Dear Miss Tln4!!e: What's happening tothe mystery stories nowadays? Or shouldI call them mystery stories? Perhaps Iexpect too much, but the latest mysteryshows have been so "lousy" it's gettingto be a joke.Take, for instance, "The Thirteenth

Chair." Have you ever seen anything asbad? When it was all over I wonderedjust what it ~as all about. Do you by anychance know?MovIes like "The Bat" and "Cats

Creep" used to send a chill up your spineso that you'd be creepy all the way homefrom the theater.I guess all I can do Is wait until Holly.

wood decldes to give me (and many otherpeople) a real mystery thriller.

DOROTHY KELLER.Editor'8 note: Careful, Dorothy! Don't

grow blas~.

Dear Miss T,ln4!!e: I wish you'd print apicture .of that darling comedienne, MarieWilson, in yourcolumn. She's adear! She's verynice to her fans,too. She sent mea lovely photo ofherself and hasanswered all myletters. I haveseveral from her.She writes suchnice letters andis so friendly. Ifeel as if I knowher.Her e's hopln'

to see a pictureof her.RITA JANEHANSEN.

Edito,Js note: Here's havin' what you'rehopin' f01·.

MARIE WILSONShe wrlt.s such nle.

l.tt •••.

Dear Miss Ttnee : It isn't a habit ofmine to try to break Into print with myviews on any subject, but the double fea-ture movie programs have so infuriatedme that I thought you might perhapspublish my letter and it would reach theeyes of a few movie theater managers.Why don't the theaters wake up to

themselves and give the public what Itwants, as Is done - and profitably-inevery other business? The public - themajority of the public - d06 not wantdouble feature programs, and many whomI know are practically boycotting moviesalready.I have been in various groups when the

matter was discussed, and everyone wasdecidedly against double features. As aresult there are lots of folks who, ratherthan endure the agonies of two pictures,will spend the evening entertaining friendsor reading or listening to the radio. I amsure we all go to the movies for a fewhours' entertainment and relaxation-andnot to see whether we "can take it" andhow much.There aren't enough movies as it is to

go around all the suburban and outlyingChicago theaters, so that the public canhave a little choice of the program forthe evening. Why make it worse by hav-ing every house show two pictures?Miss Tln4!!e,I have read your column for

years and have always enjoyed your viewsimmensely. I know your readers wouldgive you three rousing cheers if you wouldcampaign for single featuresSincerely yours, FLEUR STARR.Editor'8 note: I'd Uke the" three rous-

ing cneers " all 1'igh.t, but I gue88 I'll letyou do the campaigning. Perhaps yourletter will 8tart something.

t

Hollywood, CaZ.

MARY DEES, the movieactress who shot over-night i n t 0 prominence

when she was selected to fill infor the late Jean Harlow in thatactress' unfinished sequences in"Saratoga," has, paradoxically,been pushed back into obscurityfor the same reason.Immediate fame was forecast

for Miss Dees for her acting inthe Harlow roles, but M-G-M,which now has her under con-tract, banned all publicity con-cerning her for fear of detract-ing from Miss Harlow's part inher last picture. The studio re-fused to allow interviews withthe Harlow substitute and hasnot released any photographs ofher in connection with" Sarato-ga " exploitation.This strange period of obscurt-

ty is not to continue indefinitly,for M·G-Mhas plans to cast heras an actress in her own rightas soon as "Saratoga" has fin-ished its run.

Mary Dees, who completed unfin-ished roles of the late Jean Harlow.