MYST #2- First Love(1939)

4.5 stars out of 5


I really enjoyed watching First Love, it was very entertaining and it had great music! In my opinion, Deanna Durbin was truly one of the best, yet underrated actresses of the 30's and 40's. She was always in musical movies because she had an amazing voice and impeccable acting technique.When she was about 13, she was trained at Universal Studios with Judy Garland and the two starred in a couple of short movies together. The Metropolitan Opera even wanted her to work with them when she was only fifteen!

First Love is a 1939 musical film directed by Henry Koster and starring Deanna Durbin. Based on the fairy tale Cinderella, the film is about an orphan who is sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle after graduating from boarding school. Her life is made difficult by her snobby cousin who arranges that she stay home while the rest of the family attends a major social ball. With the help of her uncle, she makes it to the ball, where she meets and falls in love with her cousin's boyfriend. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Music.

The cinematographers did a great job, I really liked the lighting. I noticed that, just like many movies of the 30's and 40's, the lighting of the main character's faces were always softened. The way they would light up Deanna's face made her look more youthful, innocent and beautiful. The way they moved the camera around was also really great. Here is an example of the lighting and camera motion:

Out of the whole movie, I would have to say my favorite scene was the last scene. Deanna's character left her awful cousin's house and the guy that she loved and went back to the boarding school she grew up at. Because she left the guy she loved, she decided to become a teacher at the boarding school and she had to sing for a group of teachers so they could approve of her. She sing's Un Bel Di by Puccini. It's absolutely gorgeous and towards the end of the song, the guy she loves walks into the room. After the last note she runs down the stairs and up to him, and then they leave and live happily ever after. 

Oh yeah, she was only seventeen when she made this movie!