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RECENT CREDITS
Capitalism: A Love Story (FILM)  Sep. 23, 2009
100 Men and a Girl (FILM)  Jan. 1, 2001
Mad About Music (FILM)  Feb. 1, 1938

BIOGRAPHY
Wholesome teenaged singing lead of the late 1930s and early 40s who became an instant star with the release of her first feature, "Three Smart Girls" (1936), and shared a Special Academy Award with Mickey Rooney in 1938....
Wholesome teenaged singing lead of the late 1930s and early 40s who became an instant star with the release of her first feature, "Three Smart Girls" (1936), and shared a Special Academy Award with Mickey Rooney in 1938 "for bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth." Durbin, who possessed a lovely, light operatic voice and considerable charm as an actress and comedienne, matured gracefully onscreen and kept Universal Studios afloat during some of its darkest days. Her finest films were largely among the first ten she made, most of which were produced by Joseph Pasternak and were often directed by Henry Koster. Although Durbin would in later years sometimes wryly disparage her star image as that of "Little Miss Fix-It Who Bursts Into Song", she also brought some welcome spice to her sweet, sunshiny image, brightening such highly enjoyable fare as "100 Men and a Girl" (1937), "Mad About Music" (1938), "First Love" (1939), "Three Smart Girls Grow Up" (1939) and "It Started with Eve" (1941).

Although Durbin's adult films included such quality items as "Christmas Holiday" (1944, a dark film noir helmed by Robert Siodmak), "Lady on a Train" (1945) and "Something in the Wind" (1947) and Durbin herself could be as wonderful as ever, there was a general decline in the material she was offered and the studio sometimes did not manage to adjust her star persona successfully as she matured. Durbin retired in 1948, partially due to weight problems and changing styles in the musical film, but also because of her decreasing interest in her career. Her third husband was Charles David, who had directed her in "Lady on a Train". Durbin retired to France and has declined all offers to return to the world of entertainment.




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Michael Moore
Capitalism: A Love Story
Released: Oct. 2, 2009

100 Men and a Girl
Released: Jan. 1, 2001

Mad About Music
Released: Feb. 1, 1938



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