In July of 1935, Louis Mayer of MGM was looking to produce a musical based on the life of operatic contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink, who was in poor health at that time with what was eventually determined to be leukemia, which she died of the following year. MGM was having difficulty finding an actress to play Schumann-Heink as a girl. Casting director Rufus LeMaire heard about a 13 year old named Edna Mae Durbin, who was a member of the Ralph Thomas Academy in Los Angeles. LeMaire arranged an audition with the studio's music director Jack Robbins and sang the aria "Il Bacio" by Luigi Arditi. She repeated the aria for Mayer, who was said to be most impressed. While her coloratura voice was at the opposite end of the vocal spectrum as that of Schumann-Heink, Mayer still decided that there was someplace he could use Durbin, and he signed her to a six month contract.
Frances Ethel Gumm, who changed her professional name to Judy Garland in 1934, was already a veteran of show business, despite being six months Durbin's junior, having appeared with her sisters since at least age three. Songwriter Burton Lane ("On a Clear Day You Can See Forever") heard Garland and her sisters perform, and he hurriedly arranged an audition with Robbins. The music director was floored by her performance of James Hanley's "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and all-but-dragged Mayer down to listen. Mayer was so impressed that he had Garland repeat the number for virtually every employee of the studio, and the "audition" ended up running for nearly 10 hours. Garland, who had made a screen test with the studio a few months earlier (without singing), was hired on the spot.
Mayer now had two 13 year old stars, which was a problem, because he didn't know what to do with either of them. They were a bit too old to be child stars and still too young for glamour or ingenue roles. Garland had the more dynamic personality and a voice better-suited to the music of that time, while Durbin was even then proving a bit difficult to deal with. Eventually, Mayer renewed Garland's contract but let Durbin's lapse. When Joe Pasternak of the struggling Universal Studios found out that Durbin's option had lapsed, he immediately signed her to a contract, had her change her professional name to "Deanna," and set his writers to making a movie that would showcase her talents, said movie being "Three Smart Girls," which is widely said to have saved the studio from bankruptcy.
Around that time, Mayer had come up with a script to showcase his two singers. A clause in Durbin's contract allowed Mayer to use her for one film, provided that she hadn't begun filming with another studio. Pasternak had no objections, since he had Durbin under contract and could use the free publicity, and "Every Sunday" went into production. The plot is simplistic; two teenagers save an orchestra conducted by one's grandfather from being fired from a Sunday park concert series and help him by singing with the orchestra. The music is what this eleven-minute short is about. Durbin repeats her signature "Il Bacio," while Garland sings a specialty medley written for her by Con Conrad and Herb Magidson, "The Americana." The two then team up for a duet of the latter song, in which Durbin's coloratura is sung in counterpoint to Garland's vibrant swing voice.
Durbin went on to save Universal from bankruptcy and become the studio's flagship performer for the next twelve years. At one time, she had the largest fan club in the country. She was no less difficult to handle at Universal than she had been at MGM, but her moodiness and demands were tolerated because of her popularity. She eventually grew tired of the industry and promptly departed in 1948, living in reclusion in France for the remainder of her life and only granting one interview (to David Shipman) for the remainder of her life.
Garland, of course, became a star in her own right, appearing in many musicals for MGM between 1938 and 1950, including "The Wizard of Oz," and on stage and the TV variety show and nightclub circuit thereafter. Unfortunately, she sufered from insecurity, which led to drug use, and that plagued her for the remainder of her life. Garland always claimed that MGM got her and co-star Mickey Rooney started on drug usage, Rooney denied that, stating that he and Garland chose that path themselves. The abuse caused her death at a relatively early age.
Frances Ethel Gumm, who changed her professional name to Judy Garland in 1934, was already a veteran of show business, despite being six months Durbin's junior, having appeared with her sisters since at least age three. Songwriter Burton Lane ("On a Clear Day You Can See Forever") heard Garland and her sisters perform, and he hurriedly arranged an audition with Robbins. The music director was floored by her performance of James Hanley's "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and all-but-dragged Mayer down to listen. Mayer was so impressed that he had Garland repeat the number for virtually every employee of the studio, and the "audition" ended up running for nearly 10 hours. Garland, who had made a screen test with the studio a few months earlier (without singing), was hired on the spot.
Mayer now had two 13 year old stars, which was a problem, because he didn't know what to do with either of them. They were a bit too old to be child stars and still too young for glamour or ingenue roles. Garland had the more dynamic personality and a voice better-suited to the music of that time, while Durbin was even then proving a bit difficult to deal with. Eventually, Mayer renewed Garland's contract but let Durbin's lapse. When Joe Pasternak of the struggling Universal Studios found out that Durbin's option had lapsed, he immediately signed her to a contract, had her change her professional name to "Deanna," and set his writers to making a movie that would showcase her talents, said movie being "Three Smart Girls," which is widely said to have saved the studio from bankruptcy.
Around that time, Mayer had come up with a script to showcase his two singers. A clause in Durbin's contract allowed Mayer to use her for one film, provided that she hadn't begun filming with another studio. Pasternak had no objections, since he had Durbin under contract and could use the free publicity, and "Every Sunday" went into production. The plot is simplistic; two teenagers save an orchestra conducted by one's grandfather from being fired from a Sunday park concert series and help him by singing with the orchestra. The music is what this eleven-minute short is about. Durbin repeats her signature "Il Bacio," while Garland sings a specialty medley written for her by Con Conrad and Herb Magidson, "The Americana." The two then team up for a duet of the latter song, in which Durbin's coloratura is sung in counterpoint to Garland's vibrant swing voice.
Durbin went on to save Universal from bankruptcy and become the studio's flagship performer for the next twelve years. At one time, she had the largest fan club in the country. She was no less difficult to handle at Universal than she had been at MGM, but her moodiness and demands were tolerated because of her popularity. She eventually grew tired of the industry and promptly departed in 1948, living in reclusion in France for the remainder of her life and only granting one interview (to David Shipman) for the remainder of her life.
Garland, of course, became a star in her own right, appearing in many musicals for MGM between 1938 and 1950, including "The Wizard of Oz," and on stage and the TV variety show and nightclub circuit thereafter. Unfortunately, she sufered from insecurity, which led to drug use, and that plagued her for the remainder of her life. Garland always claimed that MGM got her and co-star Mickey Rooney started on drug usage, Rooney denied that, stating that he and Garland chose that path themselves. The abuse caused her death at a relatively early age.