Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

After going through her most of the movies, probably this is one where Deanna was her loveliest, before this the childishness was clearly discernible (she was, so one can't blame her for it), here, she was just counting off her teen-days. On the musical note, audience of most of her movies had feasted on her voice, and this is no exception. On that count though, it might be on the upper echelon, but not the best one. Story is, simple, without much of twist. To humor his dying father, who wanted to see his future daughter-in-law, before he closes his eyes, permanently, the devoted son, unable to trace his real fiancee (who had been on pro-active mission, to get a proper mourning dress made), gets a stooge, a hat-check girl, to play the part of his fiancee for the night. Unfortunately for all, the dying father falls in love with his son's fiancee and as a result, instead of keeping the eyes shut, opens them wide in the morning, and in his full senses now, demands the fiancee to be placed on his bed-side. Thankfully, this love is paternal or may be filial. After all one could look at the daughter/ DIL to be motherly too and when close, the two generation do continuously interchange their rank. Rest of the movie is predictable, with minor twists and turns, though not much abrupt, and hence neither jars the senses, nor sours the honey, and keeps the romance moving all along (of course with the usual misunderstandings, when each of the protagonists think the other to be oblivious of the feeling). As a movie, and the enjoyment coefficient is there, it belongs to the top slice of my list. And that is despite it having at least one very controversial, and a few indicating the female protagonist to be quite - should I say thoughtless or she was just plain insensitive?The Father-In-law (would be) is ailing, probably with heart ailment, and the smoking and rich foods are out of bounds for him. But she, just the day after his near-death experience, lets him have his cigar. Number of puffs are limited, but still... Then she becomes the prime cause of his raising his blood-pressure to Everest level in the "Forgive me Johnny" and then to top it all, not only letting, but making him dance Conga. In each of them, she just missed being booked under non-culpable homicide case. The second offence is of course much more serious, at least today, in the times of the "Me-too". There has been a very clear and detailed aggressive molestation, there is no other name for what happened there (after the "Forgive me Johnny"). Probably since the sparks were already flying, though hidden, she (or the audience, including ) didn't mind it.

When you rent It Started with Eve-because after reading this review, you'll be unable to resist-you're going to consider turning it off after the first ten minutes as you reach for your hankie. Please don't turn it off! I know the beginning is very sad, but if you stay with it, it turns into an absolutely delightful romantic comedy.Charles Laughton is Robert Cummings's ailing father, and as his doctor, Walter Catlett, has given him mere minutes to live, there's a very tearful deathbed scene. Charles begs Bob to describe his lovely fiancé and gives his dying wish to meet the young woman. Bob runs off to the hotel where she's staying, but she's left her room and he can't reach her. He's frantic and desperate, and in a mad dash to make his father happy in the seconds before he dies, he whisks a random woman, Deanna Durbin, home with him and pretends she's his intended. Now, all that setup is the sad part of the movie. Charles reassures everyone he's had a full and happy life, but just as you're wiping up your tears, he wakes up from his sleep and declares, "I'm hungry!" Hooray! Now the fun can start. As you might guess, Bob and Deanna keep pretending they're engaged to keep Charles happy, even though Bob's real fiancé, Margaret Tallichet, is waiting impatiently in the wings.Deanna, of course, get to show off her musical talents, playing the piano and singing some very impressive songs. Since she was primarily a singer, you might expect her to be a lousy actress, but she's pretty good. It doesn't hurt that she's working off such a wonderful pro like Charles Laughton in most of her scenes. Bob Cummings is also very good in the movie. He has great comic timing and is perfectly frazzled and inept when the part calls for it.Charles Laughton, in one of his gentle, romantic, sweet roles, completely stole my heart. He's so adorable in It Started with Eve. I'm partial to him anyway, so you might think I'm a bit biased, but I watched this movie with my mom-who doesn't always think he's likable-and she was just as charmed as I was. Once he's no longer at death's door, Charles spends the rest of the movie up and about, sneaking cigars against his doctor's orders, requesting "a nice warm steak-y", throwing parties, and dancing the conga at a nightclub! He and Deanna have such a close chemistry in their scenes together, I kept thinking the film was a romance between them instead of between Deanna and Bob. If you can't imagine Charles Laughton being a romantic lead, rent It Started with Eve to change your mind.

Absolutely delicious 1941 comedy where Charles Laughton proved his versatility in acting. He is an absolute riot here as an elderly tycoon taken to bed for what is supposed to be a fatal illness. He wants to see his son's fiancée and when she isn't around, Bob Cummings, in a restrained, but memorable performance, finds Diana Durbin, a hat-check girl at a local night club, to pretend that she is that girl. All hell breaks loose when of course, Laughton makes a remarkable recovery. He knows everyone in the music industry and Durbin takes full advantage of the situation.Walter Catlett is hysterical as the perplexed doctor and he is ably assisted by Clara Blandick, his nurse.Laughton does a memorable conga at a local night-club with Durbin. The ending may well be predictable, but it's fun and very much amusing to see this film.The film also proves that medicine is still a mystery.

This little heralded musical comedy is Deanna Durbin's best film and is arguably the finest film of its kind ever produced by Universal studio. It is a gem from start to finish, featuring first-rate acting by Durbin, Cummings, and Laughton (who comes close to stealing the entire movie), good music, and an excellent script. One thinks of what Durbin might have made had she worked for MGM. Still, even though Universal was part of "poverty row," the movie enjoyed a decent budget, providing sets and outdoor scenes of a first class quality. Deanna was only 20, and her youth and exuberant singing and piano playing reach heights rarely seen on the screen. You do not want to miss this one. These days it is usually encountered as part of the Deanna Durbin "Sweetheart Pack," which is well worth the money.