100 Men and a Girl

Henry Koster wrote screenplays and directed films in Germany, Hungary, Austria and Holland in the late '20s and early '30s, and like most German emigres to Hollywood, he left Europe to escape the Nazis. In 1934, he had directed a film in Budapest for producer Joe Pasternak; by 1936, Pasternak was a top producer at Universal, in charge of the career of 14-year-old Deanna Durbin. Pasternak brought Henry Koster over to direct her debut feature at Universal, Three Smart Girls. This film, and its successors (all featuring the pretty, clean, cheerful, tuneful teenage star) saved Universal from bankruptcy, and established Koster's career in Hollywood. 100 Men And A Girl is probably the most entertaining and off-beat of the six musicals Koster made with Deanna Durbin. In it she acts as a matchmaker for Leopold Stokowski and some unemployed musicians. Musical selections include arias from “La Traviata” and excerpts from “Lohengrin.”

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