Every Sunday (1936)

Brilliant and touching

Awesome Movie

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This short film featured two of Hollywood's youngest and rising actresses and singers, Deanna Durbin and Judy Garland. While they would star in their own films, they play best friends who attend Sunday concerts in the park. Deanna's grandfather is the conductor and the turnout is low. When the park directors threaten to shut him and the band down on Sundays, the best friends get to work, ringing doorbells and calling everybody in the phone book for a free concert in the park on Sundays. Well, they had high expectations. When they fall short, they take a drastic move in making it a success. The Sunday Concert in the Park is free to all and they want the people to appreciate it. When Deanna sings, crowds start moving toward the sound. Judy of course sings but she has her own style. Deanna's style is more opera and soprano while Judy could have probably been a soprano or opera type but she was more easy and friendly with the music in her selection. It's still worth it just to see both of them so young.

If you are a Judy Garland fan, like myself, you must see this film. As the movie trivia states, this was a short put together by MGM in deciding which young actress should be signed to contract with the motion picture company.According to "Get Happy" a Garland biography written by Gerald Clarke, Judy was aware that this film was made solely for the purpose of choosing Deanna or Judy to sign to contract with MGM. Judy was also made painfully aware by Louis B. Mayer and her own mother that Deanna Durbin had been classically trained as an operatic singer (Judy couldn't even read music), was thinner, and "prettier." Struggling with these pressures, Judy still managed to win the contract with her obvious acting superiority, and viewers falling for her pop genre singing and American sweetheart style.Any Judy fan must see this, her first film for MGM. It is an important part of Judy's beginnings and to understand where she started as a singer and actress. Her novice vulnerability is apparent, which makes her all the more charming. "Every Sunday" is available for viewing in the special features menu of the "For Me and My Gal" DVD release. Again, I urge every Judy Garland fan, aficionado and historian to see "Every Sunday." It's only 11 minutes long, but in these 11 minutes we see what Ms. Judy Garland started as, and the beauty little 13 year-old MGM wanted to change (or mangle is more like it.)

Canthony is correct that this little short is just an excuse to hear a very young Judy Garland (fourteen years old!) singing with a slightly older (by one year) Deanna Durbin. But I must disagree with everything else he or she said, including the running time -- which is only about ten minutes, not twenty (a single-reeler).The song is not her best, obviously; but it's enjoyable and definitely worth the ten minutes to watch on Turner. The duet with Durbin is quite interesting: two conflicting styles that nevertheless dovetail reasonably well.The short is just a throwaway, but it's nowhere near as bad as the other reviewer made it out to be. Honestly, I enjoyed it.Dafydd ab Hugh

In itself, this is a lightweight short feature with a predictable story, but it is well worth seeing as a pleasant part of cinema history. Seeing Deanna Durbin and Judy Garland together so early in their careers is a treat for anyone who has enjoyed their later pictures, and their energy and obvious talent more than make up for any lack of depth in the rest of the movie.The plot is a simple one, with the two young women devoting themselves to saving a local concert series. What's interesting about it is seeing Durbin and Garland perform, since even at such a young age the difference in their styles is already pronounced. Deanna and Judy were both clearly ready for bigger opportunities.This kind of feature probably doesn't hold an interest for a wide audience today, but for those who appreciate the classic musicals, it's worth seeing as a piece of movie history.