Frank Borzage was one of the great directors and has left behind a solid body of artistic work. Deanna Durbin had an amazing screen presence that commands a following even 40 years after her retirement. Yet, this movie is totally dreadful. Why? Because the script is a prime example of too many people meddling in it: put in some broad comedy here, a little love-interest over there. Honestly, I've worked in movies for a quarter-century and I couldn't tell what the characters were about since they kept flip-flopping their motives and attitudes every few frames. It's as if the producers were acting out their ambivalence with Durbin's rapidly-approaching adulthood: let's make her sweet and innocent but show off her great legs; let's make her a love interest but downplay that angle, etc. Believe me, this one can give you a headache.
Review of His Butler's Sister
