A playboy (Robert Cummings) persuades a waitress (Deanna Durbin) to pose as his fiancée in order to please his dying grandfather (Charles Laughton). Romantic comedy complications ensue when the grandfather recovers and Cummings's real fiancée turns up. Durbin warbles selections from Tchaikovsky, Valverde, and Dvorak in this delightful musical comedy. Hans J. Salter received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Music Score.
US 1941, 93 minutes, directed by Henry Koster
Cineclub begins the New Year with a special retrospective to celebrate the work of film composer and ‘musical mastermind’ Hans J. Salter on what would have been his 120th birthday. Born in Vienna in 1896 Salter enjoyed a successful career with UFA in Berlin before fleeing the Nazis and emigrating to Hollywood in 1937. He was quickly put under contract at Universal where he worked for nearly thirty years arranging, composing, conducting and serving as musical director. He wrote music for an estimated 450 films and received six nominations for Academy Awards. This dedicated mini season will screen four seminal films listed below and will be introduced by film historians Brigitte Mayr and Michael Omasta (Synema Vienna).
We will also be screening the following films as part of this retrospective:
The Wolfman
Tuesday 12 January, 7pm
Phantom Lady
Wednesday 20 January, 7pm
Scarlet Street
Wednesday 27 January, 7pm