Why is Garbo ignored by today's Hollywood?
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cclowell — 13 years ago(March 16, 2013 02:57 PM)
I don't think Deanna is more popular than Judy today, but Judy's films (and Shirley's) have been regularly available on TV for the past 50 years for the public to discover them, Greta's too, and Deanna's haven't.
I only discovered Deanna's work a few years ago, after a lifetime of seeing movies with Judy, Shirley, Greta and others. Both my parents and Grandparents loved Deanna Durbin but her films simply weren't available as regular "Late Show"/Saturday afternoon TV fare as those of Judy and the others were.
And I wasn't even born until some time aftr Deanna's films were first shown in the 1930s/40s
I don't want to start a feud, but I know you're very aware of these comments from other forums you post on, and, if as you claim, Durbin is only remembered by a few fans who were alive while her films were shown, you've never accounted for the tremendous success of her films on video and her enduring popularity cited by other sources. When they were released on video in the late 1990s, THE DEANNA DURBIN COLLECTION became the most successful set of classic films released by MCA/UNIVERSAL up to that time, outselling sets devoted to stars like Crosby, Claudette Colbert, John Wayne, etc., etc.
There's also the reports of the BBC in the 1990s that Durbin films and recordings were more requested than those of any other star of Hollywood's Golden Age
And Richard Lamparski, author of the WHATEVER BECAME OF? series of books on celebrities who had dropped out of sight stating that over the 25+ years he'd written these books from the mid 1960s to the early 1990s Deanna Durbin "remains the most consistently asked about star of that past."
Then there's the 2010 FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE cover story on Durbin by the former editor of the 1970s/80s TV MIRROR MONTHLY magazine, the most popular monthly TV magazine of its' time. He started a column in the magazine devoted to classic Hollywood and stated that through the entire history of the column, he received, by a considerable margin, much more mail requested information on Deanna than he did for any other star of that era. These are figures that you never bother to address in your efforts to slam Durbin.
Again, while I don't say that Deanna is more popular than Judy today, I think it's indisputable that she has retained an enduring and fervent fan base that's much more pervasive and contemporary than the handful of 80+ year-old contemporaries you consistently assert are her entire fan base today. And that's quite an accomplishment for someone who's avoided the public spotlight even more completely than Garbo.
I do agree with you that Greta Garbo isn't forgotten by Hollywood, nor should she be. But I wish that when you set out on your frequent forays to diss Durbin, you'd stop stating personal opinion as fact. -
winonaforever2 — 11 years ago(September 11, 2014 05:30 PM)
I don't think she is ignored. Quite the opposite. She is one of the most iconic actresses that ever lived.And probably on the top 5 of Hollywood's golden era. However she died in 1990 and her last film is from 1941, obviously people from current generations most likely will not have heard of her unless they have an interest in classic film. Deanna Durbin is a different case, she was a child/teen star. She chose to retire and stay out of the limelight. I think it's the fact that when she retired she was not that popular anymore, despite being very young, I think she was 27. Then she never made any interviews, she completely disappeared. Unfortunately she never made a movie that is considered a classic, something like Grand Hotel or Camille for instance. Something similar happened with Shirley Temple, but she made public appearances and made a second career in politics which kept her on people's minds. Comparing Garland and Durbin makes no sense. Garland went on to have a career as an adult, she has a popularity that is also propelled by her tragic early death, and she was in the Wizard of Oz. Even if she had not made any further films she would have been popular with just that one film.