Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Gyuri Kiss quoting the stepmother from the 2015's version of Cinderella. I must agree: the movie *First Love* is truly a charming one. I had my doubts before I started watching it but it turned out to be just lovely. As a huge Cinderella fan, finding this hidden gem in the list of adaptations of this old fairy tale was like a miracle. Probably this was the last live-action version on Cinderella I haven't seen (until now). Watching *First Love* was a bittersweet journey for me: I was sad that there aren't more Cinderella stories I can watch but at the same time I was happy and grateful that this last one was one of the best versions of them all. Naturally *First Love* has some faults: the characters are one- dimensional, Connie is a Mary Sue and the love between her and Ted Drake is really superficial. But still, I loved it. I also liked the idea of making one of the stepsisters (cousins here) a boy while the other one remained a girl, such a clever twist. The only part I didn't like was (Spoiler alert?) when Uncle Jim went crazy and hit his children. I know it was a different time but I think this kind of punishment was way too violent for a sweet movie like this. Oh, and lastly but definitely not least: Deanna Durbin was a wonderful singer and a talented actress. I can't wait to watch more movies she's in.

blanche-2 Deanna Durbin stars with Robert Stack, Helen Parrish, Leatrice Joy, Eugene Palette, and Kathleen Howard in "First Love," a 1939 update of the Cinderella story, with Deanna receiving her first screen kiss.I first had to get over seeing Robert Stack so young - omg. Deanna plays Constance Harding, an orphan who is spending the summer after her graduation with relatives. It's a sterile household with her uncle (Pallette) who doesn't want any noise and prefers his family be out of the house when he's there; an unbelievable brat of a cousin, Barbara (Parrish); and an airhead aunt (Joy). The only warmth available comes from the servants.While her mother is busy doing astrology charts, Barbara enjoys the life of a much-photographed socialite and woman about town who has a closet the length of one wall. She's after the most eligible bachelor in town, Ted Drake. One day, she doesn't wake up when she is called at noon and instead gets up at 2. She is invited to go riding at 2:30 with Ted and some others. Because she will be late, she sends Constance to the country club to hold Ted there by any means necessary. Constance does as she's told, but develops a crush on Ted.The family is then invited to a fabulous party at Ted's. The servants get together and buy Constance a beautiful dress, a corsage, and a wrap from someone's relative. Barbara takes one look at her and makes up a reason why Constance needs to stay home -- something Barbara's brother knew was going to happen all along. But unseen forces are at work.This is Deanna before my favorite part of her career, which is a little later. As a little girl, she was too energetic and her speaking voice too high-pitched for me. Here, she is delightful, but her singing voice, particularly the top, is thin. Later on, it would open up and be glorious. And Un Bel Di in English - it sounded like they took the literal translation and just had her sing it, with the words not only awkward, but out of order. Not a good choice for her, as the aria is for a much bigger sound, though it fit in very well with the theme.What made this film a bittersweet experience for me was the beautiful acting of Kathleen Howard as the old maid with a cane, Miss. Wiggins. In those days, if you weren't married, you were nobody, and Miss Wiggins, beloved by her students, exemplifies that. You can tell by the way she talks that she believes life passed her by, but being a strong woman, she has gone on and made the best of it. The end frame of her made me cry. Such an affecting, poignant performance.I loved this film. Deanna's first kiss garnered a lot of attention; later, the first kiss was tried with Shirley Temple, but in 1942 wartime, no one cared.

Michael Bo This 1939 take on 'Cinderella' works like a charm, and I honestly would never have guessed as much. I found myself being continuously bewitched by it, its sincerely touching and funny script and dialogue, the wealth of small character parts from the laconic spinster teacher ("Old maids are only happy when they cry, you'll find out") and the personable servants to the zany rich family that Durbin's orphan girl has to stand up to.And of course, over and above everything else, there is Deanna Durbin, a full-fledged young leading lady with a miraculous voice and loads of screen presence and pathos (listen to her sing 'Un bel dì' from 'Madame Butterfly' at the end!). Blonde hunk Robert Stack has his first part ever as the Prince Charming who is left with the empty slipper, but only after a gorgeous series of incredibly romantic encounters.

Neil Doyle A maturing DEANNA DURBIN and a strikingly handsome young ROBERT STACK are the enjoyable romantic leads in this Cinderella tale that spins along with a few Durbin songs tossed in for good measure. Deanna plays the orphaned cousin of a rich and snobbish family that tries to get her to stay home from a lavish ball. With the help of servants (instead of mice), Deanna gets to attend the ball, delivers an outstanding solo, meets the handsome "prince" (Stack) and has to fend off the insults of her snobbish cousin (Helen Parrish). The slight plot moves effortlessly toward a happy ending. Durbin fans should love this one--it's easy to take and easy to love. Eugene Pallette gives a fine comic performance as her gruff uncle and the rest of the cast does a professional job under Henry Koster's direction.