In 1936, Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin were not even aware that they were soon to be two of the most popular singing voices in the nation, paired in this MGM short which was a stepping stone and screen-test for rising talents. While Garland would only make one feature that year (on loan to 20th Century Fox for "Pigskin Parade"), Durbin went on to create quite a sensation at the then "B" studio Universal (mainly known for their horror movies), causing Louis B. Mayer to have a coronary. He preferred Durbin's opera style voice to Judy's swing sound, but time would prove him wrong as Judy rose to be MGM's greatest female star in the 1940's. According to Lorna Luft, Garland joked about Durbin's being stolen by the monster movie making studio, claiming that she had a uni-brow, which is disproven here.Both are lovely young ladies of different types, going from door to door to advertise their Sunday afternoon concert in the park. The people they greet aren't very welcoming, but once the concert starts, people are rushing in, the camera moving in fast motion to show the townsfolk rushing to the park to hear the two singers perform. Durbin has a pleasant personality (as evidenced in her 13 year stay at Universal), but her voice may grate on some nerves. Yet, when she starts performing in harmony with Garland on "The Americana", you can see why these two voices sounded so great together. It's a fun short that shows why these two stars went onto greater things at separate studios and why, indeed, the best was yet to come.

I have seen over 2000 Studio-Era sound films-- including lots of Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Shirley Jones, and Deanna Durbin's own Universal features-- plus a decent amount of live and studio-recorded musical comedy and opera. And I assure you, no one tasked with singing in front of a camera and microphone, or maybe anywhere ever, HAS EVER TOUCHED DURBIN'S SOLO here...mono soundtrack and crap 1930s microphones and all. The kid from Canada sings this bit from "Il Bacio" like she lived and wrote it herself and then happened to show up for a retrospective in Italy late in her career, not like a child who learned it from her music teacher.If you skip this Extra on the DVD-- or skip ahead to the Garland solo-- you are just depriving yourself, since this cheap MGM teaser just happened to capture one of the greatest performances of the 20c.

Every Sunday was basically made as a screen test for MGM execs to choose which prodigy they wanted to contract. Obviously, they chose Garland, and Durbin went on to great success for Universal in "Three Smart Girls".I love this short film, and although it has no plot, it is interesting to observe the dueling divas sing their hearts out.

It was 1936 and MGM had acquired both Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin. Both about the same age, a little too old for kiddie movies, not quite ready for romantic leads yet. Add in the fact the neither of the girls had much experience in front of the camera. What do we do with them? Risk it all prematurely on a big budget full length feature? Nope...you start them both off in one short, designed to showcase each girls individual talent (Deanna was already being groomed as the "operatic" one, Judy as the "hot swing jazz" singer). And pull together a plot that is merely an excuse for us to hear these girls sing. Both girls went on to success in movies, each with their own particular style, but this was a part of their education and we, luckily, get to see it today.