If you're looking for a deep film or a picture that will make it to the Criterion Collection, well, you won't find it here or in any of Deanna Durbin's films. Instead, her films are nice...nice family films and "Spring Parade" is certainly nice.When the story begins, Ilonka (Deanna Durbin) is at the fair and trying to sell her goat. Instead, she ends up singing and seeing a fortune telling bird...yes bird. And, although the fortune seems ridiculous, the pieces all fall together--beginning with her falling asleep in a pile of hay and the hay ending up in Vienna. This is the nice, idyllic Vienna of old...before WWI and the slaughter of millions. Illona has a bit of an adventure here and ultimately meets the man of her dreams AND the Emperor!She sings, she's sweet and she wears lovely dresses. Fortunately, she also has some nice support from the likes of Cuddles Sakall and Henry Stevenson! Well worth seeing and a bit like a fairy tale.

2013:With my dad being a big fan of actress Deanna Durbin,I took a look at her IMDb page,and found 2 titles which have never come out on DVD or Video.Tracking down It's a Date,I was surprised to discover that there appeared to be no sign of the movie anywhere at all.2016:Realizing that my dads birthday was about to come up,I decided to do one last attempt at tracking this obscure Durbin flick down.Stumbling onto the page of a DVD seller,I was delighted to finally find the title-with a bonus short!,which led to me getting ready to finally join the spring parade.The plot:Traveling to a Viennese fair, Ilonka Tolnay picks up a card which claims that a number of events will soon happen to her,which will include Tolnay meeting the love of her life,who is passionate about music. Laughing off the claims,Tolnay gets a job at a bakery. Whilst working at the bakery,Tolnay meets Corporal Harry Marten,who dreams of becoming a famous composer,but is banned by the army from doing so.Believing that she has met her dream guy,Tolnay decides to try and make Marten's dream come true.View on the film:Blocked by Universal from being seen again after Ernst Neubach sued them for not crediting him for his role in the making of the 1934 original Frühjahrsparade/Spring Parade.Despite featuring a limited amount of songs,the writers give the title a sweet whimsical spin,where Tolnay's attempts to have Marten's music heard has a sweet folk tale atmosphere. Whilst the poor print quality blocks director Henry Koster's candy coloured sets from sparkling, Deanna Durbin gives a terrific,jaunty performance as Tolnay,thanks to Durbin joyfully casting a fairy tale breeze over Tolnay,as Tolnay and Marten go on the spring parade.

This is a disappointing movie, even if you like Deanna Durbin, which I do.Two men are credited with writing the script, and that amazes me. The plot meanders from one embarrassing non-situation to the next. The director, Henry Koster, made some very fine movies, such as Harvey. Why he filmed this script in this shape I don't know.Several previous reviewers have wondered about the title, which makes no sense here. The music, and so perhaps - but I emphasize *perhaps* - the plot come from a musical by Robert Stolz called *Spring Parade*. It has some good music in it. Why Universal took just three songs and then repeated them over and over I don't know.If you've seen *The Great Waltz*, MGM's lavish movie from two years before (1938), the big scenes in this will look pretty weak.

Despite some of Durbin's best songs and technical proficiency all the way around, this is a major disappointment for a Durbin fan who adores every film the musical star made up to 1940. It's BORING - poorly paced and dogged by a weak story line. (I was privileged to see a superior transfer, so I attribute my lack of enjoyment to the film itself.) Romance is given short shrift, with leading man Robert Cummings showing up very late in the film.Not as bad as Up in Central Park, which Universal Home Video somehow did release, but not a film one should be praying to see released on home video.