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Click on the titles below to hear excerpts from songs from
Gloria Jean's films.
When Gloria Jean auditioned for the lead role in The Under-Pup in 1938, she sang "The Bell Song" from the opera Lakme for Joseph Pasternak. On the strength of that audition, Pasternak summoned Gloria to Hollywood. When she arrived at Universal Pictures in December 1938, she recorded "The Bell Song" and "Annie Laurie" in a screen test. These excerpts are from that screen test, the earliest known recordings of Gloria Jean's voice. She was 12 years old when these recordings were made.
Excerpt from "The Bell Song"Excerpt
from "Annie Laurie"
In The
Under-Pup (1939), Gloria's first starring
role, she goes to summer camp with members of The Purple Order
of Penguins, an exclusive girls' club with their own marching
song. Gloria adds her own touches to the song when she joins in.
Excerpt from "The Penguin Song"
Excerpt from "Little Grey Home in the West"
These two songs are featured in A Little Bit of
Heaven (1940). These performances are from a
live radio broadcast to benefit the Canadian Red Cross in 1940.
Excerpt
from "After Ev'ry Rainstorm"
Excerpt from "What Did We Learn at
School?"
This song was featured in Never Give a Sucker an
Even Break (1941). This performance prompted
a standing ovation at a 2003 screening of the film at UCLA at
which Gloria was a guest.
Excerpt from "Estrellita"
In What's
Cookin' (1942), Gloria swings her singing with
a troupe of young performers.
Excerpt from "Love Laughs
at Anything"
In the early 1940s, Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan often joined Gloria in her films, making a popular threesome. In When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1943), Gloria and Peggy try to convince Donald to stick to one girl at a time!
Excerpt from "One
of Us Has Gotta Go"
In her last film produced for Universal Pictures, Easy to Look At (1945), Gloria sings a charming song as she prepares for a special evening out. This clip shows that she could handle a pop song as capably as she could a classical or swing tune.
Excerpt from "Come Along, My Heart"
Two excerpts from I Surrender Dear (1948) that show Gloria's versatility: one classical, one pop.
Excerpt from "Sailing Along"
("The Blue Danube")
Excerpt from "I Surrender Dear"
These short films, one song apiece, were often used as
fillers between television programs in the 1950s. Here are
samples of two of the six Gloria made in 1951.
Excerpt from "Conchita Lopez"
Excerpt from "Shrimp Boats"
Gloria's one song in Air Strike (1955) is the only reason to see the film, unless you're very fond of stock footage of military planes and ships.
Excerpt from "Each Time You Leave Me"