Three Smart Girls

1936

Technical Information:

Studio:  Universal 
Running Time:  1 hour, 26 minutes
Black and White
Video Availability:  Available on MCA/Universal home video.

Cast:

Binnie Barnes...Donna Lyons
Charles Winninger...Judson Craig
Alice Brady...Mrs. Lyons
Ray Milland...Lord Michael Stuart
Mischa Auer...Count Arisztid
Ernest Cossart...Binns the Butler
Lucile Watson...Martha
John King...Bill Evans
Nella Walker...Dorothy Craig
Hobart Cavanaugh...Wilbur Lamb
With the THREE SMART GIRLS...
Nan Grey...Joan Craig
Barbara Read...Kay Craig
And Universal's New Discovery...
Deanna Durbin...Penny Craig

Credits:

Original Story and Screenplay...Adele Commandini
Photographer...Joseph A. Valentine, A.S.C.
Assistant Director...Frank Shaw
Sound Supervision...Homer G. Tasker
Special Effects...John P. Fulton
Film Editor...Ted J. Kent
Music by...Bronislau Kaper, Walter Jurmann, Gus Kahn
Musical Director...Charles Previn
Art Supervision...John Harkrider
Associate Art Director...Jack Otterson
Gowns...Albert Nickels
Produced by...Joseph Pasternak, Charles Rogers
Directed by...Henry Koster



    Penny (Deanna Durbin), Joan (Nan Grey) and Kay Craig (Barbara Read) are three sisters living in Switzerland.  Their parents have been divorced for ten years, yet their mother Dorothy (Nella Walker) can't help but be heartbroken when she learns that her ex-husband, successful American banker Judson Craig (Charles Winninger) is planning on marrying an international beauty.  The three girls cannot stand to see their mother so sad, and so they travel to New York, along with their governess Martha (Lucile Watson), intent on stopping the wedding.
    Their arrival in New York catches Judson by surprise, and makes both his fiancee', Donna Lyons (Binnie Barnes) and her mother (Alice Brady) mad, as they cach on to their plan quickly.  Penny, Joan and Kay soon find out that Donna is nothing but a gold-digger who would leave him in an instant if a man with more money came along, a fact which most of Judson's associates and friends already know too well.  One of them, Bill Evans (John 'Dusty' King) helps the girls by hiring a poor, drunken Hungarian count (Mischa Auer) to romance Donna, lead her to believe that he is extremely wealthy and thus cause her to drop Judson "like a hot potato."
    The plan backfires however when the count fails to meet Donna at a nightclub where they are all dining.  Kay mistakenly assumes that a man at the bar (Ray Milland) is the count, though he is actually Lord Michael Stuart, a wealthy Australian who is smitten with Kay.  He decides to play along with her charade in order to get closer to her, though she becomes infuriated when she believes that he has been spending their money to buy gifts for her when she should be buying things for Donna Lyons.
    Meanwhile, Judson and Donna announce a wedding date which causes Penny to run away in protest.  She is picked up by the police, who make her return home, though she will comply only under one condition:  that Donna and Mrs. Lyons be gone upon her arrival.  They are gone since Michael has given Donna and her mother two tickets aboard a luxury liner sailing for Europe, tricking them into thinking he wants to marry Donna.  Judson then realizes that Donna was planning on marrying him only for his money after all, and is reunited with his ex-wife at the end, while Kay falls in love with Michael Stuart, and Joan with Bill Evans.


Songs:

[Songs performed by Deanna Durbin in boldface]
"My Heart is Singing" (Kaper, Jurmann, Kahn)
"Someone to Care for Me" (Kaper, Jurmann, Kahn)
"Il Bacio" (Arditi)

Academy Awards and Nominations:

Best Picture (Joseph Pasternak, Charles Rogers - nominees)
Best Writing, Original Story (Adele Commandini - nominee)
Best Sound Recording (Homer G. Tasker - nominee)

Reviews:

"The picture scampers along most cheerily...its gaiety is contagious, its humor infectious."
    - New York Times

My Review:

    This movie marked the feature film debut of Deanna Durbin, and made her an overnight success.  And after watching it, it is no wonder why.  Three Smart Girls is one of my favorite Deanna films.  It is able to mix light comedy, music and romance in a perfect blend.  Deanna gives a refreshing performance, and gives no indication that this was one of the first times she ever appeared before the cameras.  A must-see for any fan of Deanna Durbin!

Notes:

Remade as Three Daring Daughters in 1948 with Jane Powell and Jeanette MacDonald.



Picture credits:
1.  Video cover scanned by webmaster.
2.  Publicity still scanned by webmaster.
3.  Publicity still courtesy of Jim Johnson.


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