''Three Smart Girls Grow Up'' is a 1939 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Henry Koster Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cin ...

, written by

Felix Jackson Felix Jackson (born Felix Joachimson; June 5, 1902 – December 7, 1992) was a German-born American screenwriter and film producer. Biography Jackson was born in Hamburg. He was a city editor in Germany at 21, then a dramatic and music critic, ...

and

Bruce Manning Bruce Manning (July 15, 1902 – August 3, 1965) was a Cuddebackville, New York-born Hollywood filmmaker/screenwriter who entered the movie business following the publication of several novels that he co-wrote with wife, Gwen Bristow. Their fir ...

, and starring

Deanna Durbin Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With t ...

Nan Grey Nan Grey (born Eschal Loleet Grey Miller; July 25, 1918 – July 25, 1993) was an American film actress. Early years Grey was born in Houston, Texas. In 1934, at age 16, she went to Hollywood with her mother for a holiday. She was persuaded by ...

, and

Helen Parrish Helen Virginia Parrish (March 12, 1923 – February 22, 1959) was an American stage and film actress. Career Parrish was born in Columbus, Georgia. She started in movies at the age of 4, getting her first part playing Babe Ruth's daughter in t ...

. Durbin and Grey reprise their roles from ''

Three Smart Girls ''Three Smart Girls'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Barbara Read, Nan Grey, Deanna Durbin (her feature film debut), and Ray Milland. The film's screenplay was written by Adele Comandini and Austin Pa ...

'', and Parrish replaces

Barbara Read Barbara French Read, also known as Barbara Reed, (December 29, 1917 – December 12, 1963) was a Canadian-American film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, who appeared in 21 films during her career. Early life Born Barbara French Read on Decembe ...

in the role of the middle sister. Durbin would reprise her role once more in ''

Hers to Hold ''Hers to Hold'' (aka ''Three Smart Girls Join Up'') is a 1943 American romantic musical comedy film and is the third film in the unofficial ''Three Smart Girls'' trilogy. In ''Hers to Hold'', Deanna Durbin reprises her role as Penny Craig, who ...

''.

Plot

Three sisters believe life is going to be easy now that their parents are back together, until one sister falls in love with another's fiancé, and the youngest sister plays matchmaker.

Cast

as Penelope 'Penny' Craig *

as Joan Craig *

as Katherine 'Kay' Craig *

Charles Winninger Charles J. Winninger (May 26, 1884 – January 27, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals. Life and career Winninger was born in Athens, Wisconsin, the son of Rosalia (Grassler) and Franz Winninger ...

as Judson Craig *

Nella Walker Nella Walker (March 6, 1886 – March 22, 1971) was an American actress and vaudeville performer of the 1920s through the 1950s. Biography The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Walker, she was born and raised in Chicago. In 1910, she marrie ...

as Mrs. Craig *

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...

as Harry Loren *

William Lundigan William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include ''Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), ''Dishonored Lady'' ...

as Richard Watkins *

Ernest Cossart Ernest Cossart (born Emil Gottfried von Holst, 24 September 1876 – 21 January 1951) was an English-American actor. After a stage career in England, he moved to the US, appearing on Broadway and all around the country. In the 1930s and 1940s, ...

as Binns, the butler *

Felix Bressart Felix Bressart (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1949) was a German-American actor of stage and screen. Life and career Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born in East Prussia, Germany (now part of Russia). His acting debut came in 1914 as Malvol ...

as a music teacher * Charles Coleman as Henry

Production

In August 1938 Bruce Manning and Felix Jackson were reported as working on a sequel. In September Universal announced that Barbara Read, who had been in the original, was considered "a little too grown up" for the sequel and was replaced by Helen Parrish, who had been in ''Mad About Music'' with Durbin. Filming started in November 1938. It halted because Durbin fell ill and resumed on 23 December. Cummings received a long-term contract from Universal after being cast in the movie.

References

External links

* * {{Henry Koster 1939 films 1939 musical comedy films American black-and-white films American musical comedy films American sequel films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Henry Koster Films produced by Joe Pasternak Universal Pictures films 1930s American films