''Three Smart Girls'' is a 1936 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

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 o ...

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 ci ...

and starring Barbara Read, Nan Grey,

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 th ...

(her feature film debut), and

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

. The film's screenplay was written by Adele Comandini and Austin Parker, and is about three sisters who travel to New York City to prevent their father from remarrying. The three plot to bring their divorced parents back together again. It began an eight-year span of successful Deanna Durbin musicals and spawned two sequels, '' Three Smart Girls Grow Up'' and '' Hers to Hold''.

Plot

Three sisters living in Switzerland hear their father is going to marry a younger woman in New York. They travel there to stop it. Their plan involves getting a man to seduce her father's fiancée. They accidentally hire a genuinely rich man who falls for one of the sisters.

Cast

* Binnie Barnes as Donna Lyons *

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 *

Alice Brady Alice Brady (born Mary Rose Brady; November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked until six months before her death from cancer in ...

as Mrs. Lyons *

as Lord Michael Stuart *

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky (Михаил Семёнович Унковский; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russian-born American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in film in 1928 ...

as Count Arisztid *

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 *

Lucile Watson Lucile Watson (May 27, 1879 – June 24, 1962) was a Canadian actress, long based in the United States. She was "famous for her roles of formidable dowagers." Early years Watson was born in Quebec and raised in Ottawa, the daughter of an offi ...

as Martha * John 'Dusty' King as Bill Evans (as John King) *

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 Dorothy Craig *

Hobart Cavanaugh Hobart Cavanaugh (September 22, 1886 – April 26, 1950 ) was an American character actor in films and on stage. Biography He was born in Virginia City, Nevada on September 22, 1886. Cavanaugh attended the University of California. He worked ...

as Wilbur Lamb * Nan Grey as Joan * Barbara Read as Kay *

as 'Penny'

Production

The film was based on an original story. It was purchased for Universal by Adele Comandini. In May 1936 the studio announced they would make it as a vehicle for 13 year old Jeanne Dante, who had been on Broadway in '' Call It a Day'', and it would be produced by Harry John Brown who had recently joined Universal from Warners.

Joe Pasternak Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood "Golden Age" of musicals at MGM Studios, producing many successf ...

wanted

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in ''The ...

for Durbin’s role. However, Garlands home studio, MGM, wouldn’t loan her out for the Picture. However, Joe would produce four Garland films when he moved to MGM. Durbin was picked up from MGM after a short film,

Every Sunday ''Every Sunday'' (sometimes incorrectly listed as ''Every Sunday Afternoon'' or ''Opera vs. Jazz'') is a 1936 American musical short film about two adolescent girls and their efforts to save a public concert series, which was being threatened by ...

co-starring Garland. MGM dropped Durbin’s Contract freeing her to do Three Smart Girls. In July 1936 it was announced

would appear alongside Dante, with "Henry Kosta" to direct. By August Dante had dropped out and the three girls were to be played by Durbin, Nan Grey and Barbara Read. Binnie Barnes signed to play the vamp. Ray Milland was a last-minute replacement for

Louis Hayward Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor. Biography Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Sch ...

, who was originally cast, but fell ill shortly of pleurisy four days into filming. The replacement was made in September.

Reception

The film was a huge box office hit. Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'' in 1937,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

gave the film a mixed review, complaining about the sentimentality of the first half of the film, and noting that it is only with the appearance of Precious, her mother, the Hungarian Count, and the English nobleman in the second half of the film that the picture is made. While criticizing Durbin's "consciously girlish" performance, Greene praised the acting of Auer and claimed that the second half of the film was where "some welcome humour of an adult kind creep tardily" into the film.

Awards

''Three Smart Girls'' received

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

nominations for Best Picture, Best Sound (

Homer G. Tasker Homer G. Tasker (February 19, 1899 – January 9, 1990) was an American sound engineer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Sound Recording. Selected filmography * '' Three Smart Girls'' (1936) * ''One Hundred Men and a ...

), and Best Original Story.

Legacy

The film not only made Deanna Durbin a star, it led to a number of imitations.HAYS OFFICE BATTLES TO MAINTAIN SCREEN PURITY Los Angeles Times 7 Feb 1937: C1.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Henry Koster 1936 films 1936 musical comedy films 1936 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films American films based on plays Films directed by Henry Koster Films set in New York City Universal Pictures films Films produced by Joe Pasternak 1930s romantic musical films 1936 directorial debut films 1930s American films