{"id":25855,"date":"2012-05-14T19:27:39","date_gmt":"2012-05-15T02:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25855"},"modified":"2021-02-03T12:13:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T19:13:11","slug":"three-smart-girls-1936","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25855","title":{"rendered":"Three Smart Girls (1936)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;m not pig-headed, I&#8217;m strong-minded.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Poster-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-68320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Poster-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Poster-85x128.png 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Poster-180x270.png 180w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Poster.png 501w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThree sisters (Nan Grey, Barbara Read, and Deanna Durbin) try to prevent their estranged father (Charles Winninger) from marrying a gold-digger (Binnie Barnes) by hiring a man (Ray Milland) they believe is a destitute count to woo Barnes.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Deanna Durbin Films<\/li>\n<li>Gold Diggers<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Ray Milland Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nTeenage singing sensation Deanna Durbin &#8212; perhaps best known as Judy Garland&#8217;s one-time &#8220;competitor&#8221; &#8212; rose to international stardom in this chipper romantic comedy about a trio of can-do sisters desperate to prevent their father from marrying a calculating gold-digger. A little of Durbin goes a long way, and given that she&#8217;s only one among three sisters equally invested in the situation, this is the perfect introduction to her talents (see my review of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25804\"><em>One Hundred Men and a Girl<\/em><\/a> for an example of <em>too much<\/em> Durbin in one sitting). Barnes is amusingly predatory, Alice Brady is perfectly cast as Barnes&#8217; meddling mother, and the mistaken-identities storyline involving Milland&#8217;s impersonation of a destitute count is nicely handled (if, naturally, terribly far-fetched). However, I have a hard time buying the film&#8217;s overarching subplot involving Winninger&#8217;s relationship with his daughters: would they really react with such unmitigated glee &#8212; rather than, say, muted anger or conflicted emotions &#8212; upon seeing him for the first time in ten years? And why, exactly, <em>has<\/em> he stayed away from them for so long? (This point is never explained.) Regardless, this type of escapist fluff was appealing enough to audiences at the time to help bring Universal Studios out of near-bankruptcy, and remains worth a look simply to see Durbin at her freshest. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Deanna Durbin as Penny<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Durbin.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Durbin.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-25857\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Durbin.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Durbin-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Durbin-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Binnie Barnes and Alice Brady as &#8220;Precious&#8221; and her mother<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Barnes-Brady.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Barnes-Brady.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-25856\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Barnes-Brady.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Barnes-Brady-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Barnes-Brady-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ray Milland as Michael<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Milland.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Milland.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-25858\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Milland.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Milland-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Three-Smart-Girls-Milland-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its historical relevance as the film which made Durbin an international star. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0028373\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/12303\/deanna-durbin-sweetheart-pack\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=2354&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/93159\/three-smart-girls#articles-reviews?articleId=151879\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.chicagoreader.com\/chicago\/three-smart-girls\/Film?oid=1049911\">Chicago Reader Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not pig-headed, I&#8217;m strong-minded.&#8221; Synopsis: Three sisters (Nan Grey, Barbara Read, and Deanna Durbin) try to prevent their estranged father (Charles Winninger) from marrying a gold-digger (Binnie Barnes) by hiring a man (Ray Milland) they believe is a destitute count to woo Barnes. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Deanna Durbin Films Gold Diggers Mistaken or Hidden Identities Ray Milland Films Review: Teenage singing sensation Deanna Durbin &#8212; perhaps best known as Judy Garland&#8217;s one-time &#8220;competitor&#8221; &#8212; rose to international&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25855\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25855"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68321,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25855\/revisions\/68321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}