Three Smart Girls (1936)

86% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
66% of users liked it
(426 ratings)

Deanna Durbin, the teenaged soprano who literally saved Universal Pictures from bankruptcy, made her feature-film debut in Three Smart Girls. Durbin, Nan Grey and Barbara Read play three wealthy young sisters, living with their divorced mother (Nella Walker) in Europe. The girls learn that their… More Deanna Durbin, the teenaged soprano who literally saved Universal Pictures from bankruptcy, made her feature-film debut in Three Smart Girls. Durbin, Nan Grey and Barbara Read play three wealthy young sisters, living with their divorced mother (Nella Walker) in Europe. The girls learn that their father (Charles Winninger) has made plans to remarry. Correctly sensing that the bride-to-be (Binnie Barnes) is a fortune hunter, the sisters head to Manhattan to save Daddy from himself. Durbin is the primary architect in reuniting her parents, but not before satisfying her fans with several arias. Three Smart Girls not only spawned a sequel (Three Smart Girls Grow Up), but even a 2-reel Three Stooges parody titled Three Dumb Clucks! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 24 min.
Directed By: Henry Koster
Written By: Adele Comandini
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 20, 1936 Wide
On DVD: Jan 17, 1995

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Film is a sentimental comedy and has that rare quality of making an audience feel better for having seen it.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
It's an efficient, entertaining atrocity.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A highly pleasing first cousin to the screwball comedies of the day.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Koster's light musical comedy made debutante Deana Durbin a major star for a decade and was so populr during the Depression that it spawned several (inferior) sequels.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Makes you feel better for seeing it.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Modest film debut for Deanna Durbin has loads of charm.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
A trifle, but an amusing one.