Three Smart Girls (1936)

(On Cable TV, September 2020) Deanna Durbin was a short-lived star—her time at the top of the box office lasted barely more than a decade, after which she retired and apparently lived a long happy life away from the cameras. While brief, her stardom was justified by the mixture of youthful cuteness, singing talent and comic timing she brought to the screen—if you’re thinking about Judy Garland, well, only a bit of fate separated those two from the MGM star-making factory. You can get a glimpse of her talents in her feature film debut Three Smart Girls, as she plays one of three sisters trying to prevent their father from marrying a gold-digging young woman. Frankly, it’s not that good of a film—in trying to demonstrate Durbin’s multiple talents, director Henry Koster is shackled to a script that throws in various elements in a whole that doesn’t come together. The musical numbers seem to stick out, and the comedy is quite generic. And it all fits in 84 minutes! Somehow, it was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar for its year. Still, there are good bits and pieces here—plus Durbin’s performance. As far as star-vehicle comedies of that time go, Three Smart Girls is unobjectionable—although there are better roles in Durbin’s later filmography.