Three Smart Girls
Encyclopedia
Three Smart Girls is a 1936 musical
comedy film
. The Craig sisters, played by Barbara Read
, Nan Grey
and Deanna Durbin
in her first feature film role, travel to New York City to prevent their father from remarrying.
They plot to bring their divorced parents, portrayed by Charles Winninger
and Nella Walker, back together again. The movie made Durbin a star, and ushered in an eight-year era of successful Deanna Durbin musicals.
The film was written by Adele Comandini and Austin Parker, and directed by Henry Koster
. The film was a hit and kept Universal Pictures
out of bankruptcy.
It spawned two sequels, Three Smart Girls Grow Up
and Hers to Hold. "Three Smart Girls" was later re-made as "The Parent Trap" films under the Disney logo.
, Best Sound (Homer G. Tasker
) and Writing (Original Story).
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
. The Craig sisters, played by Barbara Read
Barbara Read
Barbara Read, also known as Barbara Reed, was a Canadian film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, who appeared in twenty one films during her career....
, Nan Grey
Nan Grey
Nan Grey was an American film actress. She was born Eschal Loleet Grey Miller on July 25, 1918 in Houston, Texas.-Career:...
and Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias....
in her first feature film role, travel to New York City to prevent their father from remarrying.
They plot to bring their divorced parents, portrayed by Charles Winninger
Charles Winninger
Charles Winninger was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals, but equally at home in drama.-Biography:He began as a vaudeville actor...
and Nella Walker, back together again. The movie made Durbin a star, and ushered in an eight-year era of successful Deanna Durbin musicals.
The film was written by Adele Comandini and Austin Parker, and directed by Henry Koster
Henry Koster
Henry Koster was born Hermann Kosterlitz in Berlin, Germany. He became a film director and later moved to Hollywood. Koster's father, a salesman, left home when Henry was a young man...
. The film was a hit and kept Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
out of bankruptcy.
It spawned two sequels, Three Smart Girls Grow Up
Three Smart Girls Grow Up
Three Smart Girls Grow Up is a 1939 musical comedy film starring Deanna Durbin, Nan Grey and Helen Parrish as the title sisters, with Durbin and Grey reprising their roles from Three Smart Girls, and Parrish replacing Barbara Read in the role of the middle sister.-Cast:*Deanna Durbin as Penelope...
and Hers to Hold. "Three Smart Girls" was later re-made as "The Parent Trap" films under the Disney logo.
Cast
- Binnie BarnesBinnie BarnesGertrude Maud "Binnie" Barnes was an English-American actress. She was born in Islington to a Jewish father and an Italian mother and was brought up Jewish, although she converted to Catholicism later in life....
as Donna Lyons - Charles WinningerCharles WinningerCharles Winninger was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals, but equally at home in drama.-Biography:He began as a vaudeville actor...
as Judson Craig - Alice BradyAlice BradyAlice Brady was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked up until six months before her death from cancer in 1939...
as Mrs. Lyons - Ray MillandRay MillandRay Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
as Lord Michael Stuart - Mischa AuerMischa AuerMischa Auer was a Russian-born American actor.-Early life:Auer was born Mikhail Semyonovich Unskovsky in St. Petersburg, Russia...
as Count Arisztid - Ernest CossartErnest CossartErnest Cossart was a British-born Hollywood actor. Born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, his real name was Emil von Holst. He was the brother of composer Gustav Holst. His daughter was the actress Valeria Cossart....
as Binns - Lucile WatsonLucile Watson-Career:Watson began her career on the stage debuting on Broadway in the play Hearts Aflame in 1902. Her next play was The Girl With Green Eyes, the first of several Clyde Fitch stories. At the end of 1903, Lucile appeared in Fitch's "Glad of It"...
as Martha Trudel - John 'Dusty' KingJohn 'Dusty' KingJohn 'Dusty' King John 'Dusty' King John 'Dusty' King (born Miller McLeod Everson, July 11, 1909 – November 11, 1987 was a singer and film actor renowned for his Westerns particularly the Range Busters series.-Biography:Everson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio...
as Bill Evans (as John King) - Nella Walker as Dorothy Craig
- Hobart CavanaughHobart CavanaughHobart Cavanaugh was an American character actor in films and on stage.Born in Virginia City, Nevada, Cavanaugh made his film debut in San Francisco Nights...
as Wilbur Lamb - Nan GreyNan GreyNan Grey was an American film actress. She was born Eschal Loleet Grey Miller on July 25, 1918 in Houston, Texas.-Career:...
as Joan Craig - Barbara ReadBarbara ReadBarbara Read, also known as Barbara Reed, was a Canadian film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, who appeared in twenty one films during her career....
as Kay Craig - Deanna DurbinDeanna DurbinDeanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias....
as 'Penny' Craig
Awards
It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best PictureAcademy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, Best Sound (Homer G. Tasker
Homer G. Tasker
Homer G. Tasker was an American sound engineer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Sound Recording.-Selected filmography:* Three Smart Girls * One Hundred Men and a Girl...
) and Writing (Original Story).
External links
- http://www.pbs.org/wnet/cinemasexiles/ Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood