Product Details

• Actors: Binnie Barnes, Charles Winninger, Alice Brady, Ray Milland, Mischa Auer
• Directors: Henry Koster
• Writers: Adele Comandini, Albert R. Perkins, Austin Parker, Boyce DeGaw, Isabel Dawn
• Producers: Charles R. Rogers
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: January 17, 1995
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303328164
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,284 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Universal wasted no time in exploiting 14-year-old Deanna Durbin's star power; after screening the dailies from her feature debut, Three Smart Girls, studio execs expanded Durbin's supporting role and doubled the budget. Their investment paid off: this breezy comedy-musical, about a young singer determined to reunite her parents, earned a then-extraordinary $2 million and three Oscar nominations (including Best Picture).

Durbin's charm, good songs, and a solid supporting cast (including Alice Brady, Mischa Auer, and Charles Winninger) make Girls a delight many decades later. It's also a notch above the affable sequel, Three Smart Girls Grow Up. --Steven Smith

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deanna Durbin is a treasure, June 14, 2000

By 

Joyce G. Lobb (Tyler, Tx) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Smart Girls [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Deanna Durbin is a treasure not well known to today's generation but was well loved in her time. If you enjoy movies like Parent Trap you will love the original take on children trying to get their parents together. This hilarious movie includes the fabulous singing voice of Deanna that makes it the tops with me. A definate 'must see' if you enjoy comedy and music. If you like this one you will adore the sequal Three Smart Grow Up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I'm Not a Gentleman, I'm a Father!", April 4, 2005

By 

Bobby Underwood "starlighthotel" (Manly NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Three Smart Girls [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Deanna Durbin simply burst on to the screen for the first time as Penny, the youngest of three sisters who attempt to break up their father's impending nuptuals so they can get him back together with their mother. This delightful romp made Deanna a star and saved Universal Studios from bankruptcy. The film itself moves at a breakneck pace, following Durbin's lead as she blows like a joyous and funny hurricane right into our hearts.

Nan Grey is Penny's sister, Joan, and Barbara Read is Kay. Charles Winninger is good as always as the parent who hasn't seen his children in ten years, and has forgotten what it means to be a father. But Penny's strong minded enthusiasm is infectious, and it isn't long before the shallow babe after his money doesn't seem near as important as his daughters.

There are some hilarious moments in this fast and furious comedy and Deanna gets to sing "Someone to Care For Me" and a couple of others, as one plot after another is hatched to get rid of the fiance. Mischa Auer is a hoot as the inebriated Count paid to romance away the fiance. But it is a young Ray Milland as Lord Michael Stuart who gets the most laughs when a mix-up occurs and the girls think he is the one they've paid to lure "Precious" away. Stuart is the real deal but plays along with the charade so he can romance Penny's sister, Kay.

An infectious joy runs all through this film and it is easy to see why this was such a hugh hit. It launched the career of one of the most fondly remembered stars of all time. This film begins with Penny, Joan and Kay sailing in Switzerland and it will sail right into your heart when you see it for the first time. A fresh and timeless treasure.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Simple Charmer, May 14, 2002

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Three Smart Girls [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Although she is little known today, Deanna Durbin was one of the most popular stars of the 1930s, a pretty teenager with a perky personality and a much-admired operatic singing voice. This 1937 was her first major film, and it proved a box-office bonanza for beleaguered Universal Studios.

THREE SMART GIRLS concerns three daughters of a divorced couple who rush to their long-unseen father when their still-faithful mother reveals he may soon remarry--with the firm intention of undermining his gold-digger girlfriend and returning him to their mother. Although the story is slight, the script is witty and the expert cast plays it with a neat screwball touch. Durbin has a pleasing voice and appealing personality, and such enjoyable character actors as Charles Winninger, Alice Brady, Lucile Watson, and Mischa Auer round out the cast. A an ultra-light amusement for fans of 1930s film.