In this sweet-natured family film that was typical studio output in the first decade of the Production Code, Deanna Durbin leads the titular three smart girls, the others being Nan Gray and Barbara Reed. They have been living in Switzerland with their mother Dorothy (Nella Walker) for the past ten years, since their parents divorced. They learn that their father Judson Craig (Charles Winninger), an absent-minded and gullible millionaire, is set to marry a jet-setting hussy named Donna Lyons (Binnie Barnes) who, along with her domineering mother (Alice Brady), intends to suck poor Judson dry and leave him. The three smart girls, accompanied by their maid Martha (Lucile Watson), set off to New York to stop the marriage and convince their father to return to where he belongs: with them and their mother. Good-natured hijinks ensue, as the girls show their father what his bride-to-be is really like, and the two older ones manage to fall in love themselves.

Nobody could sing like Durbin. Introduced here as "Universal's New Discovery" (actually, she was MGM's discovery—they just failed to use her properly), she was probably the best singer working in Hollywood before World War II. She was box-office gold for Universal, who put her in film after film that basically repeated the formula we see in this film: cute teenage girl convinces stupid adults to start acting right. Fifteen when this movie was filmed, her voice only got better. However, she didn't have the long-lasting success of that other golden-voiced teenager of the 1930s, Judy Garland. Durbin didn't survive the transition to adulthood, when she couldn't rely on her little-girl cherubic looks and her impish manner. Garland's popularity came because she was more than just a set of pipes; she had more range than Durbin, whose repertoire consisted of looking adorable and looking determined. Nobody could sing like Dubin, but Durbin couldn't really act. In Hollywood, it helps to be able to do both.

The film is a trifle, but an amusing one. The acting varies, and it's difficult to judge because most of the actors weren't really expected to do anything but fit a type. Perhaps acting too well would distract viewers. Anyway, Durbin is fine here, but she's certainly at her best when singing, which she actually gets few chances to do. Her best number is performed in a police station, as she attempts to prove that she is in fact an opera singer instead of a runaway. The other sisters are disposable Hollywood beauties. Lucile Watson has some fun with her role as the sharp-tongued but loving maid. Binnie Barnes is uninteresting as the gold digging Donna Lyons; perhaps they didn't want to make the audience work too hard to figure out who Judson should end up with. Her mother comes off better, at least in the acting department. Alice Brady specialized in this kind of no-nonsense role, winning an Oscar for her portrayal as Mrs. O'Leary in In Old Chicago. Sadly, she died in 1939 of cancer at the age of 47. The best performance in the film comes from a young Ray Milland, who plays a forgetful arisocrat who unwittingly helps the girls with their schemes.

The film is a good example of that particular moral universe that comes from Hollywood in its Golden Age. Divorce isn't usually ok, but it is here, because we know that by the end of the film Judson will end up back with his wife, even after ten years of not seeing her. The Other Woman in these films is always scheming and rotten, and usually none too bright. I wonder if Hollywood made any films before around 1955 where the Other Woman was a nice, intelligent, honest woman who ended up getting the man? I don't mean to sound too critical. There's a happy reassurance that comes from watching a movie you know won't surprise you. This is a story as old as the hills, brightened by the enthusiasm of Durbin.

The film was nominated for three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Sound Recording, and Best Original Story. The Best Picture nomination is a product of the time, when ten films were nominated instead of the five we do today. I would call it the fifth best nominee that year, after Dodsworth, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, The Story of Louis Pasteur, and San Francisco. I haven't seen the winner, The Great Ziegfeld. The odd nomination is the story award, which is another reflection of the times: they gave an award for the story and another for the actual screenplay. Still, the story wasn't all that memorable.