Three Daring Daughters

In a recognition of the fact that she was no longer a young soprano, Jeanette MacDonald in her final two films played a mom. And as the title Three Daring Daughters suggests she's the mom of three girls, one of whom is Jane Powell, a soprano of some note.

Jeanette is a working mom, an editor of a magazine, who apparently doubles as a concert singer. She's been told, doctor Harry Davenport's orders to go on a much needed vacation. She takes a cruise and marries world famous concert pianist Jose Iturbi who is playing himself. Now to break it to the children.

This is where the story goes astray. Her former husband who is never seen in the film is a foreign correspondent and we're told that Jeanette has told the children some great big fibs about what a wonderful man he was. Of course if he was so wonderful why were they divorced? The kids assume the reason for her listlessness before the vacation was that she was pining for dad. It's like the writers of Three Daring Daughters could not come up with a rationale that would satisfy the Code.

Yet the film is good fun, it's nice seeing Jeanette and Jane trading high notes as it were. It's as if Jeanette was passing the soprano torch on to another generation, not just to Jane Powell, but to Ann Blyth and Kathryn Grayson for future MGM musicals.

Jose Iturbi could not have done a better job just being Jose Iturbi. I remember meeting him as a kid years ago and getting an autograph from him. Even then I thought he was a class act. Of course he never took as a leading man at MGM, but I think Mr. Iturbi was a musician first and foremost. And he certainly was a sight better leading man than Liberace.

If you can get over the tiptoeing of writer's feet around the Code, you'll like Three Daring Daughters.

There are four writers credited for the script of this Technicolored concoction and somehow its froth still manages to fizz in a quite entertaining way. That's thanks in large part to an attractive cast and the delightful surprise of José Iturbi's charm as a very convincing actor. Plus, it almost goes without saying, some eminently listenable singing from Jeanette MacDonald and her young up-and-coming counterpart, Miss Jane Powell.

• Mini-Spoilers May Ensue -

Of course the manipulations of the rather simple plot are spun out almost to the point of frustration as a mother keeps her daughters in the dark about why their father and she divorced, the daughters plot to bring their father back from a distant work assignment, their mother meets and marries a charming man whom she truly loves, the daughters resist his introduction into their happy home, etc., etc., etc. Aaarrgh! It could have been utterly annoying, but Jeanette MacDonald, looking lovely, and Señor Iturbi, understandably falling head over heels for her, make for two adults who deserve their final happy song (with the three little vixens joining in) at one of the pianos that seem to be in every room of this film's many luxuriously appointed sets.

A few things of note: Someone (the set decorators, the hairdressers, the color consultants, the cinematographer, whomever) had a liking for the color orange and its many gradations from pale peach to burnished bronze. There's some note of it somewhere in virtually every shot of every scene in this film!

Young Miss Ann E. Todd (not to be confused with the English actress, Ann Todd) seems to have been forced to play almost every one of her scenes with a rather unbecoming scowl on her pretty, brown-eyed face. Its not out of character for the part she's playing, but it does seem a bit excessive.

And, wouldn't you know it? (I did without even checking the IMDb Trivia on this title.) The Roman Catholic Legion of Decency found this film "Objectionable In Part For All" because it appears to "condone" divorce, an absolute no-no as far as that censorious body was concerned when it held such influential sway.

But don't be deterred. Next time Turner Classic Movies unearths this bon-bon from their vaults, give it a whirl. It's fun to see how the better half lived and loved in simpler times, and when a major studio could make going to Cuba and back (without ever leaving Culver City, California - The story happens to involve a vacation cruise on a ship with the most impossibly large public rooms and private suites, enough to make a Greek tycoon's yacht look like a rowboat!) a visual treat every mile of the way.

It amazes me that so many people cannot see that the past is different from our debased and decadent present. This is a lovely reminder of what was and will never be again. We will keep on remaking poor Carrie but will not and cannot remake this movie in a way that is true to its truth, that love is a wonderful thing and that music, real music is an uplifting and special experience that expands the world of the audience. I have seen the movie several times and by modern standards it is corny but it is also true that we would be much better off in a world of this music and these people with their love for each other and for music and for having a good and joyous life is a whole lot better than one in which Saw XXX has an audience. This is real magic both at the movies and in our aspirations, without the need for Harry Potter and this is what we have lost.

The style of "Three Daring Daughters" is very unusual. For much of the film, it's like two separate films occurring at the same time....and one of them probably wasn't absolutely necessary.

When the story begins, Louise (Jeanette MacDonald) is attending the graduation of one of her three daughters. However, she soon collapses...overwhelmed with fatigue by trying to be the perfect mother. Her doctor suggests she take a cruise...alone. Since the daughters are all older (approximately 12-18), she can leave them and embark on her journey. During the trip, Louise meets José Iturbi and the world famous pianist and conductor is smitten with her. After a whirlwind romance, the divorcee marries Iturbi.

All this seems just great...except that during Louise's absence, the daughters get the insane notion that their mother is sad because her ex-husband is no longer in her life. So, they conspire to bring dad home...not realizing he's apparently a louse. What's gonna happen when mom and her new husband returns??

The plot involving the daughters and their father is generally unnecessary. I much preferred watching Irubi and MacDonald and their relationship. It was nice seeing two middle aged and 'normal looking' folks fall in love...and Iturbi was surprisingly good (and quite urbane) playing a version of himself. I say 'version' because in real life, of course, MacDonald was married to Gene Raymond and it's all rather fanciful....but nice. In addition, how these older kids reacted once they meet Irubi...well, they just seemed like obnoxious jerks and their parts were not written well.

This is a movie I loved and hated. I loved the relationship, felt the daughters were not necessarily needed in the film and were underwritten AND I hated some of the singing. I know that MacDonald and Jane Powell were very popular back in the day...but their high-pitched singing frankly was painful to hear in most of the songs. I like opera and liked Iturbe's music...but I did NOT like their singing in the least. Painful is probably a NICE way to refer to the singing....I actually could be FAR more descriptive but won't!

Overall, a very mixed bag...a film that overall is watchable but nothing more. And, if they'd just stuck to the romance and avoided the rest, it would have been a great film.

Three Daring Daughters is a harmless, cute little movie. It may be a little naive and fluffy, but if you need a bit of cheering up it does definitely help.

It's about a single mum that goes away on a cruise and gets married to a musician. Her daughters don't know about her getting married and are trying to organize a reunion between their mother and their father, who is away on business (and has been absent for some time).

Jane Powell definitely shines in this role. This is the movie in which I 'discovered' her, if you like. It's a great film with some great numbers in it.

Another reviewer said it gives you a naive look at second marriage, single parenting and everything. But would I want a realistic view? No. Because that would defeat a sole purpose of going to the movies - to get away from reality. And that's why I like this film.