Three Daring Daughters

There's no skimping on the music or the production values in "Three Daring Daughters," a 1948 MGM film starring Jeanette MacDonald, Jane Powell, Edward Arnold, Jose Iturbi, Elinor Donohue and Ann E. Todd. MacDonald, in one of her last films, is the divorced editor of a magazine who is raising three girls. Overtired and given to fainting spells, her doctor orders her to rest. She takes a cruise, where she meets and marries the famous musician, Jose Iturbi. She has never told her daughters that their father didn't want to be a part of their lives, so in her absence, the girls hatch a scheme to get his editor (Arnold) to bring him home.

The star of this film is the glorious music. Powell and MacDonald sing beautifully, and Jose Iturbi plays piano like a dream. Powell, so young and pretty, does a nice job especially on "Je Veux Vivre" from Romeo & Juliet. MacDonald's mature voice sounds great, her middle register having really opened up with age. The movie is filmed in color, and she looks gorgeous.

Sadly MacDonald only made one more film, followed by a few television appearances, as she had a weak heart. She is lovely in this. See the film for the music, for MacDonald, Iturbi, and Powell.

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.

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.

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.

Jeannette macdonald but no nelson eddy? He must have been busy that week! Lots of other big names though. Jane powell, eddie arnold, josé iturbi. Very high-pitched singing. I guess that explains why macdonald only made one more film after this....even the movie going public was getting sick of the operatic stuff. In the story, the three daughters interfere in mom's love life. They want to find their dad and bring him back home, but mom has other plans; while she's off on a lovely cruise to relax, she meets a man, and makes plans of her own. Iturbi even features as part of the story line, which he didn't usually do. Keep an eye out for his actual sister amparo, in a bit part. It's a long film. But pretty good, if you mute or fast forward now and then. Filmed at an interesting time. It's late enough to be filmed in spherical technicolor, and has a pretty modern discussion of divorce, which angered the legion of decency! But macdonald, arnold and harry davenport (plays Doc)had made so many old black and white films, it's kind of unusual to see them in a color film. Macdonald and davenport only worked a couple years after this before retiring. There's a funny moment where the housekeeper has broken the girls' secret code, and answers in their own code. And a very impressive harmonica solo by larry adler; while it was probably pre-recorded, it's probably the most impressive harmonica playing i have ever seen. That's probably the highlight of the film. Directed by fred wilcox. His forbidden planet was nominated for best special effects. And directed the 1949 version of the secret garden. Didn't direct many things, probably because he died young at 56.