Three Daring Daughters (1948) User Reviews

Passing The Soprano Torch

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 24 March 2006]

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.

Music, music, music

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 24 June 2010]

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.

A cute little movie

[Incalculacable · 7/10 · 26 December 2005]

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.

Four cooks didn't manage to spoil this bubbly broth!

[gregcouture · 8 November 2004]

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.

Harmless Fun

[aromatic-2 · 7/10 · 4 January 2001]

Silly but enjoyable musical comedy with Jeanette McDonald playing a character very much like herself, and Jose iturbi playing her love interest, a character even more like himself -- himself! Jane Powell and her two sisters are both multi-talented and precocious, and Edward Arnold heads a fine veteran supporting cast. Certainly not a great movie, but a pleasing one.

Fine cast in an excellent musical starring Jane Powell & Jeanette Macdonald

[RogerMooreTheBestBond · 7/10 · 17 May 2009]

This story is dominated by Jeanette Macdonald and Jose Iturbi for the first half of the film. Jeanette plays the divorced mother of three daughters led by Jane Powell. Their father was a deadbeat, but mother paints a brighter picture of them for her daughters. She needs a vacation away from the daughters. She takes a cruise and meets Jose Iturbi and they fall in love and marry. Meanwhile, the daughters believe they can help her by bringing back their father. They tell their mother when she arrives that he is coming. She loses it and scolds them. They are sad and not sure what they did wrong. Jose shows up and Jane is happy when he tells her he is Jose Iturbi(he is playing himself). She drops a line about her father coming home and he gets a lump in his throat and tries to leave(funny scene). The make him stay and he implies he is there to give Jane a tryout. Mother walks in and they keep the truth from the daughters. Later they tell them together and the girls want their real dad. The man they went to to get their father back, sets them straight. They apologize to their mother. Mother also apologizes and admits she should have told them the truth about their real father. The girls go to see Iturbi and tell him they want him back. The final scene has the man who the girls originally saw to get their real father back, reuniting mother with Iturbi and the girls. A real nice ending to a good film.

Mother and daughters disagree on who mother should remarry.

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 7 June 2019]

Where else are you going to hear plentiful singing by 2 celebrated opera-styled sopranos, along with the frequent concert piano playing of leading man Jose Iturbi, sometimes backed up by the MGM symphony orchestra, or by his sister Amparo. In effect, Jeanette MacDonald, mostly known for her '30s operettas with Nelson Eddy, was passing the MGM baton to Jane Powell in her 2nd MGM musical. Jane would continue to star in frequent musicals through 1955, when musicals had about run their course. Whereas all of Jane's MGM musicals would be filmed in color, this is a very rare opportunity to see Jeanette, with her flaming orange hair, and hazel eyes, in color. In effect, Jeanette is taking the place of Hungarian soprano Ilona Massey in Jane's first MGM musical "Holiday in Mexico". Here, she plays the mother of a trio of girls, headed by 18Y.O. Jane, as Tess, Eleanor Donahue, as Alix, and young Ann Todd as Ilka. Jose Iturbi is in his only leading man role, although he was a major character in Jane's previous musical "Holiday in Mexico". In most previous MGM films, he was little more than a piano specialist. Here, he serves as Jeanette's secret new husband, she found on a Caribbean cruise, recommended by her doctor to alleviate her depression. However, her girls suggest that the reappearance of their long gone biological father probably would cure her problem. Jeanette has not told them the reason for their divorce, that he was an erratic provider frequently disappearing for a while. They think he was a good man. Thus, when they discover that mom has married Iturbi, without consulting them, they are angry. Iturbi argues that who their mother remarries should only be up to their mother. Nonetheless, the girls persist in trying to talk their father's employer(Eddie Arnold, as Robert Nelson) into recalling their father from his foreign correspondence job in darkest Africa. Several times, he does recall him, only to cancel his recall when Jeanette objects to it. Finally, Jeanette tells the girls what their biological father was like. After that, they are more accepting of Iturbi, especially with his facility with the piano. In the end, all sing "The Dicky Bird Song", with smiling faces. One wonders why a beautiful woman such as Jeanette took so long to find an acceptable mate?........The music, both singing and piano playing, was more concentrated in the first half. This is similar to the pattern in "Holiday in Mexico". Perhaps it was felt that the music would be of more interest to audiences than the drama. The film was rather long, at almost 2 hrs..

A thorough disappointment!

[JohnHowardReid · 4/10 · 26 May 2018]

Copyright 22 January 1948 by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture. New York opening at the Capitol: 12 February 1948. U.S. release: March 1948. U.K. release: Not recorded (announced for possible December 1947 opening). Australian release: 8 April 1948. Cut to 10,354 feet or 115 minutes in Australia. 119 minutes. U.K. release title: The BIRDS AND THE BEES.

SYNOPSIS: We are asked to believe that a very attractive fashion magazine editor (where have we seen this character before? Answer: Lady in the Dark) is so light of brain that she has brought her three teenage daughters up to believe their estranged father is a fine man who will return to them some day, even though (a) he's been gone at least twelve years and (b) in actual fact he's a heel she was glad to divorce. (Where does this plot hail from? Answer: Mostly from producer Pasternak's own Three Smart Girls). NOTES: The stage play opened at the Cort on 26 September 1946 and was yanked after only 28 performances. Barbara Robbins played Louise Morgan. The daughters were enacted by Sybil Stocking, Rosemary Rice and Joyce Patten.

Although panned by all New York's influential critics (except Wanda Hale of the Daily News), the movie did mighty well at the domestic box-office, achieving 28th position for the year. Overseas, however, the movie bombed. Significantly it was one of the few MacDonald movies not re-issued by M-G-M in response to the great Jeanette MacDonald revival of the late 1950s, even though prints were available. (The other films that fell into this category were Broadway Serenade, Cairo and I Married an Angel which were packaged for television instead).

COMMENT: A disappointment all around. There so many things wrong with the movie, it's hard to know where to begin. Let's just say that Miss MacDonald (often beautifully gowned) struggles gamely with both the unbelievably sudsy yet sexless character she's forced to enact in this incredibly vapid script plus a diverse collection of players headed by Jose Iturbi and Jane Powell who offer her little or no support.

Flat, disinterested direction by Fred Wilcox doesn't help either. To his credit, producer Pasternak wanted Deanna Durbin for the Powell role, but Universal refused to loan her out. Although the screenplay was then re-written for Powell, she makes an poor substitute. What's worse, she's very ineptly recorded here. She doesn't sing so much as screech.

At least Jeanette MacDonald's songs are more faithfully rendered, but acting-wise, she is stuck opposite the egotistic Iturbi, who not only stupidly insisted on using his real name for what is a character part (thus creating audience irritation and confusion), but on making believe that he conducted the M-G-M studio orchestra from his piano. In actual fact, of course, Georgie Stoll conducted.

Despite his competent piano-playing, Iturbi is such a thorough pain-in-the-neck, he builds up little sympathy.

OTHER VIEWS: A thin, crawling story of mother love and second romance which leaves one bleary-eyed and exhausted from bright colors and dull, girlish talk. - New York Herald Tribune.

Something you want to see over and over again.

[Gregoire · 10/10 · 3 December 1999]

It makes you wonder why Jane Powell did not pursue a career in opera. As as Jeannette MacDonald was, Jane Powell outshines her in this movie. Jose Iturbi is a superb pianist and conductor and shows good acting talent. Edward Arnold is a classic, excellent actor. Any movie that he is in is good. It was interesting to see the "Father Knows Best" girl, Eleanor Donohue in such an early role for her.

At times, almost like two parallel movies...and one is much better than the other.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 30 March 2020]

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.

A rose colored look at divorce and single parent living

[chakarlu · 3/10 · 11 November 2004]

"Three Daring Daughters" is a sickly sweet, rose-colored look at divorce, remarriage, and single-parent living. Obviously, social issues and economic difficulty have no place in the picture perfect life of a single parent mother who feels exhausted, takes a cruise, and then dates and marries a band conductor. Even when the "its just a movie" phrase excuses the script from addressing real-life problems, 'Daughters' suffers from too many incoherent high-note songs, children whose personalities are not based on real children and band leader Hose Iturbi playing himself. Isn't it bizarre that any real person would star in a film in which their supposed real self gets married?

Admittedly, this movie was released in the nineteen forties. Only a love for old style Hollywood romance and comedy could make 'Daughters' a tolerable film.

Greshem"s Law Once Again

[rsternesq · 10/10 · 13 May 2012]

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.

LONG musical. should have been 90 mins.

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 14 December 2021]

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.

Silly Movie, Strange Casting

[madfashionista · 4/10 · 30 March 2020]

This is a by-the-numbers MGM musical, starring Jeanette MacDonald. She was nearing the end of her tenure as a major star. She plays a divorced mother who, after suffering a nervous breakdown, takes a ship to Cuba. On this ship, she meets and falls in love with...Jose Iturbi, playing himself. Why? Why doesn't his character have a name? Jose Iturbi was most emphatically married, with children to boot! Plus, he can't act, even playing himself. MacDonald soldiers on although she must have known that this was even sillier than the worst of her Eddy/MacDonald outings. The rest of the cast does what they can with the material they're given.

There are four writers credited for the uninspired script. MacDonald sings, which is always a joy. Up and comer Jane Powell plays her oldest daughter who also sings. The main pleasure is Jeanette and her gorgeous Technicolor wardrobe. As I am a major Jeanette MacDonald fan this film was to put it mildly a disappointment.

Cute movie

[gkeith_1 · 20 June 2007]

I am a soprano, so I like seeing movies with Jeanette MacDonald and Jane Powell. I enjoyed seeing the young Elinor Donahue; what a nice surprise. Movie shows working mother putting in lots of hours for her daughters, and even becoming ill and not attending the graduation. The mother deserves to be happy, but the girls tend to be selfish and never realize mama needs a life of her own. Their noses are certainly out of joint when mother gets remarried. They pull the usual "rude to the new step-parent" routine, but all gets resolved later. I enjoyed seeing Jose Iturbi being a major character, and not just a famous bandleader in the background like in some of his other movies.

10/10

An interesting movie

[richard-1787 · 5/10 · 3 July 2013]

This is not, by any means, a great movie. In fact, if it had starred some anglo American male in the male lead, it probably would be of no interest whatsoever.

But that's not the case. It stars the Spanish pianist José Iturbí, with whom the very Caucasian Jeanette MacDonald falls in love and marries. That never once enters into the dialogue when MacDonald's three daughters object to the marriage, but it probably entered into the minds of more than one of the audience of the time.

And yet, it truly is not an issue in the movie.

Which makes this very interesting for its day.

Other than the "racial" issue, it's an OK, undistinguished flick. We get to see a lot of Iturbí playing the piano, which is fun. He was neither handsome nor a great actor, but he was a fine pianist, and he gets a series of real blockbuster numbers.

MacDonald doesn't get to sing much, and gets no romantic duets, which is a real change from her previous films.

Jane Powell is fine in her numbers, but undistinguished.

See it for the non-issue.

Two Many Husbands

[lugonian · 8/10 · 3 February 2019]

THREE DARING DAUGHTERS (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1948), directed by Fred M. Wilcox, is a family friendly musical/comedy starring Jeanette MacDonald in her first starring role in a motion picture since CAIRO (MGM, 1942) opposite Robert Young. Though most notable for her eight screen operettas opposite Nelson Eddy from 1935 to 1942, MacDonald by the time was simply a name of the past. Unlike MGM's star leading ladies as Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer, who both ended their careers in mediocre comedies by 1941-42, and unlike Joan Crawford who departed the studio by 1943 to make a triumph comeback and Academy Award winning performance for MILDRED PIERCE (Warner Brothers, 1945), MacDonald made her comeback in this Technicolor up-to-date story playing the mother of three daring daughters, the eldest played by Jane Powell, following her MGM debut success with HOLIDAY IN MEXICO (1946).

Opening at a graduation ceremony at Miss Drake''s School for Girls, Tess (Jane Powell), the graduate, sings along with classmates with piano accompaniment by her middle sister, Ilka (Ann E. Todd). Tess notices her younger sister, Alix (Mary-Eleanor Donahue) in attendance, but wonders why her mother has not arrived yet. Next scene shows their mother, Louise Rayton Morgan (Jeanette MacDonald), editor of Modern Design Publications in New York City, awaken from a faint. Her doctor, Howard Cannon (Harry Davenport) diagnoses to her publisher,. Mr. Howard (Thurston Hall) that she has suffered a nervous breakdown. After arriving late at the graduation, Louise is rushed home. The doctor informs her daughters that their mother is in need of rest and relaxation, prescribing an ocean cruise, but without them. Wanting their mother to get well, they agree to the separation. Being left under the care of their housekeeper, Jonesy (Kathryn Card), Louise sets sail on the S.S. Cubana bound for Cuba. She soon makes the acquaintance of Mrs. Smith (Monya MacGill). Spotting concert pianist Jose Iturbi (Jose Iturbi) also on board, she invites him over. Their meeting finds Jose taking an interest more on Mrs. Morgan. Discovering she's divorced, he not only becomes her escort, but becomes her husband. Keeping her marriage a secret from her daughters, Louise is shocked to learn that, hoping that she and their father, Edward Morgan, would get together again, have arranged for him to come home, compliments of his employer, Robert Nelson (Edward Arnold), a millionaire business tycoon. What the girls don't know is that their father abandoned them years ago, and Louise finds herself torn between two husbands, a concert pianist and a foreign correspondent, whose paths might meet and stir up confusion for the children. The supporting players include: Tom Helmore (Michael Pemberton), Charles Coleman (The Butler), Dick Simmons (Mr. Hollow), and Virginia Brissac (Miss Drake). Harmonica player, Larry Adler, and pianist, Amparo Iturbi appear as themselves performing during Iturbi's concert performances.

The motion picture soundtrack is as follows: "Alma Mater," "Fleurette" (by Victor Herbert); "The Turkish March" (by Wolfgang Mozart); "The Dicky Bird Song" (by Sammy Fain and Howard Dietz); "Passepied," "Liebestraum" (by Franz Liszt); "Where There's Love," "Ohne Mich Ohue Michjear Tag Dir Zu Lang," "Ritual Fire Dance," "You Made Me Love You" (by James Monaco and Joe McCarthy); "Happy Birthday," "Je Veux Vivre Daus Gedeve" by Georges Enesco; "Feliz Cupliano" (Happy Birthday in Spanish); "Roumanian Rhapsody # 1," "Hungarian Rhapsody" "Sweethearts" (sung by Jeanette MacDonald); "Allegro Appasionajo" (by Camille St. Saga); "Route 66" by Bob Troup; "Spring Time" Tchiakovsky's Fourth Symphony No. 4", "Movement CDA" and "The Dickie Bird Song."

The plot to THREE DARING DAUGHTERS seems reminiscent to those Deanna Durbin musicals for Universal in the late 1930s, especially her debut lead in THREE SMART GIRLS (1936). Compliments of Joe Pasternak, who also produced those Durbin entries, would find similarities, though this not a remake but only a rehash with different elements involved. While Jeanette MacDonald's presence gives this production a nostalgic feel to those who remember her fondly a decade ago, Jane Powell's youthful presence provides for the younger viewers of the day. With MacDonald and Powell both accomplished sopranos, watching them duet together is a delight, especially their solo number of "Spring Time" with Powell's tender hold over MacDonald's shoulder showing her great admiration to this living legend. Ann E. Todd and Mary Eleanor Donahue are splendid as the younger daughters/sisters. It's a total surprise to find the adorable looking Donahue is the same television actress, Elinor Donahue, of television's "Father Knows Best" (1954-1960), the first season of "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-1961), and other television roles. As much as this being a 1948 release, the telegrams dated 1946, along with movie marque of COURAGE OF LASSIE and NO LEAVE, NO LOVE, both 1946 releases, indicate THREE DARING DAUGHTERS was obviously produced that very same year.

Though THREE DARING DAUGHTERS tends to go on a bit too long at 114 minutes, with repeated elements of having Edward Morgan stay away or return home grows tiresome, it's a wonder why Jose Iturbi, who plays himself, didn't assume a character name like Jose E. Turbi, for example, so not to have movie audiences believe that the real Jose Iturbi married Jeanette MacDonald. For Iturbi's next film,. THAT MIDNIGHT KISS (1949), he acted under his own name, but no indication of having a wife and three daring daughters carried on from this film. Jeanette MacDonald has come a long way since her movie debut in THE LOVE PARADE (Paramount, 1929). With her two comeback performances, THE SUN COMES UP (1948) being her next and last, THREE DARING DAUGHTERS is the obviously the better of the two.

Formerly available on video cassette, and later DVD, THREE DARING DAUGHTERS can be seen and enjoyed whenever broadcast on cable television's Turner Classic Movies. (***1/2).

Too High Notes

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 4 July 2013]

Divorced soprano Jeanette MacDonald (as Louise Rayton Morgan) is unable to see eldest daughter Jane Powell (as Tess) graduate, in Technicolor, from "Miss Drake's School for Girls" due to feeling old and over-worked. Recovering from an apparent faint, Ms. MacDonald arrives in time to hear Ms. Powell shatter a few glasses with her own high-pitched voice. MacDonald appears pained. Powell, along with sisters Elinor Donahue (as Alix) and Ann B. Todd (as Ilka), hears the doctor order mother MacDonald take a restful vacation. The "Three Daring Daughters" decide to bring their "no good" father back into the family, but MacDonald wants to wed pianist Jose Iturbi (as Jose Iturbi), instead...

**** Three Daring Daughters (2/12/48) Fred M. Wilcox ~ Jeanette MacDonald, Jose Iturbi, Jane Powell, Elinor Donahue

Technicolor is the star of this film

[bbmtwist · 5/10 · 10 July 2014]

Jeannette MacDonald saw the writing on the wall when she was cast as a mother in her second to last film. She had ruled the MGM lot from 1934 to 1944, but now it was time for her to go.

She sings and acts admirably in this silly, contrived family romantic comedy, but she is matched by the up and coming youngster, Jane Powell, who would, after this passing of the torch film, rule the MGM musical lot for another decade.

It's a silly film, based on a lie - MacDonald's character has never told her three daughters the truth about their uncaring father, and so she is responsible for their incomprehension of her re-marrying and so act accordingly in trying to bring their father back into their lives.

All act earnestly and it is shot in absolutely gorgeous Technicolor. Still, despite its warm intentions, it comes across as a bit twee. Why did the stupid screenwriters use Iturbi as himself. Hadn't he a private life? How could he be considered as married to this fictional woman? How much easier to simply give him a fictional character to play as they did Miss MacDonald? One of those MGM mistakes that can never be ironed out.

Iturbi does as well as a non-actor can, but his inability to play a physically and emotionally attractive character makes MacDonald's character choice of a new husband ho-hum for audiences.

Ann B. Todd is quite serious as the second daughter and Elinor Donaghue ( who later would be known coast to coast as the eldest daughter of the TV series, Father Knows Best) does well as the youngster.

It's not a bad film, it's just a competent one. Almost the last glimpse of MacDonald, still radiant and in top form at the end of her career.

The greatest soprano of them all is a lady in the dark.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 24 April 2024]

Playing a much more serious role than ever, Jeanette MacDonald makes me wonder how she would have been as Liza Elliott in Kurt Weill's "Lady in the Dark". Is imagine her bumping and grinding to "Jenny", and singing the poignant "My Ship". As Louise Rayton Morgan, she's the exhausted publisher of a ladies magazine, and unlike Liza, has been through marriage (now divorced), and has three daughters she is often too exhausted to visit with.

Her ex is supposedly working somewhere in Europe, and the three daughters (Jane Powell, Ann E. Todd and Elinor Donahue) are trying to find him to reconcile the family. They contact his supposed boss (Edward Arnold), unaware that he may not be whom their mother claims him to be. MacDonald is busy on her restful cruise singing and dancing with famous pianist Jose Iturbi. I wish MacDonald and Powell had more scenes together. It's a sadly wasted opportunity.

Not really memorable musically other than for a few ballads sung by MacDonald and Powell, this is sadly rather dull and overly long, only lightening up for a few moments of frivolity. Kathryn Card ("I Love Lucy") is funny as the housekeeper who secretly knows the coded language the three girls speak around her, and Harry Davenport is loveable as always as the grandfatherly doctor who sends MacDonald on the cruise. Special credit must go to Moya McGill who plays her obnoxious, gossipy pal, and if you notice a similarity to Angela Lansbury, there's good reason. She's her mother! But this film needed a good trimming to be really memorable, going on nearly half an hour too long.