Three Smart Girls (1936) - Henry Koster 

A film very charming at times and hard on the ear drums. Deanna Durbin might have a voice, but lord it is high, and with three shrieking young ladies in the cast, blood will surely run from your ear drums. Now the plot is so easy to figure out, its a little shocking to the average man's intelligence. Girl's divorced father plans on remarrying, the girls want him back with their mother. Of course things are made horrifically easy because the new bride to be is an intolerable gold digger. Things are simple here, characters are good or bad, everyone falls in love, except for Durbin. Her character is meant to be innocent and young, and she doesn't even pretend to be interested in a man. In fact she doesn't even have a hidden crush here. Instead her love affair is with singing, and the picture makes several excuses to get her into song without necessarily being a musical. Now I found the chemistry between the sisters great, and liked some of the characters, but this is certainly light entertainment. Durbin was originally rejected by MGM as part of a double act with Judy Garland. She then went to Universal where this film is credited with saving the studio from bankruptcy, although who knows how much truth is in that. The film was followed by a sequel 3 years later called Three Smart Girls Grow Up, and Durbin's next film 100 Men and a Girl was nominated for a best picture Oscar the next year.

*Three Smart Girls was nominated for best picture, best original story, and best sound.