Three Daring Daughters (1948)

Touches You

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

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.

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.

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.

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.