Three on a Match (1932)

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

John Bright (story)
Kubec Glasmon (story)

Release Date:

29 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Although Vivian Revere is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery and drugs.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Lawyer | Secretary | Jazz | Cocaine Addict

Cast

Virginia Davis	...	Mary Keaton as a Child
Joan Blondell	...	Mary Keaton, aka Mary Bernard
Anne Shirley	...	Vivian Revere as a Child (as Dawn O'Day)
Ann Dvorak	...	Vivian Revere Kirkwood
Betty Carse	...	Ruth Wescott as a child (misspelled Westcott in opening credits)
Bette Davis	...	Ruth Wescott (misspelled Westcott in opening credits)
Warren William	...	Robert Kirkwood
Lyle Talbot	...	Michael Loftus
Humphrey Bogart	...	Harve
Allen Jenkins	...	Dick
Edward Arnold	...	Ace

Runtime:

63 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Vitaphone

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1933) (uncut version) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

The title refers to the superstition that if three people light their cigarettes with the same match, the third person will soon die. While some attribute the superstition to World War I, where it was sometimes thought that lighting a match long enough to light three cigarettes would attract enemy gunfire, it is now known that a match company "created" the superstition to cut down on sharing of matches and thus increase sales.

Quotes:

Harve: For one thing he expects a check to lay there when he puts it down. Yeah, and mine bounces hard.
Michael Loftus: Did it?
Harve: Did it bounce? You drop a golf ball from the top of the Chrysler Buildin'. Will it bounce? Come on!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bogart: The Untold Story (1996) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Someone to Care For

Bizarre, Totally Captivating Potboiler

"Three on a Match" is one of those Pre-Code Hollywood movies that surprised me with its candid treatment of real-life situations. The film revolves around three childhood friends who take distinctly different paths in life. Joan Blondell is a sharp-tongued chorus girl, Ann Dvorak is the wife of a prominent city lawyer and Bette Davis is a hard working stenographer. The lives of the girls don't cross until tragic events bring them together. Blondell has the biggest part, but it is Dovak who steals the film as a spoiled high society woman who turns into a nymphomaniac and drug addict. Davis' role is very small and she is practically a non-existent presence in the film; based on the evidence presented here it is hard to believe that her career will eventually overshadow Blondell's and Dvorak's. The supporting cast is excellent. Warren William plays Dvorak's wealthy husband, Edward Arnold is a seedy gangster and Humphrey Bogart is Arnold's henchman. It is filled with sassy dialogue, and scenes of candid sexuality (Davis appears in one scene wearing lovely see-through undies). The film's ending left me with my mouth wide open. This is what I call a shocking finale! Mervyn LeRoy's direction has zest. A wonderful early talkie before the Hays Office spoiled the fun. Highly recommended!