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

  (Complete credited 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:

Scenes of frenzy caused by the enactment of Prohibition were originally used in The Public Enemy (1931).

Quotes:

Mary Keaton, aka Mary Bernard: You're a fool, Vivian. Take it from someone who's been one.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

National Emblem

Fast-moving and somewhat racy

The title is based on a saying that if three people share a match tragedy follows.

Story of three woman--Mary (Joan Blondell), Vivian (Ann Dvorak) and Ruth (Bette Davis). They are friends in grade school but go their own separate ways--Mary ends up in jail, Vivian marries a wealthy husband and Ruth becomes a stenographer. Ten years after school they meet and share a match--and tragedy follows. There's a LOT more to this but I won't spoil it by giving it away.

This moves VERY quickly--so fast that you don't have time to question some of the more silly aspects of the story. It's also pretty potent (this was made pre-Code) with some fairly graphic scenes toward the end. The acting is basically pretty good except for Davis. She's pretty terrible--but this was one of her first films. Even she dismissed this in later years. Blondell however is great and Dvorak is just perfect. She has some difficult scenes to play and pulls them off. Lyle Talbot is also very good (and very handsome) as Michael. There's also a pre-stardom Humphrey Bogart (looking surprisingly young) playing a vicious hood.

Fast, racy and loads of fun. Just don't think about it too much afterwards. I give it an 8.