Tom Dick and Harry (1941)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Garson Kanin

Writers:

Paul Jarrico (story) &
Paul Jarrico (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 June 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

It's the story of every girl who ever fell in love . . . More than once !

Plot:

Ginger Rogers, a telephone operator, is pursued by George Murphy (a down-to earth fellow), Alan Marshal...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Telephone Operator | Automobile | Beautiful Woman | Marriage Proposal

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Ginger Rogers	...	Janie
George Murphy	...	Tom
Alan Marshal	...	Dick
Burgess Meredith	...	Harry
Joe Cunningham	...	Pop
Jane Seymour	...	Ma
Lenore Lonergan	...	Barbara aka Butch
Vickie Lester	...	Paula (as Vicki Lester)
Phil Silvers	...	Phil - Ice Cream Vendor
Betty Breckenridge	...	Gertrude
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edward Colebrook	...	Stalled Car Driver (scenes deleted)
Dorothy Lloyd	...	Gypsy Oracle (scenes deleted)
Gertrude Short	...	Bridge Matron (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Tom, Dick and Harry (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #7136)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

In Janie's dream about marrying the rich Dick Hamilton, the front page of the newspaper announcing the nuptials also declares: "ADOLF HITLER ASSASSINATED ... World War End Expected as Hitler Slain ... Nazi Dictator Struck Down in Moscow".

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Girl Most Likely (1958)

Soundtrack:

Tom Collins

TOM, DICK AND HARRY (Garson Kanin, 1941) ***1/2

Ginger Rogers is delightful in one of her top films following the split from musical partner Fred Astaire. I still need to catch a few more of the star's vintage vehicles – BACHELOR MOTHER (1939; also helmed by Kanin), her Oscar-winning turn in KITTY FOYLE (1940) and ROXIE HART (1942); thankfully, the latter two are available on DVD.

The male leads here are somewhat undercast – though Burgess Meredith is fine (the others are played by George Murphy and Alan Marshal), and there's a brief but nice role for Phil Silvers as an "exuberant" ice-cream vendor. It was relaxing to watch this type of unassuming entertainment right after having sat through such demanding fare as Ingmar Bergman's WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957): that said, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this featured its own surreal (if basically comical) dream sequences!

The film's engaging premise – a girl has to choose between three suitors of contrasting temperament and social standing – isn't particularly original (three year later, Ginger Rogers herself would again be faced with the same task in the stylish musical comedy, LADY IN THE DARK)…but Kanin's bright treatment and Paul Jarrico's Oscar-nominated script (deftly mixing mild screwball sophistication with the traditionally homespun qualities of small-town life) make it great fun, even if the version I saw was dubbed in Italian. Perhaps the funniest gag is the casual newspaper announcement of Adolf Hitler's assassination (despite this film having been released prior to America's involvement in World War II) but, equally inspired, is the amusingly fanciful way by which Rogers' character is able to solve her boyfriend dilemma. For the record, the film was later musicalized as THE GIRL MOST LIKELY (1957) but, even if it was done under the guidance of a talented director like Mitchell Leisen, the cast was pitifully lackluster!