Unevenly distributed story of three school girls who cross paths again, as adults. Ann Dvorak (as Vivian Revere) is, arguably, the film's star; she plays a sensible, dark-haired beauty who seems to be on the receiving end of life's luckier breaks, but remains unsatisfied. Joan Blondell (as Mary Keaton) receives almost as much attention; she's a "bad girl" who becomes an actress after a stint in reform school. Ms. Blondell contrasts Ms. Dvorak by turning from "bad" to "good". Bette Davis (as Ruth Westcott) rounds out the trio; she's a sweet and sexy blonde, who fills in both swimsuit and secretarial pools.
Dvorak's unfulfilled, desperate housewife steals the high acting honors; her drug and alcohol drenched characterization is a triumph. Her 1932 performances in "Three on a Match" and "Scarface" might have earned Dvorak some "Best Actress" notice, if times were different. Interestingly, Ms. Davis' performance is adequate, but bland; while Blondell is heartfelt and likable. The three actresses illustrate perfectly how essential it is for a capable performer to get the good part; this is a lesson Davis learned very well -- she wasn't going to let the kind of distribution of roles evident in "Three on a Match" go on for long.
The men are almost as much fun as the women. Warren William is natural (and unrehearsed) as Dvorak's "perfect" husband, and tempting Lyle Talbot proves himself a sexy lure. Great gangsters include Humphrey Bogart as an intuitive "Harve", Allen Jenkins as a solid "Dick", and Edward Arnold as a sure "Ace". However, Buster Phelps' "Junior" is dreadfully out-of-place; as his performance belongs in a Shirley Temple film, not here; otherwise, Mervyn LeRoy's direction is outstanding. The film seems to put itself on "fast forward" much of the time, giving some of its flawed story elements an even more disjointed feeling.
Thankfully, the movie's title is explained therein: "The saying 'Three on a Match means one will die soon' did not originate in the war, where it was said that to hold a match burning long enough for three lights would attract enemy fire. It did originate with Ivar Kreuger, the Swedish match king, who wanted the world to use more matches. It is reported that the saying brings his companies $5,000,000 more revenue annually." You'll see which actress gets the third match.
******* Three on a Match (10/28/32) Mervyn LeRoy ~ Ann Dvorak, Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Warren William
Dvorak's unfulfilled, desperate housewife steals the high acting honors; her drug and alcohol drenched characterization is a triumph. Her 1932 performances in "Three on a Match" and "Scarface" might have earned Dvorak some "Best Actress" notice, if times were different. Interestingly, Ms. Davis' performance is adequate, but bland; while Blondell is heartfelt and likable. The three actresses illustrate perfectly how essential it is for a capable performer to get the good part; this is a lesson Davis learned very well -- she wasn't going to let the kind of distribution of roles evident in "Three on a Match" go on for long.
The men are almost as much fun as the women. Warren William is natural (and unrehearsed) as Dvorak's "perfect" husband, and tempting Lyle Talbot proves himself a sexy lure. Great gangsters include Humphrey Bogart as an intuitive "Harve", Allen Jenkins as a solid "Dick", and Edward Arnold as a sure "Ace". However, Buster Phelps' "Junior" is dreadfully out-of-place; as his performance belongs in a Shirley Temple film, not here; otherwise, Mervyn LeRoy's direction is outstanding. The film seems to put itself on "fast forward" much of the time, giving some of its flawed story elements an even more disjointed feeling.
Thankfully, the movie's title is explained therein: "The saying 'Three on a Match means one will die soon' did not originate in the war, where it was said that to hold a match burning long enough for three lights would attract enemy fire. It did originate with Ivar Kreuger, the Swedish match king, who wanted the world to use more matches. It is reported that the saying brings his companies $5,000,000 more revenue annually." You'll see which actress gets the third match.
******* Three on a Match (10/28/32) Mervyn LeRoy ~ Ann Dvorak, Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Warren William