Three for the Show (1955)

A widowed singer marries her late husband's songwriting partner, which leads to trouble when her first husband turns up very much alive.

Director:

H.C. Potter

Writers:

Edward Hope (screenplay), Leonard Stern (screenplay)

Stars:

Betty Grable, Marge Champion, Gower Champion

Cast

Cast overview:
Betty Grable	...	Julie Lowndes
Marge Champion	...	Gwen Howard
Gower Champion	...	Vernon Lowndes
Jack Lemmon	...	Martin 'Marty' Stewart
Myron McCormick	...	Mike Hudson

Storyline

This musical reworking of TOO MANY HUSBANDS (1940), features Grable as a top singer and dancer who's been widowed by WW II. She marries her late husband's songwriting partner, Gower Champion, but the new marriage is thrown for a loop when Lemmon, her first husband, turns up very much alive and eager to see Grable.

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Plot Keywords:

remake | based on play | color remake of black and white film | killed in action | feud | 

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Taglines:

LET'S GO! TO THE YEAR'S TOP MUSICAL SHOW! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Pleasure Is All Mine

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" aria #4 & #5 were played during fighting dance song.

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Quotes

Gwen Howard: I wonder what kind of champagne I should order.
Vernon Lowndes: Depends what you're launching.

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Connections

Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon (1988)

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Soundtracks

I've Been Kissed Before
Words and Music by Bob Russell and Lester Lee
Performed by Betty Grable (uncredited)

User Reviews

"The Original Two For One Girl"

What an interesting pedigree Three For The Show had, dating all the way back to 1920 when W. Somerset Maugham's play Too Many Husbands debuted on Broadway with a long forgotten cast. It had a military background instead of a show business one, though the military does figure prominently in the plot.

Collaborators Jack Lemmon and Gower Champion have a hit show on Broadway for producer Myron McCormick that stars Betty Grable. Lemmon goes into the Air Force during the Korean War and goes MIA. He's reported killed and Grable who was married to Lemmon, now marries Champion. Then of course Lemmon returns and they've a situation the reverse of My Favorite Wife.

In the meantime poor Marge Champion is champing at the bit because she's got a thing for Gower. I think you can figure out where this one is going.

The numbers come from a variety of sources, some original, some Broadway, some classical. Betty Grable in what proved to be her next to last film did more serious type dancing here than in any other. But next to the Champions, she really did not look that good. It was unfair to cast her with them.

Grable also did not like working for Harry Cohn, she was used to another imperious studio mogul over at 20th Century Fox who had kind of eased her out of her number one spot for the fast rising Marilyn Monroe. But she thought he was a pussycat next to Cohn. Two For The Show was Betty's first outside film after 14 year at Fox.

Jack Lemmon proved to have a couple of good singing notes as he does accompany the rest on a number or two. He liked working with Grable because he felt she was unpretentious with a good sense of humor as apparently a lot of her colleagues did.

As a film though, Three For The Show will never rank first rate in the work of either Lemmon or Grable.