Three on a Match (1932)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

John Bright (story)
Kubec Glasmon (story)
(more)

Release Date:

29 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

After being apart for years three women, friends at school, meet and bring each other up to date on their lives...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Lawyer | Secretary | Self Sacrifice | Debt

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hardie Albright	...	Phil (uncredited)
Herman Bing	...	Prof. Irving Finklestein (uncredited)
Clara Blandick	...	Mrs. Keaton (uncredited)
Dick Brandon	...	Horace (uncredited)
Ann Brody	...	Mrs. Goldberg (uncredited)
Spencer Charters	...	Street Cleaner (uncredited)
Frankie Darro	...	Bobby (uncredited)
Mary Doran	...	Prisoner at Checkers Table (uncredited)
Patricia Ellis	...	Linda (uncredited)
Glenda Farrell	...	Mrs. Black, Prisoner at Checkers Table (uncredited)
Blanche Friderici	...	Miss Blazer (uncredited)
June Gittelson	...	Fat Prisoner (uncredited)
Hale Hamilton	...	Defense Attorney (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Junior Johnson	...	Max (uncredited)
Jack La Rue	...	Ace's Henchman (uncredited)
John Marston	...	Detective Randall (uncredited)
Sidney Miller	...	Willie Goldberg (uncredited)
Grant Mitchell	...	Mr. Gilmore (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Telegraph Operator (uncredited)
Buster Phelps	...	Robert Kirkwood Jr. (uncredited)
Stanley Price	...	Ace's Henchman (uncredited)
Harry Seymour	...	Jerry Carter (uncredited)
Sheila Terry	...	Naomi, Kirkwood's Secretary (uncredited)
Adele Watson	...	Ship's Nurse (uncredited)
Jack Webb	...	Boy in schoolyard (uncredited)

Directed by
Mervyn LeRoy

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Bright		story
Kubec Glasmon		story
Lucien Hubbard		writer

Produced by
Samuel Bischoff	....	producer (uncredited)
Raymond Griffith	....	supervising producer (uncredited)
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Sol Polito

Film Editing by
Ray Curtiss

Art Direction by
Robert M. Haas		(as Robert Haas)

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	conductor: Vitaphone Orchestra
Ray Heindorf	....	music arranger: orchestral music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• First National Pictures
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1932) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (video)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

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:

Ruth Wescott: It must be a grand feeling to get everything you want.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Stars and Stripes Forever

Short Film Full Of Surprises

This was a fast-paced 63-minute story that was a combination women's film and film noir. With a cast that included Joan Blondell, Warren William, Ann Dvorak, Lyle Talbot, Bette Davis, Edward Arnold and Anne Shirley, you know it isn't going to be boring.

Dvorak has the principal role, playing a "dame" who is bored with her husband and her life and flies the coop. She winds up with a petty crook who needs money to pay off off his evil crime boss. The couple winds up in a kidnapping scheme which goes bad in a scene that is quite shocking.

The lingo of the day is interesting to hear as is Davis' youthful face. Arnold also looks really young, far more than I remember seeing him in other movies. Speaking of young, did I mention Humphrey Bogart and Glenda Farrell were also in this? Yes, it's full of surprises for classic film buffs. In another note: Shirley is billed under the name "Dawn O'Day."

I am glad this is now available on DVD. It looks great!