Three for the Show is a 1955 Technicolor and in CinemaScope musical comedy remake of Too Many Husbands. It stars actress Betty Grable, in her last musical, opposite Jack Lemmon, Gower Champion and Marge Champion. It is based on the 1919 play Home and Beauty by W. Somerset Maugham, which was retitled to Too Many Husbands when it came to New York.[2]
| Three for the Show | |
|---|---|
Poster | |
| Directed by | H. C. Potter |
| Written by | Edward Hope Leonard B. Stern |
| Based on | Home and Beauty by W. Somerset Maugham |
| Produced by | Jonie Taps |
| Starring | Betty Grable Jack Lemmon Gower Champion Marge Champion |
| Cinematography | Arthur E. Arling |
| Edited by | Viola Lawrence |
| Music by | George Duning |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes 89 minutes (Sony print) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.25 million (US)[1] |
Plot
editSinging-and-dancing stage star Julie (Betty Grable) is told that husband Marty (Jack Lemmon) is reported missing in action during the Korean War. After a long waiting period, she makes plans to marry Vernon (Gower Champion), who is Marty's best friend. After the marriage, Marty (who crashed but survived on an island) turns up at one of Julie's shows. Upon discovering Julie's new marriage, Marty demands his rights as her first husband.
Julie finds that she is legally married to both Marty and Vernon. She soon realises that she must choose who she wants to be with, if only to avoid being branded a bigamist. But Julie loves the idea of having two husbands and so she decides to try to live with them both, to the annoyance and disapproval of Marty and Vernon who both know that her idea will not work out.
Meanwhile, Julie's close friend Gwen (Marge Champion) has a secret crush on Marty and hopes to be with him, if only Julie could make her up mind as to who she wants. After a long serious decision and a talk with them both, Julie decides that she is more in love with Marty and she leaves Vernon, who has now fallen for Gwen.
Cast
edit- Betty Grable as Julie Lowndes
- Jack Lemmon as Martin 'Marty' Stewart
- Gower Champion as Vernon Lowndes
- Marge Champion as Gwen Howard
- Myron McCormick as Mike Hudson
- Paul Harvey as Col. Harold J. Wharton
- Robert Bice as Sgt. Charlie O'Hallihan
- Charlotte Lawrence as Miss Williams
Reception
editThe New York Times called the film a "slight but cheerful item" and said "Three for the Show does serve to bring Betty Grable back to the screen. Luminously blonde and shapely enough to give the megrims to most of the readers of fan magazines, Miss Grable proves she can fill a musical, assignment as neatly as she does her pleasantly revealing wardrobe.[3]
Songs
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See also
edit- List of American films of 1955
- My Favorite Wife, a 1940 film, in which it is the wife (played by Irene Dunne) who returns, just as her husband (Cary Grant) embarks on his honeymoon
- Move Over, Darling, the 1963 remake of My Favorite Wife, starring Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen
References
edit- ^ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956
- ^ Mordden, Ethan (2007). All That Glittered: The Golden Age of Drama on Broadway, 1919-1959. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-312-33898-5.
- ^ "Screen: Betty Grable Is Back; Three for the Show Opens at the Roxy". The New York Times. February 25, 1955. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
- ^ pp.283-284 Sudhalter, Richard M. Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael Oxford University Press, 2003