Three of a Kind

I'm fascinated by the wonderful character actors in so many of the '30s and '40s B movies, and they had me laughing all through this. I especially loved Carle -- he totally inhabits the part and his character in consistent in every scene he's in. Bigger stars and a bigger budget might have made a movie that was a big hit instead of simply charming, but that would have been a very different movie. For me, I was again impressed with what creativity and very good character actors having fun with their parts could create on a small budget. Like so many of the B's, it has lots of small delights. I started watching it with a smile and by the end, was chuckling at every scene.

"Three of a Kind" is a cute comedy...but it's also one you need to pay attention to as it runs. So, don't do housework or your taxes while you're watching this one!

Barbara Penfield (Evelyn Knapp) is a spoiled and headstrong rich girl. Her father owns a cleaning company and is worth a fortune. However, Barbara is also a bit dim. Everyone around her knows that Barbara's boyfriend is a cheap swindler....yet she insists on helping him with his latest get rich venture. She tries to get her father to invest in the scheme...but he absolutely refuses. So, she plans on selling her lovely new car and giving the money to her worthless boyfriend. However, her plan starts running amok while she's trying to sell her car. You see, a con-man (Berton Churchill) sells the car while she's test driving a replacement car....and the guy who buys it is a nice guy who just insulted Mr. Penfield and quit his job working for him. Does it get more complicated....you betcha...a lot more complicated. There's also the Kentucky Colonel and his daughter and Mr. Penfield shows up and then there are the cases of mistaken identity. I am sure you kinda get the idea.

The film is quite clever and while I would never call it a laugh out loud sort of picture, it is very good and well worth seeing.

Not far into "Three of a Kind," one can't help but think what a great comedy this could have been with a few changes. First, a screenplay rewrite to strengthen it. Second, some cast changes, with any or all of the following. Cary Grant or Fred MacMurray in the Jerry Bassett role. E.E. Horton or Ed Arnold in the Rodney Randall role. Edmund Gwenn as Con Cornelius, and Clarence Kolb or Eugene Pallette as Thorndyke Penfield. Carole Lombard or Constance Bennett as Barbara Penfield. And, Una Merkel in the Prudence Cornelius role.

Of course, to have gotten all of that, it would take a major studio. In the 1930s, those were Paramount, MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, RKO, Columbia, and Universal. Only they would have had the cash for stories and screenplays, the top writers, the physical plants and top technical artists, and the bevy of stars and actors. This film is a good example of the output of many films from the Poverty Row studios of Hollywood through the 1940s. Invincible Pictures Corporation made just 31 films from 1932-36. And, its distributor, Chesterfield Motion Picture Corporation handled just 120 films from 125 to 1936. It was absorbed by Republic Pictures which began in 1935 and it lasted until 1967.

The plot for this film is a dynamite one. In the hands of a major studio with appropriate casting, writing, direction and technical work, this could have been a smashing comedy. As it is, it's barely passable. Most of the cast couldn't act in major feature films. The only role played fairly well is Berton Churchill as Con Cornelius. Evalyn Knapp is at times amateurish and Chick Chandler is either stiff or undecided most of the time. Bradley Page is stiff and lifeless as a board in the Rodney Randall role. Richard Carle's Thorndyke Penfield is far too nervous with his whining and shrill utterances..

Again, in the hands of top talent and a major studio, this could have been a very big comedy hit. My five stars are mostly for the originality of the story as a great comedy idea.

Congested little comedy from budget-minded Invincible Productions. The chuckles, such as they are, come mainly from occasional funny lines, while actor Churchill blusters his way through the generally unfunny. The best part is the first where laundry tyrant Penfield is shown as a fumbling hypocrite. His attempted turn around from uncaring to caring while addressing employees is humorously revealing and central to the premise. Then too, the amusing used car set-up shows buyer and seller trying to out-fox each other at a time when 500 bucks was a small fortune. In fact, the subtext amounts to a 30's era attack on class deceit, as the various confidence schemes show big money pretenders trying to bilk one another, while ordinary folks struggle along. And that's after a sympathetic character has ironically committed to hard work as the key to getting ahead.

Anyway, nothing special here, even though leading lady Knapp shows real presence. Too bad she left the industry while still young. All in all, the flick's mainly a 30's cheapie with better production talent than results.

I just want to give this little movie a warm mention, as I found it to be a bright piece of fun with careful and consistent characterizations by especially Richard Carle as the laundry tycoon and the well-presented and appealing Evelyn Knapp as his daughter. Those two actors even fittingly display similarly unusual voice patterns in their performances. The movie's settings, whether indoors or out of doors, and the costuming and vehicles in view give a glimpse into what the world of the 1930s was like for some folks at that time. The movie just has kind of a clean and good-natured look and feel to it and this watcher felt as though he took a trip back to that time for a while. No mistaking that it is a B-picture, I enjoyed the film quite a lot.