Tom, Dick and Harry

In fact everyone is at the top of their form in this wonderfully entertaining movie, but Ginger has never been better. Even Alan Marshall, who frequently came across in films as being a little on the smarmy side, is quite likeable here. And Phil Silvers is wonderfully obnoxious as the ice-cream salesman.

It is interesting to compare this film with it's 1957 remake "The Girl Most Likely", which apart from its musical numbers sticks pretty close to the original. Now "The Girl Most Likely" is quite an entertaining film in itself, and Jane Powell is certainly a talent not to be sneezed at. But having seen both films a number of times it always surprises me just how much better "Tom, Dick and Harry" is, and how flat "The Girl Most Likely" seems in comparison. Garson Kanin has somehow managed to infuse a lightness and subtlety of wit into the original which seems to have eluded Mitchell Leisen in the remake. And of course the three male leads in "The Girl Most Likely" don't hold a candle to the three male leads here.

This is a silly movie, to the point that Ginger Rogers' character blurts out "This is Ridiculous!" at one point close to the end. But it also has the self awareness to not take things too far. Rather it brings things to the brink of absurdity and stops just before going off the cliff. Rogers' performance is solid as the clueless Janie who must decide between three suitors. Murphy, Marshal, and Meredith turn in good performances as well as their respective characters Tom, Dick, and Harry. Meredith, as Harry, stands out among the three. The plot also revolves around the whirlwind courtship and marriage theme that is common in wartime movies. Viewers looking for a heavier more realistic romance should look to something like Roger's 1944 movie "I'll be Seeing You" where she plays a completely different character. But if you're in the mood for a whimsical, light-hearted hearted comedy to take your mind off the news, you could do much worse than Tom, Dick, and Harry.

The expression "Tom, Dick and Harry" is a commonly-used colloquialism in English, meaning "everybody" or "anybody", but this film is about three men who just happen to have those names. The main character is Janie, a young woman who works in a telephone exchange and who has the sort of obliging personality which means she just can't say "no" to anybody, especially a good-looking young man. So it happens that she ends up engaged to three men from three different social backgrounds at the same time, middle-class car salesman Tom, working-class garage mechanic Harry and upper-class Dick, the son of the local millionaire. All three are young and good-looking, but all have their drawbacks; Tom is a bit too staid and conservative, Harry a bit too eccentric and Dick a bit too smooth and slick.

There's not really a lot more to the plot than that, apart from waiting to see which of the three men Janie will eventually end up marrying. In real life, of course, no woman would ever behave like this unless she were either a heartless flirt or not quite right in the head, but this is a screwball comedy, a film genre which acknowledges the existence of real life but does not consider itself bound by the rules and conventions that prevail there. It is, however, a tribute to Ginger Rogers' comedic talents that she manages to make her character seem not only plausible but also reasonably sympathetic.

Even in 1941 this film was probably not seen as anything more than a light-hearted bit of trivia, although it does manage a serious bit of political comment when a cinema audience are shown booing a newsreel showing Hitler. (The film was made before Pearl Harbor, but Hollywood had declared war on the Third Reich long before Washington followed suit). It is made in the "filmed theatre" style popular for low-budget films of the period- more dialogue than action, most scenes taking place indoors and everything seemingly filmed on one camera with no cross- cutting or tricky camera work. Today it is largely forgotten, but Ginger manages to invest it with enough period charm to make it (just about) worth watching. 6/10

There are so many great films in the comedy, romance and fantasy genres individually and there are some great ones that combine all three. It is interesting when any film combines all three, and luckily the three do gel well together and when done well the effect is not tonally muddled or disjointed. Another interest point was seeing Ginger Rogers, most famous for her legendary dance partnership with Fred Astaire, in one of her non-dancing roles.

While falling short of being a great film, 'Tom, Dick and Harry' did entertain and charm me as an overall whole. Much more so than the simplistic title indicates. Not everything comes off well, with one problem being major enough sadly to stop me from getting fully invested in the film. The reason for the above average rating though is because there are a lot of good things in 'Tom, Dick and Harry', and those good things manage to be so good.

Am going to begin with what doesn't quite work. One doesn't really see this type of film for their stories, where one expects them to be lacking in surprises, very flimsy and with contrivances and silliness overkill. 'Tom, Dick and Harry' is no exception, with pretty much all of those things. Plus an ending that wraps things up too neatly.

More problematic though is that one never fully warms to the lead character, and we are talking about the character and not Rogers, a very unsubtle one and difficult to empathise with, at times we are even irritated. Consequently, it is neither fully easy to invest in the relationships or what her final decision and reasoning are.

However, there is a lot to enjoy still. Despite having problems with the character, Rogers herself is actually marvellous, throwing herself into the role with sparkling comic timing and forthright commitment while injecting some charm. The male characters could have done with more development perhaps, but the titular characters are all well played. Especially Burgess Meredith as Harry. A pleasant surprise too was how Phil Silvers managed to make an obnoxious character amusing and surprisingly endearing, two words that usually don't belong in the same sentence as that. The direction has energy and the right lightness of touch and doesn't feel heavy or static.

It looks very nice as a film, especially Rogers' clothes (which she looks stunning in) and the imaginative photography in the enchanting and wonderfully weird dream sequences. The music fits well tonally and doesn't intrude. Throughout the dialogue sparkles in its wit and there are more than a fair share of funny, if not quite hilarious, moments that come rolling fast. The story is very flawed, but at least it didn't feel dull or strained to me and had a nice light on the feet energy.

On the whole, not great but pretty entertaining in its own way. 6/10

TOM DICK AND HARRY gives Ginger Rogers another chance to play an infantile woman (remember THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR, MONKEY BUSINESS and IT HAD TO BE YOU). It's a screwball comedy so it works (to a degree) but she sort of overdoes the job of making this girl a complete dumb-dumb. So, in the end, she makes the right choice when she must choose between three suitors.

She has to decide whether to marry a poor, down-on-his-luck bohemian (BURGESS MEREDITH), a wealthy playboy millionaire (ALAN MARSHAL), or a conservative square (GEORGE MURPHY). Considering that she has no brains whatsoever, she chooses--well, you have to see the movie to find out.

The cute ending provides an original twist to a decidedly unoriginal story which gets a boost from its personable cast. Rogers is delightful enough when she isn't being a bit irritating with her baby-voiced coyness, and the men are splendid as her bewildered suitors. Alan Marshal is much livelier than usual in his playboy role--so much so that you have to wonder why Hollywood didn't find better roles for him as a romantic lead.

Ginger's fans will love this one--but I couldn't help thinking she played it a little too dumb at times.

Summing up: A screwball comedy that could have used a brighter script but the dream sequences are well done, thanks to director Garson Canin's way with wacky comedy.