Three of a Kind

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.

Richard Carle doesn't want his daughter, Evalyn Knapp, marrying Bradley Paige, because he's a lazy confidence man and Bradley Page besides. Meanwhile, Chick Chandler gets a thousand-dollar bonus from Carle's laundry, and quits to enjoy a bit of the high life. He gets evening clothes and buys Miss Knapp's car, stolen by con man Berton Churchill and his daughter, Patricia Farr, leaving Miss Knapp to be picked up by Chandler in her stolen car and taken to a resort, where all them them pretend to be each other, except for Carle.

It's certainly an appealing outline for a screwball comedy, but director Phil Rosen can't get them up to speed for the insanity to roll. Churchill, in his deliberate manner, has the best pacing; Miss Farr starts out too slow, although she improves by the end, and Miss Knapp seems to be channeling Myrna Loy, but without any snap.

It's a puzzlement, because all of these performers have shown themselves to be capable farceurs in other movies. I imagine the problem lies in a combination of slowing down the performances to bring the movie up to decent second-feature length, concerns over the audience understanding what was going on, and lack of rehearsal time. Rosen directed nine other Poverty Row movies that year. That couldn't have helped. The result is an amusing, but far less interesting a movie than it should have been.

"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.

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.