Three Little Girls in Blue

Three Little Girls in Blue is a smooth and simple, musical fairy tale showcasing some clever and intricate lyrics by Mack Gordon to Joseph Myrow's music which enchant the viewer right at the opening on a New Jersey chicken farm ("A Farmer's Life Is a Very Merry Life") and recur at just the appropriate junctures thereafter and include the enduring favorite "You Make Me Feel So Young." Other plusses include an intelligently lighthearted script by a large team of writers, gorgeous color photography, artful lighting effects, witty directorial touches and the three beautifully costumed and coiffed leading ladies. The male leads are less impressive, though Charles Smith as an eccentric valet who falls for Vera-Ellen is the most surprising and delightful. V-E herself as one of the titular girls is given ample opportunity to show off her balletic and acrobatic dancing skills in lively but overly busy choreography. Celeste Holm appears late in the story as an acerbically articulate, wacky but goodhearted Southern belle who helps tie up the plot in good old-fashioned musical comedy style.

Three sisters (June Haver, Vivian Blaine and Vera-Ellen), working on their aunt's chicken farm in 1902 New Jersey, dream of a big inheritance after she passes--followed by a man-hunting vacation in Atlantic City!--but receive just under $3000. They decide to go anyway, with one sister posing as a wealthy lady and the other two as her servants (this doesn't make much sense, but let it pass). By their second night at a fancy hotel on the boardwalk, the gals already have men serenading them from the street! Charming Fox musical had quite a show business history--from Stephen Powys' play to 1938's "Three Blind Mice" to the Betty Grable remake, "Moon Over Miami", from 1941. The film also had some trouble behind-the-scenes with Bruce Humberstone replacing John Brahm as director and George Montgomery as a potential suitor replacing Victor Mature. The results, however, are breezy and the three leads enchanting. Note: clean Technicolor prints are scarce, with online and home media versions instead displaying muddy or blurry colors and fuzz on the soundtrack due to age. **1/2 from ****

20th Century Fox turned out plenty of musicals in the '30s and '40s, generally boasting the likes of Betty Grable, Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood, John Payne, and Sonja Henie. A rich roster of talent, but most of these were hampered by weak screenplays and weaker scores, often consisting mostly of old standards that were either public domain or at least cheap. The directors were studio hacks, and this one's no exception, it's helmed by the peerlessly dull Bruce Humberstone. But it's a rare 20th attempt at a real integrated Broadway-style musical, with a Josef Myrow-Mack Gordon score that evolves naturally from the action, even with some rhyming dialogue. And the screenplay, a sort-of remake of the 1938 "Three Blind Mice," at least has a little verve. Farm girls June Haver (proficient as always, and never any more than that), Vivian Blaine (hired by Fox to replace Faye, and she didn't last long, but she did have a lovely voice), and Vera-Ellen (dubbed, and dancing up a storm in a protracted "You Make Me Feel So Young" dream ballet), alight to a fetching studio-bound Atlantic City to find rich husbands, and the best they can do are the dullish George Montgomery, Frank Lattimore, and Charles Price. But it's very colorful and tuneful, and Celeste Holm, brought in two-thirds of the way through for some plot complications and a good specialty number, walks off with the rest of the movie. There's also a nicely shot fox hunt. Not much will surprise you, but the numbers are fun, the three little girls are appealing, and it isn't overlong.

Lush musical where the title tells all. The three little-- actually well-developed-- farm girls are out to marry rich guys in Atlantic City. Being cute as buttons and over-dressed in styles of the day, they meet up with guys who at least act rich. Trouble is, the girls have agreed that Haver should pretend to be rich while other two sisters (Blaine & Vera-Ellen) should pretend to be her assistants. Thus complications ensue, especially of the romantic kind.

In my book Vera-Ellen steals the show with her gamin looks and lively style. Plus she gets that really long song and dance number—You Make Me Feel So Young-- which amounts to the movie's centerpiece. I hope TCF paid her well for the lengthy effort. Meanwhile, Blaine and Haver get the glamor and the good-looking guys, Latimore and Montgomery. And catch Celeste Holm's ante-bellum southern lady, with her sharp-tongued Scarlett O'Hara asides. They're a hoot for old movie fans. And in case you're in doubt about the plot, surprise, surprise, things do get sorted out in typical Hollywood musical style.

Anyway, the 100-minutes is lavishly produced, with glossy candy-box colors. I suspect the film's not better known because it lacks headliner male leads—Montgomery would eventually find his niche in B-westerns. Also, I agree with some reviewers that editing down the romance parts would give the movie and musical numbers more impact. Nonetheless, the film remains a lively mix of glamour and song from TCF's golden period.

Where has this musical been hiding for the last 50 years? It's a total delight. Special bouquets go to the feminine side of the cast--June Haver, Vivian Blaine, and Celeste Holm. But perhaps the top stand-out is lovely and piquant Vera-Ellen. Her rendition of "You Make Me Feel So Young" is one of the best solo dances ever filmed.