Three Who Loved

Stodgy, inept, illogical melodrama throws a lot of emotions on the screen, but they're not consistent, and they don't pay off. Bank teller Conrad Nagel is studying to be a lawyer, while his best bud, fellow clerk Robert Ames, likes to chase the broads and hit the speakeasies. Nagel's bride, Betty Compson with an uncertain Scandinavian accent, arrives on the boat and first seems besotted with her fiance, but becomes increasingly intrigued by his pal. Ames steals her away from Nagel, though he doesn't love her and doesn't really intend to marry her-so why? Nagel, up till now so studious and ethical that he's dull, makes a bad investment and covers it with bank notes, then is able to pin the crime on Ames, who lands in Sing Sing. Nagel then marries Compson, though she's already said she doesn't love him, and five years later they're raising Dickie Moore. Ames breaks out of prison and heads to the mansion Nagel built for Compson, where he demands she hide him yet confesses he never really cared for her. Nagel decides he has to come clean with Detective Robert Emmett O'Connor, playing what he always played, but a hilariously unlikely ending puts everything right. The emotions don't hang true on this one, and I don't believe any of it, but Nagel is good, and Ames, who died shortly after making it, had the makings of a good slimy villain.

Betty Compson plays Helga, who comes over from scandinavia to marry John, who ends up ignoring and boring her, but embezzles his bank to provide for them, in the midst of what becomes an unhappy love triangle. The acting is very good, and like all early Archainbaud's, crisply directed. Everyone turns in emotionally vivid performances, and there is a lot more content here than anyone would expect. And Nick Musuraca makes it all look good.

"Three Who Loved" could have been an interesting psychological melodrama in which basically good people do bad or foolish things, while selfish, self-centered individuals are colored gray, not black. But somewhere along the way someone decided that such complexity would be too much for moviegoers to handle. Thus, characterizations are inconsistent and simplistic, while the plot is filled with coincidences and melodramatic cliches (and it's made even worse by an atrocious, absurd ending). Betty Compson was a capable performer, but she's totally lost in the part of the foolish immigrant who exchanges love and security for thrills and good times. An ill-fitting blond wig and a Swedish accent straight out of the Beaver, Utah, School for Actors do not help matters any. Director George Archainbaud, a well-known name during the silent era, apparently slept throughout the production. With movies such as "Three Who Loved," it's no wonder that the careers of popular silent players Compson and Conrad Nagel floundered in the early 1930s.

New York bank teller Conrad Nagel (as John Hanson) is doing well enough to send for Swedish sweetheart Betty Compson (as Helga Larson). They plan to marry when Mr. Nagel can afford to buy a house. Until then, she lives in the same boardinghouse. Because Nagel spends evenings studying to become a lawyer, he arranges for co-worker Robert Ames (as Phil Wilson) to take Ms. Compson out regularly, to have fun. She is bored watching Nagel study his law books. For some reason, Nagel doesn't seem to know his pal is interested in women. Or, maybe he sees Mr. Ames admiring other women, but trusts his friend won't take advantage of Compson. You won't be surprised when Ames and Compson hook up. Then happenstance provides Nagel with a way to win her back. Five years later, the love triangle spins to a resolution.

**** Three Who Loved (7/3/31) George Archainbaud ~ Conrad Nagel, Betty Compson, Robert Ames, Robert Emmett O'Connor

Conrad Nagel, hardworking bank teller who is working his way through law school loves Betty Compson. Betty Compson, a pretty lass fresh off the boat from Scandanavia, feels not much for Conrad, who is a bit of a stiff, but instead loves (and makes love to) Robert Ames, Nagel's best friend, and another teller at the bank. Robert Ames appears to be one of the THREE WHO LOVED, but mostly appears to love himself. Does shame and destruction await this trio of flawed souls who get caught up in yet another version of the eternal triangle?

This is a not bad (though typically early RKO stodgy) melodrama that betrays stage orgins. The leads are all folks who need a good smack upside the head, and the mechanics of the plot do a good job of delivering them. Only Robert Ames puts in a decent performance, though, as Nagel is insufferable, and Compson is saddled with an accent that comes and goes. Ames, on the other hand, portrays the role of the affable cad well, and does OK in the later part of the movie, when he has plenty of reasons to be embittered. The conclusion is a mess, because it appears to be a sop to censors, rather than truly believed by anyone in the movie.

Worth the time -- particularly because the running time is rather brief.