Three Cornered Moon

Claudette Colbert leads a strong cast in this tale of a once-wealthy family adjusting to life after the family fortune has evaporated.

Mary Boland is excellent as the widowed mother—not really equipped to manage finances, she put all of their money into a failed mine called the Three Cornered Moon and doesn't quite know how to tell the kids they are broke. Colbert is her daughter, engaged to a rather useless aspiring novelist but not afraid to go out and find a job herself.

There are also three grown sons, most notably Wallace Ford in an admirable performance as an earnest go-getter with girl trouble who spouts great lines like, "From now on, I'm gonna be absolutely independent of everybody. That reminds me, I gotta ask Mother for some money."

Richard Arlen has a key role as a doctor friend of Colbert. Hearing of the family's troubles, he moves right into their house to help them out by contributing some rent…and also, it seems, to be around Claudette more.

It's a mildly silly comedy, for the most part, but has a couple of serious moments, especially the scene where Colbert finally sees through her deadbeat writer boyfriend (Hardie Albright): "You've failed me!" she gasps, devastated, when he returns home late one afternoon having skipped a job interview and bought her flowers instead.

Charming rather than side-splitting, it's a very entertaining family comedy, thanks to excellent characterizations from all.

This stagy adaptation of the Broadway play tends to drag. If director Nugent and editor Loring had sped things along it might have worked. In spite of such stellar talents as Colbert (in a role originated by Ruth Gordan) and Mary Boland, Three-Cornered Moon is only passable entertainment. The story, about the irresponsible off-spring of a wealthy-widow-now-broke (Boland), has its charm and enough funny moments to make it worthwhile for die-hard Colbert fans. However, it is difficult as to why it was selected to be part of TCM's Claudette Colbert Collection. The rowdy antics of Colbert's on-screen brothers chasing each other around the house border on the ridiculous. Wallace Ford was 35 years-old, William Bakewell 25, but only 20 year-old Tom Brown fits the bill for these kind of shenanigans. And poor Lyda Roberti isn't given much to do -- what a waste. Her part fell flat and should have been re-written for the screen adaptation.

THREE CORNERED MOON is an hard-to-find film but it is a fairly important movie given it's status as one of the first "screwball" comedies. In truth, however, it is as much a drama as a comedy but it does have many of the essential ingredients for the pending film genre with a family of wealthy eccentrics and a sensible if romantic heroine.

Mary Boland is the matriarch for a family of four young adults who still live in the family mansion. None of them work but are suddenly through into "real life" when Boland's misadventures on the stock market in 1929 come to a belated crash four years later for the family and they wind up with a total of $1.65 in the bank. Boland's three sons and daughter Claudette Colbert are forced to work for the first time in their lives.

Family friend, doctor Richard Arlen rents a room at the family estate to help them out financially while Claudette's longtime beau, unpublished novelist Hardie Albright also takes up residence though he still is not supporting himself and living off Colbert's assistance as he has been for years. While the male siblings tough it and work, "artist" Albright can't quite bring himself to working in (gasp) "an office".

Mary Boland is delicious as always in one of her very first screen roles as a dizzy-headed matron. Beautiful young Claudette Colbert, a year away from superstardom, is very much in her element as the young heiress who learns about the real world, complete with remarkably frank sexual harassment from her boss at the shoe factory. Blonde bombshell Joan Marsh is appealing as the longtime girlfriend of Claudette's brother Wallace Ford while Lyda Roberti has an eccentric role as the family's Swedish maid who understands no English. Richard Arlen is pleasant as the prince in an RX coat although he doesn't have nearly the screen time despite his billing as the pampered fiancée Albright or brothers Ford, Tom Brown, and William Bakewell.

THREE CORNERED MOON (named after the corporation that causes the family's fortune to dwindle) is a intriguing film that should be sought out by fans of thirties comedies and it's surprisingly clear-eyed view of how hard life was in the 1930's for many makes it quite unique among romantic films of the era.

The best known name in this film is Claudette Colbert, and she presents her comedic talents as effortlessly as always. However, the surprise is that this screwball family comedy belongs to Mary Boland. Her ditzy, oblivious mother delivers priceless lines one after another. So as not to give all the jokes away I will only say that this family presents the humor in going broke (Boland has run the family into financial ruin and must end her 'career as economic advisor,' but insists she must sign something every month even if it is not the checks!), possible jobs in cleaning sewers, and failing the bar exam. Top that off with the family having a foreign maid who does not understand a word they say or allow them into the kitchen and this socially aware, zany family makes me wish I belonged to them.

If it weren't for the fact that there are no dead bodies buried in the cellar, the set of the house where 90% of the film takes place looks like the Brewster home from Arsenic And Old Lace. Like the Brewsters the Rimplegars are old Brooklyn money.

Head of the clan Mary Boland could easily have been a third Brewster sister. Boland took a patent out on empty headed grand dame roles and what she didn't play Billie Burke and Spring Byington did. Some stock broker sharpie wheedled the family fortune out of her and the 1929 crash did the rest. She and her spoiled children which consist of Claudette Colbert, Wallace Ford, William Bakewell, and Tom Brown all have to make their own way in the world.

As does Hardie Albright who was courting Colbert, he figured on a life of ease, but is reevaluating his situation with Joan Marsh. The only person around with any real sense is Richard Arlen who plays a doctor who likes the family and rents a room with them. They get his rent and free medical service, can't beat that during the Depression years.

Three Cornered Moon ran for only 57 performances on Broadway in 1933 and playing Claudette's role was Ruth Gordon. Such movie cast names as Brian Donlevy, Elisha Cook, Jr., and John Eldredge were all in the Broadway cast. Though the play has a few laughs you don't really get involved with the Rimplegar family as such. Claudette Colbert had much better comedy roles in her future.