Le vie del cielo

Jane Wyman has dreams of being a stewardess, but, when her father tells her she talks too much and that could be a detriment, she almost didn't pass the interview. They want people who talk and are interested in people and in helping them. Well, that's Jane, plus more, a lot more. She's not your usual stewardess, as she has a mind of her own and gets into trouble for doing highly unconventional things. Then, she meets Howard Keel, who's named Mike, and who's a pilot. She doesn't know this yet and makes remarks about pilots. They have a antagonistic relationship from thereon, like a rooster and a chicken. Then, she meets Van Johnson, another guy named Mike, an up and coming and promising scientist. Then she meets Barry Sullivan, another guy named Mike, who's in advertising. From there, it takes off. For such a forgotten and inconsequential little film, this is actually very funny and enjoyable, courtesy of writer Sidney Sheldon's script, with quick and snappy one-liners. Of course, one wonders who does Jane pick? She has a good time with each and their scenes together are very sweet, particularly with Van and Howard. So sit back, enjoy the ride and let Jane and company do the rest, in this outing that's great fun!

Three Guys Named Mike is a pleasant and amusing comedy about an airline stewardess who gets romanced by Three Guys Named Mike. Jane Wyman is the stewardess and she sparkles as usual. The three guys she has to choose from are Van Johnson: research scientist, Howard Keel pilot: and Barry Sullivan advertising executive.

The story is based on the real life experiences of American Airlines stewardess Ethel Welles who told them to none other than C.R. Smith the charismatic president of American Airlines. He commissioned a story and then a screenplay.

The resemblances and that's a kind word to RKO's Tom, Dick, and Harry are unmistakable. But in terms of quality of production look at these two films back to back and check the production values from and RKO film to an MGM film. But Jane and her guys do their usual performances and are fine in the parts.

Howard Keel in his memoir says that in his first screen fight he got a little over enthused and gave Barry Sullivan a mouse over his eye. Keel was not left unbruised either. Neither of these guys were schooled in how to pull punches.

One thing that surprised me about Three Guys Named Mike was the lack of a nomination for musical score since the instrumental version of it is entitled Confetti. Many orchestras recorded it in the early fifties and the theme was repeated in many MGM productions.

Three Guys Named Mike holds up well today because the problems of the stewardesses flying today's 747s versus the DC-3s you see here are the same. This film could use a remake, I could see Reese Witherspoon as the one trying to choose between Three Guys Named Mike.

Honestly, there was no way I couldn't like this movie. As soon as I started watching it, I was hooked. Naturally, it was cheesy and unrealistic (IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE AND YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHICH MIKE SHE PICKS, DON'T READ ON!). Look, I wasn't expecting a surprise ending. Van Johnson was the first of the "Mikes" in the credits, so naturally my money was on him. I was just hoping for a better explanation of why he got the girl. He didn't do anything the other two Mikes didn't do. Through out the entire movie, Jane Wyman never even showed any favoritism toward him. I hate to say it, but this was an obvious case of "the biggest star" gets the girl. But don't get me wrong. I just think that with a little bit of better writing, they could have pulled it off better. But don't think this movie wasn't worth watching. I loved it!

Personally, I would have picked Howard Keel =P

So which one of the three Mikes will new stewardess Marcy end up with as she tries to learn the ropes of feeding people 30,000 feet in the air.

It's a romantic comedy that's really a Wyman showcase. She's coming off her Oscar-winning Johnny Belinda so her screen time is not really surprising. Her airline stewardess Marcy doesn't have to do much except be charming, which she does in subdued fashion. Since none of the four leads-- Wyman, Johnson, Keel, and Sullivan-- are comedic actors, it's the humorous situations that provide the fun.

As a result, the first part is best (at least in my view) where Marcy has to break-in as a new air hostess. Naturally, it takes a bit of doing like remembering to get the food aboard, so there are plenty of chuckles as she fumbles around. Almost all the scenes in this part focus on air travel; thus we get a good view of American Airlines passenger planes, circa 1950, both inside and out. The second part, however, gets her involved with each of the three Mikes, her air travel left mostly behind. Here, unfortunately, we get more blandly romantic overtures than chuckles.

Of the three Mikes, Johnson is best equipped for comedy, while I expected Keel's baritone to break into song any moment. For me, seeing Sullivan as something other than a gangster took some getting used to. Looks like MGM was more interested in screening stars than undergirding comedy, which may be why the film remains pretty obscure. Too bad the script didn't engage the sprightly girls more than they did, especially Donnell and Kirk, who could have added comedic spirit. Then too, I'm surprised MGM, the king of Technicolor, filmed in b&w, not the usual format for their top stars of the time. Frankly, I suspect there's an interesting backstory to this odd production.

Anyway, the 90-minutes is mainly for fans of Wyman and her cute nose.

"Three Guys Named Mike" is a story about a fledgling airline hostess from a small town who gets to fly the friendly skies and expand her horizons. Marcy Lewis (Jane Wyman) embraces her new way of life, experiences the joys of interacting with the public (people from different lands with their varied views) and meets three bachelors who happen to have the same first name. Marcy knows that married women cannot be hostesses, but she's not really trying to find a husband--she's too busy revolutionizing the ad world and the flight industry. But that doesn't stop men from throwing themselves at her. Particularly Howard Keel (a pilot), Van Johnson (a graduate student in scientific studies), and Barry Sullivan (a successful adman).

All four major players play their roles well, but the script is a trifling that is more interesting as a documentation of the flight procedures and customs of the time. While watching Wyman in this role, I kept thinking of June Allyson and, according to notes in the trivia section, the role was written for her. Ms. Wyman's voice also reminded me of Doris Day's at times.

Even with its paternalistic and sometimes sexist approach to the training and employment of stewardesses, the airlines industry (especially American Airlines) get a commercial from Hollywood in this film.