Les Grecs avaient un nom pour elles

I saw this on a Mill Creek DVD collection of 50 comedies. As with most cheap Mill Creek public domain film collections, the print was not in great shape. The black and white was muddy and the sound squeaky. I hope some one will release a good print on DVD some day.

I won't repeat what other reviewers have said about the plot. Although it is jumpy and confusing, one does have to give it credit for being fast-paced, original and surprising.

Joan Blondell and Ina Claire do a good job of providing the comedy. Madge Evans is really the straight woman here. She is quite beautiful and glamorous and manages to steal the picture.

Besides these three women actresses, the movie has a lot of witty lies and a nice air of frivolity to it. There are some nice, subtle innuendos here and you do have to pay attention to catch the cleverness of the script.

This is a solid woman's picture from 1932 and there really weren't that many made.

If you have to watch the Mill Creek print, turn up the volume a bit.

Polaire (Madge Evans), and Schatzi (Joan Blondell), are two Broadway actresses with manageable problems, but when their conniving friend Jean (Ina Claire) returns from Paris, broke and in search of a rich husband, their tranquility is upended. Polaire is trusting, and engaged to the honorable and wealthy Dey (David Manners). Schatzi has Pops, a sugar daddy, who remains off screen. Jean then goes to work trying to break them up, so she can have the men to herself.

Lowell Sherman ably directs and appears as Boris, a famous concert pianist who bets Jean money he can make her fall in love with him, but Boris falls for Polaire instead, allowing Jean an opportunity to wreck another couple. Jean's problem isn't that she's too clever for own good, it's that she needs excitement dull but respectable men can't provide. Once she has the money to send her away, and quiet down any scandal, Jean can do what she loves most: being in the company of Polaire and Schatzi. Adapted from Zoe Akins's play, the film is sprinkled with bon mots, and is a funny and sophisticated look at the complexity of female friendship.

I read with interest the comments of the critic for "Three Broadway Girls." Then I saw the movie. I must say that in accordance with the critic's 2007 standards, he was quite correct in his analysis. However, I am now 80 years old and remember the pictures in those days fairly well. I would say that the critic must be in his 30's or 40's for he evaluates the content and acting with those skills of 2007. If he were a critic in 1932 or the 30's for that matter, I think he would find this a 'charming' bit of humorous story telling. I would offer that those who criticize motion pictures should take into account the era in which they were made, and NOT evaluate them with the 2007 era standards.

This isn't a Warner Brothers quickie but there's a warm sense of familiarity about it and although we don't have the usual Warner family, the three girls do have a sparkling on-screen chemistry. Fans of 'Gold diggers of 1933' will like this - it is of course not as exceptional but it's got a similar plot, similar characters and that same upbeat, fun feel - but without songs.

Joan Blondell enjoyed the opportunity of working at a more relaxed pace in a more luxurious studio with Coco Chanel dresses and that enthusiasm coupled with her natural comic timing make her shine in this. George Barnes on camera captures her vibrancy brilliantly and his love making through the camera leads to him actually marrying her. Surprisingly though, she isn't the star in this, that accolade goes to Ina Claire, whom I confess know little about but she's fabulous in this. Not too sure about Madge Evans but nevertheless considering they've only just been thrown together for this, there's a real chemistry between them making them seem like they really are best friends.

Kind of remade twenty years later as 'How to Marry a Millionaire' but this original version, although only o.k. Is still just marginally better.

The clothes, coats, hats and jewelry are gorgeous in this 1932 pre-code film that was remade as How To Marry a Millionaire in 1953 with Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable. The colorized 1953 version had the women being much more overtly calculating in their goal to marry a millionaire. In this pre-code version it was more subtle...they were definitely gold diggers although one genuinely falls in love and wants to marry, it is not as clear that the other two want to marry at all. It seems that they all three like to drink, party and spend other people's money.

It is a lifestyle I guess, but with friends like these...who needs enemies. At least two of them have a fierce competition going and end up sabotaging each other at every opportunity!

Worth seeing for the gorgeous lush clothing...and the three ladies in question, especially Joan Blondel who is an eye catcher in every film she is in...although in this one she had some competition!