Ses trois amoureux

"Tom Dick and Harry", a delightful screwball comedy, features Ginger Rogers sans singing and tapping. Rogers is cast as a telephone operator living with family and the eldest of two daughters. At first she seems a bit mature for the role but turns in a good performance as the comedy and surrealistic sequences become increasingly engaging along with the social-commentary subtext of traveling in various social circles to supplement the plot: Rogers on a whirlwind-whim steps out of an unfulfilling job and pursues an ultimate soulmate/marriage/happiness. Some scenes surprisingly echo "The Philadelphia Story" (1940) in an inverted economic pearls-at-a-price manner: after an evening of mayhem lasts into wee-morning hours and before the "life-altering" event, an ultimate awakening dawns upon working-class Rogers similar to high-society Hepburn. Also, similar to TPS, TD&H has the wisecracking-realistic younger sister balancing the impulsive older sister Rogers; the supporting cast delivering the sideshow goods; and viewers getting the surprise-ending treat. Trivial tidbit: Lenore Lonergan, (the younger sister "Butch" to Rogers's "Janie" in TD&H), is cast in the original Broadway version of TPS as the younger sister "Dinah" to Hepburn's "Tracy", (however in the film version of TPS, Virginia Weidler plays the younger sister "Dinah" part).

TOM DICK AND HARRY gives Ginger Rogers another chance to play an infantile woman (remember THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR, MONKEY BUSINESS and IT HAD TO BE YOU). It's a screwball comedy so it works (to a degree) but she sort of overdoes the job of making this girl a complete dumb-dumb. So, in the end, she makes the right choice when she must choose between three suitors.

She has to decide whether to marry a poor, down-on-his-luck bohemian (BURGESS MEREDITH), a wealthy playboy millionaire (ALAN MARSHAL), or a conservative square (GEORGE MURPHY). Considering that she has no brains whatsoever, she chooses--well, you have to see the movie to find out.

The cute ending provides an original twist to a decidedly unoriginal story which gets a boost from its personable cast. Rogers is delightful enough when she isn't being a bit irritating with her baby-voiced coyness, and the men are splendid as her bewildered suitors. Alan Marshal is much livelier than usual in his playboy role--so much so that you have to wonder why Hollywood didn't find better roles for him as a romantic lead.

Ginger's fans will love this one--but I couldn't help thinking she played it a little too dumb at times.

Summing up: A screwball comedy that could have used a brighter script but the dream sequences are well done, thanks to director Garson Canin's way with wacky comedy.

This is a silly movie, to the point that Ginger Rogers' character blurts out "This is Ridiculous!" at one point close to the end. But it also has the self awareness to not take things too far. Rather it brings things to the brink of absurdity and stops just before going off the cliff. Rogers' performance is solid as the clueless Janie who must decide between three suitors. Murphy, Marshal, and Meredith turn in good performances as well as their respective characters Tom, Dick, and Harry. Meredith, as Harry, stands out among the three. The plot also revolves around the whirlwind courtship and marriage theme that is common in wartime movies. Viewers looking for a heavier more realistic romance should look to something like Roger's 1944 movie "I'll be Seeing You" where she plays a completely different character. But if you're in the mood for a whimsical, light-hearted hearted comedy to take your mind off the news, you could do much worse than Tom, Dick, and Harry.

There are so many great films in the comedy, romance and fantasy genres individually and there are some great ones that combine all three. It is interesting when any film combines all three, and luckily the three do gel well together and when done well the effect is not tonally muddled or disjointed. Another interest point was seeing Ginger Rogers, most famous for her legendary dance partnership with Fred Astaire, in one of her non-dancing roles.

While falling short of being a great film, 'Tom, Dick and Harry' did entertain and charm me as an overall whole. Much more so than the simplistic title indicates. Not everything comes off well, with one problem being major enough sadly to stop me from getting fully invested in the film. The reason for the above average rating though is because there are a lot of good things in 'Tom, Dick and Harry', and those good things manage to be so good.

Am going to begin with what doesn't quite work. One doesn't really see this type of film for their stories, where one expects them to be lacking in surprises, very flimsy and with contrivances and silliness overkill. 'Tom, Dick and Harry' is no exception, with pretty much all of those things. Plus an ending that wraps things up too neatly.

More problematic though is that one never fully warms to the lead character, and we are talking about the character and not Rogers, a very unsubtle one and difficult to empathise with, at times we are even irritated. Consequently, it is neither fully easy to invest in the relationships or what her final decision and reasoning are.

However, there is a lot to enjoy still. Despite having problems with the character, Rogers herself is actually marvellous, throwing herself into the role with sparkling comic timing and forthright commitment while injecting some charm. The male characters could have done with more development perhaps, but the titular characters are all well played. Especially Burgess Meredith as Harry. A pleasant surprise too was how Phil Silvers managed to make an obnoxious character amusing and surprisingly endearing, two words that usually don't belong in the same sentence as that. The direction has energy and the right lightness of touch and doesn't feel heavy or static.

It looks very nice as a film, especially Rogers' clothes (which she looks stunning in) and the imaginative photography in the enchanting and wonderfully weird dream sequences. The music fits well tonally and doesn't intrude. Throughout the dialogue sparkles in its wit and there are more than a fair share of funny, if not quite hilarious, moments that come rolling fast. The story is very flawed, but at least it didn't feel dull or strained to me and had a nice light on the feet energy.

On the whole, not great but pretty entertaining in its own way. 6/10

This is one of Ginger Rogers best films of all time. Here we see her trying to find the man of her dreams. She thinks she knows what she wants but does she really?? One by one she runs into these three men who are each special to her in their own way, but she must decide on which one of them she wants to live her life with. The dream sequences are very funny and add to the sheer joy of the film. You'll love the ending!

This film gives us three killer performances, Rogers of course, George Murphy and Burgess Meredith. The others actors are good as well. This is a funny heart warming movie that doesn't disappoint. If you have a chance to see or get this movie, DO IT!!