Vénus en uniforme

Jane Wyman is perky, freshly-scrubbed and impertinent (as usual) playing an stewardess-trainee with American Airlines. She clashes lightly with pilot Howard Keel and passenger Van Johnson up in the air before having a run-in with Barry Sullivan on the ground. All three men--each named Mike--quickly come around with romantic notions--this is the kind of '50s comedy where men can't wait to get hitched--but Wyman is so busy hatching ideas and shooting from the hip that she barely notices all their attention. What begins as a smartly-written and executed glimpse at a stewardess's life in the sky is soon hustled right into romantic comedy territory. The question is obvious: which Mike will our heroine choose? However, I didn't find any of these potential suitors capable of handling Wyman, who is continually mouthing off in a wide-eyed, nonchalantly feminine way. This puff-piece, directed with snap but no flair by Charles Walters, is nearly impossible to critique seriously; if pressed, I would have to say the fistfight in the photographer's apartment wouldn't really be worthy of front page news in the paper (did the fight last long enough for the reporters and shutterbugs to show up?). Walters captures first-day-on-the-job jitters exceptionally well, but Sidney Sheldon's screenplay goes soft too fast. The final line between the men is amusing, but what we don't get see at the fade-out is a career girl who feels alive up in the air quickly tied down in suburbia with kids tugging at her apron. **1/2 from ****

Jane Wyman is a fledgling airline stewardess -- note the tie-in to American Airlines. She is bright, creative, a bit ditzy, and has three beaux, all named Mike: Van Johnson, Howard Keel and Barry Sullivan.

We're definitely entering the cultural 1950s, with Miss Wyman's character considered an oddball, with a view to marriage, and "no ambition to be the oldest stewardess in the business." Careers for women are temporary matters, and her choices are good providers -- an airline pilot and a successful ad executive -- and an idealistic teacher. This was an era far different from ours, when people dressed well to travel on airplanes, and smoked cigarettes while doing so. Airlines were looked on as travel, instead of our modern idea of transportation, when every passenger, from infant to wheelchair-bound nonagenarian is looked on as a potential bomber (given how people dress these days). Stewardesses were the smiling faces of the airlines, sexy drink servers who could deal with emergencies. And that is what this movie offers.

Miss Wyman offers an amusing shadow of her 'ditz' personna from her bleached-blonde-comedienne phase from the early 1940s. Charles Walters demonstrates that his excellence as a director of musical drama does not carry over particularly well into comedy.

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 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.

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.