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| Director: Richard Thorpe
Actors: Fred Astaire, Vera-ellen, Red Skelton, Arlene Dahl, Keenan Wynn
Studio: MGM (Warner)
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $3.29
You Save: $16.69 (84%)
New (7) Used (21) Collectible (11) from $3.29
Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 10210
Format: Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6301980492
UPC: 027616118936
EAN: 9786301980494
ASIN: 6301980492
Theatrical Release Date: July 12, 1950
Release Date: April 16, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 32
"Look, it's okay to admire my wife, but would you mind taking your elbow out of my butter?" August 31, 2006
H. Bala (Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Here's the plot: Before they were partners, Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) was one half of the popular dance act Kalmar & Brown, and Harry Ruby (Red Skelton) was a struggling piano player/songplugger. The first time Kalmar and Ruby met, it doesn't turn out well. Kalmar, you see, is obsessed with magic and moonlights as a stage magician. When Ruby is assigned as his assistant, he botches Kalmar's magic act disastrously and earns Kalmar's wrath. However, when Kalmar suffers a back stage knee accident and has to break up his dance team, he bumps into Ruby again. This time, they manage to collaborate on a song before things go south, and that, in essence, was the birth of their successful tin pan alley songwriting partnership.
The movie takes us thru a decade of their partnership, as they unveil classic standards such "My Sunny Tennessee," "Who's Sorry Now?," "Nevertheless," "All Alone Monday," and the intoxicating "Thinking of You." Along the way, we get to see Kalmar's fixation with magic and Ruby's baseball mania. We also witness the duo engage in minor and major spats, actually resulting in an estrangement between the two, which isn't resolved until the movie's final act when Kalmar finally produces lyrics to a longtime unusable Ruby tune.
Let's face it: no one does hats, top coats, and tails better than Fred Astaire. But, going into it, Fred Astaire and Red Skelton didn't seem, at first, to be the sexy choice to play Kalmar and Ruby (especially Skelton), but the end result doesn't lie. Astaire and Skelton make it work beautifully. Three Little Words is a funny, touching, nostalgic musical bio which I've seen so many times I've got the order of the songs (and most of the lyrics) memorized. In the Astaire film lexicon, this film might not rank up there in critics' eyes, but in my humble opinion, this fun blast from the past is right up there in terms of entertainment value. Red Skelton, who I usually think is one note, raucous, and borderline annoying, here is more subdued and hams it up less. He actually acts! Fred, who must tie with Bruce Lee as filmdom's top two actors with 1% body fat, is spry and elegant as usual. On the dance floor, he is sublime. And when he sings, he has better phrasing and more sincerity than Bing Crosby. Fred Astaire makes everything he does look effortless.
The supporting cast is excellent. Vera-Ellen nicely complements Fred on and off the dance floor. As Jessie Brown, Vera-Ellen is pretty, understanding, and down to earth, while her excellent dancing is at times exuberant ("Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer at Home" and "Come On, Papa") and at times enchantingly balletic ("Thinking of You"). Red-headed Arlene Dahl is beautiful and classy as actress Eileen Percy, and, as a bonus, she can carry a tune ("I Love You So Much"). The dependable Keenan Wynn is, well, dependable. Gloria de Haven fills in for her mother, who was the first to introduce the song "Who's Sorry Now?", while a young Debbie Reynolds makes her MGM debut as Boop-Boop-a-Doop girl Helen Kane.
Because Kalmar and Ruby got along so well and had no real animosity between them, it was decided to create a subplot to explain the 5 years in which they didn't collaborate. The real reason was that both Kalmar and Ruby were busy with their own different projects, but, of course, that wouldn't wash in filmdom. So, the whole storyline of Kalmar's Broadway play and what Ruby did about it was fabricated. Another fabrication was the running subplot of the title tune, which supposedly gestated for 10 years before becoming a song. In real life, "Three Little Words" was written a lot faster than that and became an instant standard. Another fake scenario was the street scene where Kalmar and Ruby encounter Helen Kane, while hashing out "I Wanna Be Loved By You" on a sidewalk piano. Never happened. Of course, you can't deny the fact that all these made up scenes did make the movie more interesting.
The Special Features include the great and informative 15 minute featurette "Three Little Words: Two Swell Guys," "Roaming Through Michigan," a Fitzpatrick Traveltalk short, the classic cartoon "Ventriloquist Cat," a theatrical trailer, and the audio-only bonus "Paula Stone's Hollywood USA Radio Promo" (wherein she talks with Harry Ruby and Fred Astaire).
Three Little Words is an overlooked musical that stands up really well to the test of time. It is chock full of great songs (some of which you'll recognize, even if you don't know from where). It stars a legendary performer (who couldn't wait to play the role of Bert Kalmar) and a wonderful, enthusiastic supporting cast. It is also unashamedly nostalgic and hokey. What a fun movie!
This is the greatest songwriting/dancing musical ever made! July 1, 1999
feghering@aol.com (Hannah) (Philadelphia, PA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am only 12 years old, and my little sister is only 9, but "Nevertheless" (one of the songs in the movie) we're in love with it! Fred Astaire and Red Skelton play the roles of fabulous songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. The story is marvelous, the score beautiful, and the dancing performed by talented Astaire and Vera-Ellen tops many other teams! I highly request it if you have good taste in movies! And I guarantee you'll be singing yourself asleep with songs like "Three Little Words", "So-long Oo-Long", "Thinking of You", etc. Enjoy, cause I know I did!
Delightful musical bio. of two great composers. September 23, 1999
Ellie Kligman (Van Nuys, CA USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
What a treat to hear the wonderful songs of Kalmar & Ruby played so realistically by Astaire and Skelton. The music composed by these two will be with you after you see the movie. The story of these two is reminiscent of times gone by when "baseball and magic" were a favorite past time and the world was in step.Tears came to my eyes listening to these beatiful tunes and watching the enchanting Vera Ellen dance with Fred Astaire. "Give me the good old days.!
3 LITTLE WORDS.. BUY THIS VIDEO! December 27, 2001
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
IT'S A CLASSIC! IT FEATURES A TALENTED AND ENTERTAINING CAST, AS WELL AS GREAT TUNES! YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED AS YOU ENJOY THIS TIMELESS CLASSIC! I ESPECIALLY ENJOYED RED SKELTON AND FRED ASTAIRE TOGETHER IN THIS MOVIE!
Delightful Gem April 23, 2006
PackerBronco (Verona, WI USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I was waiting for this come out on DVD for several years. It's hard to locate at video rentals and libraries often don't have it, but it's truly wonderful. The music is terrific and the cast ensemble is very enjoyable. Skelton and Astaire have a nice chemistry. I think this is their only film together, which is too bad.
All-in-all just a very pleasant movie to watch and re-watch. Look for Debbie Reynold's film debut. Highly Recommended.
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