CMBA Gulity Pleasures Movie Blogathon: Three on a Match

Warner Brothers Depravity Disguised as Entertainment (and we love it!)

This is my contribution to the Classic Movie Blog Association's Guilty Pleasures Movie Blogathon. For the complete line-up, click here. I can't wait to read about everyone's guilty pleasure!

Why do we love pre-Code films? Fast pace? Check. Great stories? Check. Great casts? Check again. Oh come on. Let's be honest. It's the sex, depravity and lingerie! 

I consider all pre-Code films guilty pleasures. Each generation seems to think it is the first to discover sex. To be honest, the biggest kick I get out of pre-Code films is the fact that we are seeing depravity and sex before the big Hollywood clean up. It's kind of like watching a movie of your grandparents dirty dancing. Many of the pre-Codes are terrific and have marvelous stars, but I'm being honest when I say I'm in it for the sex, drugs,  depravity, slips and frilly undergarments. There.

That being said, "Three on a Match", directed by Mervyn LeRoy, is one of my favorite pre-Codes. It has all of the above-mentioned ingredients, plus kidnapping, child neglect and so much more. And - it's all done in 63  minutes. It comes from my favorite 1930s studio, Warner Brothers. Their early 1930s films have that make-it-quick "ripped from today's headlines" look, but are loaded with so much talent that these tawdry stories are elevated to an art form. In 1932, the year of "Three on a Match," the Warner's roster consisted of James Cagney, Paul Muni, Edward G. Robinson and our delicious cast of characters.

Bette Davis, Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak:
Smoking is the least of their sins

The Story
Our little story stars 3 of my favorite Warner Brothers ladies: Ann Dvorak, Joan Blondell and Bette Davis. The male cast is headed up by Mr. pre-Code himself, Warren William, and nasty support comes from Allen Jenkins, Lyle Talbot, Edward Arnold and that old pre-Code meanie, Humphrey Bogart.


The 3 ladies in question are childhood school acquaintances (PS 62). The opening sequences quickly establish their fate: little Mary is mischievous, likes the boys, smokes and has trouble with authority. Clearly, she is a candidate for the dreaded reform school. Ruth, the class valedictorian is a bookish goody-goody who will be the good-girl of the trio and Vivian is the beautiful and spoiled rich girl.

So they say...

Time marches on (shown through a neat montage of newspaper headlines and popular songs depicting the ensuing years from 1919-1930 when our story begins) and each girl has fulfilled her destiny. Mary (now Joan Blondell) is in that sinful trade, show business.  Ruth (now Bette Davis) is a stenographer (class valedictorian = secretary. Ah, those were the days, but I digress...). Vivian (now Ann Dvorak) is married to attorney Robert Kirkwood (Warren William), still rich, spoiled and now bored. They meet for lunch and, throwing caution to the wind, knowingly light their three cigarettes on one match. Legend has it that it is unlucky to light three smokes on one match, as the holder of the third one lit will die. Vivian envies the other women and confides that she is restless ("I want things passionately and, then when I get them, don't seem to want them anymore"). She is the third one on the match. Uh oh.

Looking for excitement

Viv has an annoyingly curly-headed little son who seems to think he is Shirley Temple, a handsome home and an attentive husband who senses her restlessness. Wanting to please her, he books an ocean cruise to Europe, but before the ship sails he gets called away on business, leaving Viv and Junior to take the trip by themselves.

This kid is so annoying that you
 almost wish.....no, no , not going there!

Mary, still little the catalyst for mischief, meets Vivian on the ship before it sails. She and her chums are going to a bon voyage party, but are not taking the cruise. Viv is invited and before you know it, sparks are flying between her and no-good gambling man Mike Loftus (Lyle Talbot), who proves his admiration for the sophisticated Vivian by telling her "you're not like those other stuffed brassieres on Park Avenue." What girl could resist a line like that?

Lust at fist sight

Well, before you know it, Vivian gets off the ship and on the dope. She takes her boy and leaves her husband for a life of sex and drugs, liquor and lingerie.  Mary and Ruth are concerned and side with husband Kirkwood (who falls for Mary and marries her after divorcing Vivian, but likes to keep Ruth around as a governess. Hmmm....). Kirkwood even gets his boy back, but not for long.

Mary moves in on her friend's husband...

while Vivian enjoys her new lifestyle.

Kirkwood and Mary rescue Junior while Vivian "rests"

Vivian and Loftus eventually run out of money and Loftus gets in deep with some bad gangster-types. Owing a lot of money he can't repay, he agrees to kidnap Vivian's boy in order to extort money from Kirkwood. Well, things go bad and, in a tense finale (where Bogey figures it's best to kill the little boy), the police close in on the kidnappers and the boy. Vivian, suffering from withdrawal, finally finds some sense of self-sacrifice and mother-love (to a child that has been horribly neglected). Feverishly, she scrawls the location of her son on her nightgown in lipstick to alert the police and jumps out of a four-story window to her death.

Vivian's hide-out  flat: Shabby Chic?

Vivian's grand finale

The final scenes reunite Junior and Kirkwood and we see Mary and Ruth share a match to light a cigarette (only 2 on a match now, so all's well that ends well).

Now that the first wife is out of the way, Mary
has Viv's husband, house and child;
Ruth no longer has to type.

Why I love this film

Ann Dvorak

Ann Dvorak: beautiful & chic & an emotional timebomb

In case you didn't already know, I worship Ann Dvorak, so this film is a home run for me. The fact that Ann got the showiest role is a testament to how much Warners thought of her star power. And, being the chic, elegant, edgy and ultra-femme actress that she was, she did not disappoint (especially in those pathetic, drug-deprived scenes with her kid). And, I have to side with Vivan here, a bit. Aside from the child abuse and drug addiction, who can blame her for wanting someone more exciting than stuffy old Kirkwood? And, isn't it "convenient" that Mary just happend to be there for Kirkwood? Just sayin'.

Shut up? Don't tell me to shut up!

She gives Jeanne Eagles a run for her money in the jumpy, I-need-a-fix category, and the fix she needs comes not only from a bottle or a needle, but apparently from what Lyle Talbot was giving her in the bedroom (and Warren William was not). 

Bette Davis in a slip

Yes, I'm the class valedictorian. That means I grow up to take dictation.

I swear, they've got to stop giving me these kind of parts!

Platinum Blonde Bette doesn't do much in this film and has the least interesting role. But, she gets to look sexy in a slip and in a bathing suit. When assessing the talents of the fabulous Miss Davis, we tend to overlook the fact that she was awfully cute and had a kick-ass body. That needs to be said. Bette didn't care much for this film and her part was bland, but she should have been proud of how swell she looked.

Joan 's was usually the bod on display, but here it's Bette's

Joan Blondell

Getting a beauty treatment

Joan Blondell fit Warner Brothers pre-Codes like a glove. Although there was something invariably nice and comfy and decent about her, it's easy to imagine her as the reform school dropout. She's the sassy, big hearted gal who just can't say "no" to anything that just might be fun. And depravity is fun, isn't it?

2 girls looking ready for the beach

Warren William

A Warners pre-Code regular, no one plays a stuffed shirt better that Warren William. And I just can't help thinking that a guy who takes Joan and Bette into his house and enjoys watching them frolic on the beach is not all that pure. Maybe Kirkwood and Vivian had more in comon than they thought. Depravity comes in all disguises.

Humphrey Bogart

Not nice

Oh, is he a meanie in this and he does it so well! No heroic noir-guy here, just a nasty baby-killing thug that he plays to the hilt. Favorite moment: his smarmy smirk and "uh oh" when Vivian repeatedly wipes her nose (obviously because she is on the snow).

Coke, not Pepsi

Allen Jenkins

The great Warner Brothers stalwart is mean through and through in this one. Really. No redeeming qualities whatsoever.


Lyle Talbot
Before signing on with the infamous Ed Wood, Jr., Talbot had a respectable Hollywood career. He really breaks out into good sweats in this.

Edward Arnold

A small role as crime boss Ace, but it's fun to watch him pluck his nose hairs as Loftus tells him he can't pay his debt.


I admit it - I'm guilty
I could be high-handed and say I love the pre-Codes because they are the voice of freedom before the iron fist of censorship silenced great art, but, just between us, I'll come clean. It's the sex, the drugs, the depravity and the swell lingerie that reels me in every time. 

Post 9/11 Film Disorder: I'll Take "Manhattan"

Forgive me if I come off a bit cranky here, but I'll admit it: the 10th anniversary of the atrocity of September 11, 2001 has weighed heavily upon me. Living and working in the shadow of the great city, it is the "go-to" place for everything new, better, delicious, glamorous, beautiful and fun. It still is that place, but like a beautiful person who  sustained a life-threatening injury, the scar remains.

Maybe there have been good movies that tell this story, but I haven't seen them. It's only natural that this story should be told on film, but frankly, I couldn't bear to watch it. Instead, I opted to spend some time today watching the most beautiful love letter to New York: Woody Allen's 1979 masterpiece, "Manhattan."

The Sights of Manhattan

Filmed in beautiful black and white, Allen and cinematographer Gordon Willis capture the fearsome, romantic beauty of the city in 1979.

The Music

The music is a major character in this film and Gershwin is the perfect choice, hands down. You can take your pick of the greatest composer of that golden era: Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein - but Gershwin personifies the sound of New York. Rhapsody in Blue? All of the romance, ambition, pressure, energy and dreams of a city in one musical piece. 

The Characters

Woody Allen: Issac Davis - neurotic nucleolus of a bunch of other neurotics. Issac is a writer who loves Manhattan, jazz and the wrong women.

Diane Keaton: Mary Wilkie - lover of Issac's best friend, Issac's lover and nutty to the core (in her own delightful way, of course). The scenes of their short-lived romance (running in the rain to the planetarium, sitting at the foot of the 59th Street Bridge) are among Woody's best and most touching.

Michael Murphy: Yale - Woody's professor friend and cheating husband. His midlife crisis propels him towards a mistress and a sports car.

Meryl Streep: Jill - Woody's lesbian ex-wife who writes an embarrassing tell-all book about their marriage. Meryl is hilarious and quite beautiful here.

Mariel Hemingway: Tracy - the 17-year old adult who outgrows Issac. Tracy is the heart of this story and much too mature for those "adults" who love to manufacture problems because the real problems are just to horrible to face.

There is that disturbing premonition of the attraction to the young girl. Well, to hell with it. Chaplin had the same hang-up and I can't let it stop me from loving him.

Finally
I really don't care what Woody has done in his private life and I am tired of hearing it. If we limit ourselves to the work of artists who live morally exemplary lives, we'd only be listening to Pat Boone and watching - well, no one. As long as he doesn't eat babies or become a Nazi, I will follow Woody's every move as an artist. He is now making his Rome movie and I will be one of the first on line to see it, as I was with "Match Point," "Vicky Christina Barcelona," and the fabulous "Midnight in Paris." But, Woody, seriously, it's been too long. Come home.

MOVIE BOOKS I LOVE: CLARA BOW: RUNNIN' WILD BY DAVID STENN

This is an occasional series featuring my favorite movie books. Before TCM and the internet, the only way to satisfy my passion to know more about classic Hollywood was through books, books and more books. I've cleared away the clutter over the years, but many remain permanent residents in my home. You'd never throw out an old friend, now would you?

Anyone out there read Kenneth Anger's "Hollywood Babylon"? I'm among the many ashamed to say I did. But, then again, when it came out in 1975, what did I know about the stars of the silent era? Not much and, unfortunately, the sordid gossip that passed for truth in this pile of trash was my first introduction to Clara Bow. Sadly, it was another abuse heaped upon a woman whose life was defined by it.

Lucky for me, the great Kenneth Brownlow and David Gil series "Hollywood" gave me a proper introduction to the beautiful Clara and it was the beginning of a devotion that grows stronger every day. Watching Clara's films, it is easy to see why she was such a tremendous star. She is talented, beautiful, and so vivacious and full of life. Not many could resist her. She is the penultimate '20s flapper, but also the girl next door, the perfect sweetheart, the perfect best friend and one hot tamale. She makes you feel happy.

"I was seventeen an office boy - a messenger is what I was hired for. Clara Bow had just made 'Wings,' and I thought she was sensational. She dashed into the office one day, and the publicity department just stopped dead. She was just flying around - she was happiness personified. I've never taken dope, but it was like a shot of dope when you looked at this girl." - John Engstead

As always, when I am intrigued by someone, I want to immediately know more! I managed to find a few books that mentioned her (usually referring to the notorious Anger book or to her scandal-plagued personal life), but nothing really satisfying until I managed to get my hands on a copy of David Stenn's 1988 book (a thrilling $50 find at Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood. It is now available in paperback at a much more reasonable price.).


Clara Bow's story is more dramatic and heartbreaking than an Hollywood screenwriter could imagine and Stenn tells this harrowing story with great compassion. Clara's early life was one of unspeakable poverty and abuse. How she managed to not only survive, but to thrive and succeed, is a miracle. 

Clara at 16: "It was easy for me to cry. 
All I hadda do was think of home."

Stenn follows her life from Brooklyn to Hollywood and beyond, supporting his narrative with interviews with the people who knew her and loved her. Managing to get away from her squalid and terrifying upbringing, she traded one kind of abuse for another. She was ill-used by Paramount Studios, and B.P. Schulberg, in particular. Stenn calls her Hollywood's most overworked and underpaid star. Always self-conscious about her lack of education, Clara was cruelly looked down upon by a town whose social elites were once waitresses and truck drivers.

The "It" Girl": The Ultimate Flapper and a Great Star

The legendary "It Girl"  was a girl who was ill-equipped for the challenges and temptations presented to the life of a movie star whose every action was always on public display. Many men loved her (Gary Cooper, Gilbert Roland, Victor Fleming and husband Rex Bell are just a few), but none could still the terror and sadness that lived in her heart. Gilbert Roland's devotion and enduring affection for her is especially touching.

"A temperament that responded like a great violin. Touch her and she answered with genius." - Victor Fleming

Clara and scandal seemed to go hand in hand. Because she had no one to protect her and to guide her, her trusting and generous nature got her into a lot of trouble. The end of her career came when, her health failing and the pressure of talking pictures crushing her fragile self-esteem, she called it quits. She was just 26 years old.

"She was the biggest star, the biggest money-maker in Hollywood - above Garbo, above them all. I was fascinated with her." - Louise Brooks

Her marriage to Rex Bell should have been a happy one. He was a stabilizing force in her life, he loved her and gave her and their 2 sons a happy life in Nevada, away from the spotlight and the insatiable press that perpetually dogged Clara.

Clara and Rex: "He's my man and I worship him."

Although Clara was a good mother (her sons were totally devoted to her), mental and physical illness prevented her from enjoying the love of her family.

Rex, Sr., Rex, Jr. & Mom, Clara

For those who have not read the book, I don't want to divulge too much. For those that have, you know her story is tragic.


Reasons I love this book

1. Stenn always treats his subject with great respect, something Clara did not     get enough of in her lifetime.

2. Interviews: Stenn conducts great interviews with such Clara contemporaries as Esther Ralston, Lew Ayres, Baby Peggy, William "Buster" Collier, Marion Mack, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joel McRae and Colleen Moore. Even better, he speaks to family members, friends, and some pivotal characters in Clara's scandal-plagued life: personal secretary Daisy DeVoe , Paramount publicist Teet Carle and, friend and briefly her step-mother, Tui Lorraine Bow. There is also a long-running interview with first love and ever-after devoted friend, Artie Jacobson.


3. A great cast of characters: All of the great Hollywood and show business characters - both behind the scenes and in the spotlight -  are here. The Roaring Twenties would not have roared as loudly without the likes of Clara and her co-workers and friends.


This book has a permanent place on my bookshelf and I highly recommend it. Sometimes, truth is more dramatic, hilarious, compelling and tragic than fiction. Her story would make a great film if only there were someone out there equal to the task of playing Clara. Unfortunately, I can't think of a soul who is her equal.

Even now I can't trust life. It did too many awful things t'me as a kid. - Clara Bow

Who Wore it Best? Recycled Hollywood Costumes

Did you ever watch a film and think "I've seen that costume before..."?


While studio-controlled Hollywood often spent lavishly on sets and costumes, it was also notoriously thrifty when it came to getting the most out of its investments. One area  where Hollywood really saved its pennies was in the recycling of costume design. Often, once a beautiful costume made for a star was worn, it had more lives than a cat on secondary or background players. However, once in a while, an outfit made for a star found its way back on a the back of a star or leading player in another film. Of all of the studios, it seems the Fox Studios really got their money's worth and barely let their costumes cool off before they were used again.

In this new era of thrift and making do, who would have thought we'd turn to Old Hollywood to teach us how to handle hand-me-downs? Let's take a look at some interesting re-treads that, with a little mink here and a button there, found life at least twice in the leading lady spotlight.

As the Fashionistas would ask: Who wore it best?

Adrian created this beautiful gown for Garbo to wear in 1931's "Inspiration."

Although Myrna Loy did not wear this knockout in any of her films, she wore it for some glamour shots taken by Hurrell.

Marilyn Monroe's costumes sure got around (though they were rarely filled as well). Here is Marilyn in a sweet little Travilla summer dress from "The Seven Year Itch."

Barbara Nichols showed up wearing the same frock in "Ten North Frederick." Although Charles Le Maire is credited with the costumes, the notoriously thrifty Fox gang probably had this one ready for re-use.

Niagra Falls took a back seat to the beauty that was Marilyn in 1953's "Niagra" looking stylish in this sexy daytime dress.

Was Barbara Nichols raiding Marilyn's closet when she wasn't looking? Here is Barbara in the same dress in 1959's "A Woman Obsessed."

This Orry-Kelly gown was made just for Marilyn's charms in "Some Like it Hot."

Yet, there is Barbara AGAIN in Marilyn's clothes - this time in 1961's "The George Raft Story." Orry-Kelly did not design for this film, but this must have been another case of "if Marilyn wore it, it will fit Barbara."

From what I can see, Marilyn barely got out of a costume before another star popped into it. Here's Marilyn filling her swimsuit admirably for a publicity shot.

Looks like Ann Miller donned the same suit to a slightly different effect.

Marilyn famously sang "That Old Black Magic" in this magical Charles Le Maire outfit in "Bus Stop."

Leslie Caron then fitted herself into the same get-up in 1959's "The Man Who Understood Women."

Fox was not above giving Marilyn a hand-me-down on occasion. Susan Hayward first appeared in this modest Charles Le Maire gown in 1952's "With a Song in My Heart."

In 1956, the basic design made another appearance, this time a little less of it, on Marilyn in "Bus Stop."

The Walter Plunkett costumes from "Gone With the Wind" found new life in other films. Once completed, many of these costumes found their way to the Western Costume Company and appeared, in altered forms, in many period films for years to come.

However, even mighty Scarlett got a re-tread.

This lovely paisley robe was originally worn by Katharine Hepburn in 1936's "A Woman Rebels."

I am sure Scarlett would not have been pleased to know that someone else had worn this ensemble before she did!

And then there is this dress. Apparently, there were several versions of Scarlett's iconic green velvet gown.

One was heavily altered for Anna Lee in 1946's "Bedlam."

And, rumor has it, this "lost" version turned up on a television show many years later...

Hollywood, I am listening and am now following in your thrifty footsteps! As soon as I hit the "publish" button on this article, I am going to comb through my closet and see if a mink trim, a button and a new off-the-shoulder design can kick it up a notch for fall! Why, I feel positively virtuous and just like a Hollywood star!