Three on a Match
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Written by Lucian Hubbard from a story by Kubek Glasmon and John Bright
1932/US
Warner Bros.
Repeat viewing/Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 2
Ruth Wescott: [Referring to Vivian] Some people get all the luck.
Mary Keaton, aka Mary Bernard: [Musingly] I wonder.
I enjoyed this Pre-Code classic. What a cast!
The film begins on the playground of P.S. 62. Three middle-school girls are spotlighted. Ruth, the “smart one”, Vivian, “the popular one”, and Mary “the bad one”. We follow their story as they turn into Ruth (Bette Davis), Vivian (Ann Dvorak, and Mary (Joan Blondell). Ruth, who couldn’t afford to continue her education, becomes a stenographer. Vivian marries wealthy lawyer Robert Kirkwood (Warren William) and has an adorable son and lavish lifestyle. Mary went to reform school and then on to become a chorus girl.
They meet by chance and catch up over lunch. Vivian reveals that something is missing from her life. The three become friends.
Time marches on. Vivian becomes depressed. Robert agrees she should take a cruise alone with their son. This brings her into contact with gangster Michael Loftus (Lyle Talbot) and she loses herself to debauchery and addiction. In her haze, she neglects her son. Things will go downhill from here for Vivian. Ruth and Mary’s fortunes take a turn for the better. With Humphrey Bogart in a small role, his first as a hoodlum.
The first half of this movie is great pre-Code fun. The second half descends into lurid melodrama touching on such pre-Code themes as adultery, child neglect, addiction, and untimely death. Vivian’s drug of choice looks to be cocaine, which I didn’t know was a thing in 1932. So we get the complete package. These actresses are great together and it’s basically a must-see for the pre-Code obsessed.
