Product Description

The story of the Tin Pan Alley songwriting team of Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby.
Genre: Musicals
Rating: NR
Release Date: 25-APR-2006
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14789 in DVD
• Brand: ASTAIRE,FRED
• Released on: 2006-04-25
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.com
Three Little Words (1950) was an example of Hollywood's late-'40s/early-'50s interest in the lives of famous songwriters. Fred Astaire plays vaudeville dancer Bert Kalmar, whose act with Jessie Brown (Vera-Ellen) runs aground due to his interest in magic acts and a backstage accident. While in rehab, he meets composer Harry Ruby (Red Skelton), and the two discover a knack for writing Tin Pan Alley songs, then Broadway shows, together. There's some mild conflict in their lives as portrayed in film, but mostly the movie is an excuse to pull out a slew of Kalmar & Ruby songs such as "Who's Sorry Now," "My Sunny Tennessee," "Nevertheless," "I Wanna Be Loved by You," and the title tune. Vera-Ellen is an excellent partner for Astaire, and the relatively restrained Skelton puts in a good performance. Also appearing are Arlene Dahl as a musical actress, Gloria De Haven as her own mother, a young Debbie Reynolds as Boop-a-Doop girl Helen Kane, and the real Harry Ruby as a baseball player playing catch with Skelton, the movie Harry Ruby. Three Little Words isn't one of the great MGM musicals of its era, but it's an entertaining picture, especially for fans of Astaire. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Three Little Words
My mom was simply thrilled to get this. She is a collector of old movies and has alot! This came very quickly and was in very good condition.

An emblematic musical!

Two famous songwriters' story : Kalmar and Ruby is shown magisterially by a fine direction of Richard Thorpe and a bouncing cast that included the charismatic Fred Astaire, the sympathetic red Skelton, plus the combined talents of Vera- Ellen and Arlene Dahl one of my favorite beauties of the American Cinema.

From start to finish, the script is so dynamic and fluid, loaded with tender, funny and human situations, that will engage you; even you are not a hard fan of musicals, because this film is quite above the average.

One of my eternal cult musical movies.

Far and Away the most enjoyable musical of the era.
Before watching this movie, I had never heard the names of Bert Kalmar or Harry Ruby! And now I can only say what a wealth of sheer musical talent I missed until now!

As far as the film is concerned, I have to say this and "Lovely to Look At" have got to be the very best things that "over-the-top" comedian, Red Skelton has ever done. It's such a joy to watch him in an almost dramatic - (and human} role!

As for Fred Astaire, what can I say? He's just Fred Astaire - and that's enough to guarantee a very watchable film.

I still regard the number performed by Arlene Dahl in the movie as one of the finest production numbers I have ever seen (with the possible exception of a hundred others choreographed by the brilliant Bob Fosse! And a few by Buz. Berkeley!)

And what a thrill to see the young Debbie Reynolds impersonating Helen Kane!!! Too much!!