Three Little Words - Warner Archive Collection

Songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby never achieved the same renown as contemporaries Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Jerome Kern, but thanks to MGM's musical biopic Three Little Words, today's audiences often assume they did. The toast of Tin Pan Alley during the 1920s and '30s, the duo penned a number of catchy tunes - standards like "Who's Sorry Now?," "Nevertheless," "All Alone Monday," and that boop-boop-a-doop ditty "I Wanna Be Loved By You" - but lacked the élan of more sophisticated Broadway composers. To its credit, this charming, nostalgic musical doesn't sugarcoat that fact and paints the pair as very much a product and reflection of their time. Like all Hollywood songwriter biographies, the film fabricates a few episodes in their lives for dramatic and comedic effect, but Three Little Words rarely lets us forget that Kalmar and Ruby were just two regular guys who happened to team up and write a bunch of hit songs. And it's much the stronger because of it.

Three Little Words easily could have been a run-of-the-mill, forgettable musical, but the participation of Fred Astaire transforms it into a classy affair. As the cranky Kalmar, a vaudeville hoofer who also harbors a secret desire to be a magician, he gets a chance to both dance and clown (sometimes simultaneously). Red Skelton, as the genial Ruby (a "song-plugger" and baseball fanatic), blessedly keeps his mugging to a minimum and the result is one of his best portrayals. Together, this odd couple creates a warm, comfortable chemistry that helps sustain the film during its frequent narrative lulls.

After a knee injury curtails his dancing career, Kalmar turns to lyric writing, and when he overhears one of Ruby's melodies in a music publisher's office, he volunteers to supply the words. The song becomes a hit, and thus begins a rocky partnership marked by periodic bouts of bickering, personal meddling, and a string of musical successes, all of which seem to be written in the blink of an eye. (If one believes Hollywood's depiction, songwriting is hands-down the world's easiest profession.) The only tune that gives them any trouble is, of course, the title song, and Kalmar's futile efforts to come up with a suitable lyric becomes a running gag.

Three Little Words is essentially a buddy film, with only a hint of romantic conflict disrupting the composers' lives. In one of cinema's quickest boy-gets-girl/boy-loses-girl/boy-gets-girl-back plots, Kalmar courts and marries his long-time dancing partner Jessie Brown (Vera-Ellen), while Ruby - after a parade of domineering girlfriends - hooks up with actress Eileen Percy (Arlene Dahl). (In real life, Percy barely registered a blip on Hollywood's radar screen, but in Three Little Words, she winds up a major musical star.) Other plot points are largely trivial, as most of the movie chronicles the team's squabbles, which mask - but never destroy - their underlying bond.

Like the music it showcases, the film's strength lies in its simplicity. Director Richard Thorpe is no Vincente Minnelli, and in this case that's a good thing. Never does he allow Three Little Words to go overboard with garish production numbers or unnecessary melodrama; Thorpe keeps the film on track, efficiently telling the slight story and seamlessly integrating Kalmar and Ruby's musical catalog. Astaire and choreographer Hermes Pan follow his lead by shunning the gimmicky special effects they employed in Easter Parade and The Barkleys of Broadway and keeping the numbers faithful to vaudeville. Consequently, we can marvel at Astaire's talent without the distraction of any technical wizardry.

None of the dances are worthy of inclusion in That's Entertainment!, but they're still fresh and lively and executed with Astaire's trademark precision. Though Vera-Ellen could be a lovely ballerina, the story of Three Little Words keeps her exclusively in tap shoes so she can hoof it alongside her on-screen husband. Whether in the opening "Where Did You Get That Girl?" (in which she and Astaire don matching tuxedos) or the adorably perky "Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer at Home," she acquits herself well and shines in her solo spot, "Come On, Papa." Gloria DeHaven supplies a heartfelt rendition of "Who's Sorry Now?" (a song introduced by her own mother, Mrs. Carter De Haven - herself a major Broadway star), but it's 18-year-old Debbie Reynolds who nearly walks away with the picture as Helen Kane, the boop-boop-a-doop girl who turned "I Wanna Be Loved By You" into a major hit. (Kane reprises her performance by dubbing Reynolds vocals in the film.)

Three Little Words is hardly a jewel in MGM's musical crown, but it's solid entertainment from beginning to end and makes a fine addition to the library of any musical aficionado.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Three Little Words arrives on Blu-ray packaged in a standard case. Video codec is 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 and audio is DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. Once the disc is inserted into the player, the static menu without music immediately pops up; no previews or promos precede it.

From the moment the opening credits roll, it's obvious Warner Archive has once again fashioned a top-flight 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 presentation. The new HD master, which was struck from a 4K scan of the original nitrate Technicolor negatives, bursts with lush, vibrant hues that never look garish. The dense blue background behind Arlene Dahl beautifully offsets her red hair, while wispy pinks, pale yellows, and pea greens also delight the eye. Inky blacks and bright, stable whites anchor the image, which features marvelous clarity and contrast. Natural flesh tones, good shadow delineation, and breathtaking close-ups also enhance the transfer, and the errant blotches that plagued the 2007 DVD have been erased. MGM musicals deserve the red carpet treatment and once again Warner Archive complies with a superior effort that makes the previous DVD obsolete.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track provides the kind of robust sound musicals demand. A slight level boost gives the numbers extra oomph, but the wide dynamic scale benefits the entire movie. Solid fidelity and a lovely depth of tone enhance the orchestrations and all the dialogue and song lyrics are easy to comprehend. Sonic accents like tapping feet are crisp and no age-related surface noise disrupts the purity of this high-quality track that nicely complements the sumptuous visuals.

All the extras from the 2007 DVD have been ported over to this Blu-ray release, and it's a fine sampling of vintage material.

• Featurette: "Three Little Words: Two Swell Guys" (SD, 15 minutes) - This breezy featurette compares the "sane, normal lives" of the songwriting protagonists with MGM's slightly more volatile screen treatment. We learn about the various fabrications that helped spice up the story (including how the famous title tune came to fruition), how Skelton severely toned down his rambunctious personality for the film, and that Harry Ruby himself makes a cameo appearance during a baseball segment. A touching reminiscence from Gloria DeHaven (reportedly the only actress in movie history to portray her own mother on film), as well as comments from Arlene Dahl and Carleton Carpenter (who allows Debbie Reynolds to maul him during "I Wanna Be Loved By You"), add warmth and perspective to this informative piece.
• Vintage Short: Roaming Through Michigan (SD, 9 minutes) - Creeping sands, crystal blue lakes, cherry trees, and unspoiled wildlife distinguish this leisurely installment of James A. FitzPatrick's long-running Traveltalk series.
• Vintage Cartoon: Ventriloquist Cat (SD, 7 minutes) - This amusing Tex Avery cartoon cleverly complements Three Little Words as it chronicles how a sadistic dog-hating cat drives his canine enemy nuts with magic tricks.
• Vintage Radio Promo: Paula Stone's Hollywood USA (11 minutes) - This program refreshingly trades typical Hollywood ballyhoo for informal conversation á la Oprah. Stone brings us to MGM's Stage 9 for a visit with Astaire and Harry Ruby. Ruby discusses his passion for baseball, days as a song-plugger, and lovingly remembers his late partner, Bert Kalmar, while Astaire talks about his outside interests, co-star Vera-Ellen, and how Stone's sister Dorothy danced with him during the original Broadway production of The Gay Divorce.
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 3 minutes) - The film's original preview, which includes the presentation of Astaire's 1949 special Oscar for "raising the standard of all musical pictures," rounds out the extras package.

Three Little Words may not be as splashy as most Hollywood songwriter biopics, but it's just as entertaining and far less bloated. Astaire and Skelton make a fine team and the lilting Kalmar-Ruby score - which may not ring a bell with today's viewers - keeps the mood light and airy. Warner Archive's luscious transfer struck from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate Technicolor negatives, excellent audio, and all the extras from the 2007 DVD make this an attractive disc that will thrill MGM musical mavens and delight even casual musical fans. Recommended.