Three for the Show

Three for the Show is a 1955 Technicolor and in CinemaScope musical comedy remake of Too Many Husbands. It stars actress Betty Grable, in her last musical, opposite Jack Lemmon, Gower Champion and Marge Champion. It is based on the 1919 play Home and Beauty by W. Somerset Maugham, which was retitled to Too Many Husbands when it came to New York.^[2]

Three for the Show
Poster
Directed by	H. C. Potter
Written by	Edward Hope Leonard B. Stern
Based on	Home and Beauty by W. Somerset Maugham
Produced by	Jonie Taps
Starring	Betty Grable Jack Lemmon Gower Champion Marge Champion
Cinematography	Arthur E. Arling
Edited by	Viola Lawrence
Music by	George Duning
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	February 24, 1955 (1955-02-24) (New York City)
Running time	93 minutes 89 minutes (Sony print)
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.25 million (US)[1]

Plot

Singing-and-dancing stage star Julie (Betty Grable) is told that husband Marty (Jack Lemmon) is reported missing in action during the Korean War. After a long waiting period, she makes plans to marry Vernon (Gower Champion), who is Marty's best friend. After the marriage, Marty (who crashed but survived on an island) turns up at one of Julie's shows. Upon discovering Julie's new marriage, Marty demands his rights as her first husband.

Julie finds that she is legally married to both Marty and Vernon. She soon realises that she must choose who she wants to be with, if only to avoid being branded a bigamist. But Julie loves the idea of having two husbands and so she decides to try to live with them both, to the annoyance and disapproval of Marty and Vernon who both know that her idea will not work out.

Meanwhile, Julie's close friend Gwen (Marge Champion) has a secret crush on Marty and hopes to be with him, if only Julie could make her up mind as to who she wants. After a long serious decision and a talk with them both, Julie decides that she is more in love with Marty and she leaves Vernon, who has now fallen for Gwen.

Cast

• Betty Grable as Julie Lowndes
• Jack Lemmon as Martin 'Marty' Stewart
• Gower Champion as Vernon Lowndes
• Marge Champion as Gwen Howard
• Myron McCormick as Mike Hudson
• Paul Harvey as Col. Harold J. Wharton
• Robert Bice as Sgt. Charlie O'Hallihan
• Charlotte Lawrence as Miss Williams

Reception

The New York Times called the film a "slight but cheerful item" and said "Three for the Show does serve to bring Betty Grable back to the screen. Luminously blonde and shapely enough to give the megrims to most of the readers of fan magazines, Miss Grable proves she can fill a musical, assignment as neatly as she does her pleasantly revealing wardrobe.^[3]

Songs

How Come You Do Me Like You Do? Words and Music by Gene Austin and Ray Bergere Performed by Betty Grable Down Boy Words and Music by Hoagy Carmichael and Harold Adamson Performed by Betty Grable, Gower Champion, and Jack Lemmon The song had been written by Carmichael for Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; a film that had originally been offered to Betty Grable, however Darryl F. Zanuck ordered the song removed from the film.[4] I've Got a Crush on You Words and Music by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin Performed by Betty Grable and Jack Lemmon Also performed in the finale by Betty Grable, Jack Lemmon, Marge Champion and Gower Champion Someone to Watch Over Me Words and Music by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin Performed by Marge Champion and Gower Champion during the opening titles and danced to by the couple later in the picture. Later sung by Marge Champion

Swan Lake Danced to by Marge Champion and Gower Champion in French royal court costuming during a dream sequence Just One of Those Things Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter (uncredited) Performed by Betty Grable, Marge Champion and Gower Champion Which One Words and Music by Lester Lee and Ned Washington Performed by Marge Champion Polovetsian Dances Music by Aleksandr Borodin (uncredited) Used as introductory music for "Which One" I've Been Kissed Before Words and Music by Bob Russell and Lester Lee Performed by Betty Grable. Finale from "William Tell Overture" From the opera William Tell' by Gioacchino Rossini. Danced to by Gower Champion in the Two Husbands fantasy

See also

• List of American films of 1955
• My Favorite Wife, a 1940 film, in which it is the wife (played by Irene Dunne) who returns, just as her husband (Cary Grant) embarks on his honeymoon
• Move Over, Darling, the 1963 remake of My Favorite Wife, starring Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen

References

1. 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956
2. Mordden, Ethan (2007). All That Glittered: The Golden Age of Drama on Broadway, 1919-1959. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-312-33898-5.
3. "Screen: Betty Grable Is Back; Three for the Show Opens at the Roxy". The New York Times. February 25, 1955. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
4. pp.283-284 Sudhalter, Richard M. Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael Oxford University Press, 2003

External links

• Three for the Show at IMDb
• Three for the Show at Rotten Tomatoes
• Three for the Show at the TCM Movie Database
• Three for the Show at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films