''Three Guys Named Mike'' is a 1951 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Charles Walters Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Charles Walters was born in Pasad ...

and starring

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer, known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the CBS te ...

, and

Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...

."Articles: 'Three Guys Named Mike'."
'

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

''. Retrieved: December 22, 2008. It was released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. Described as a "lighthearted and lightweight story" by

, ''Three Guys Named Mike'' chronicles the story of an airline stewardess (the term at that time) and her three suitors.

Plot

Marcy Lewis is a young woman from Indiana with an ambition to become an airline stewardess and see the world. She takes an

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

training course and passes. Her first flight is nearly her last when, after inadvertently offending the pilot, Mike Jamison, she forgets the passengers' food. Unknown to Marcy, Mike's intervention with her boss earns her a second chance. Marcy's home base is moved to Los Angeles and she finds an apartment with one friend from stewardess school. She meets a passenger, Mike Lawrence, who is a graduate research student in biology, then also nearly loses her job again by permitting a young passenger to keep her dog in the cabin, against the airline's rules. Marcy is suspended for a week. While she's house-hunting, the battery in Marcy's car dies and a man named Mike Tracy helps

push start Push starting, also known as bump starting, roll starting, clutch starting, popping the clutch or crash starting, is a method of starting a motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine and with a manual transmission and with a mechanical fuel ...

it. Only later does she learn that he works for a Chicago advertising agency. An idea of hers, to let stewardesses endorse soap, pleases Tracy's client, and soon Marcy is invited by a photographer to pose for magazine ads herself. When all three show up to help Marcy move into the new bungalow she is now sharing with three of her friends from stewardess training, she struggles to keep the Mikes straight. Marcy names her male companions, Mike for Mike Lawrence, Mickey for Mike Tracy and Michael for Mike Jamison. All of them are jealous of Marcy and vie for her attention. During a party later at her bungalow, Marcy is called away when ad agency's photographer requests one more picture to send out with the rest of the ad campaign for approval. Marcy finds herself dressed in a very short sarong, totally unlike the regulation company uniform in which all the other pictures were taken. The photographer is clearly inebriated and flirts aggressively with her. She objects strenuously, but he ignores her objections. The three Mikes arrive in time to thwart the photographer, but then wind up brawling with each other, which makes the newspapers and gets both Marcy and her pilot friend suspended from their jobs, as well as costing Mickey his account and jeopardizing Mike's job as a graduate research student and consideration for a special fellowship award for an outstanding scientist. The latter would earn Mike a teaching position at the college. Marcy goes to the superiors of all three men personally to plead for their reinstatement. After she succeeds, each of the three Mikes proposes marriage to her as she is about to board a plane. Uncertain what to do, Marcy finally reacts favorably to Mike Lawrence's simple "I love you," and the other two Mikes concede that he is the guy for her.

Cast

Anne Sargent and Jane Wyman in Three Guys Named Mike

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

as Marcy Lewis *

as Michael Lawrence, "Mike" the scientist *

as Mike Jamison, "Michael" the pilot *

as Mike Tracy, "Mickey" the ad man *

Phyllis Kirk Phyllis Kirk (born Phyllis Kirkgaard; September 18, 1927 October 19, 2006) was an American actress. Early life Kirk was born in Syracuse, New York, although some sources state her birthplace as Plainfield, New Jersey. She contracted polio as ...

as Kathy Hunter *

Anne Sargent Anne Sargent (born Helen W. Thomas; November 18, 1923 – July 23, 2007) was a film and stage actress from West Pittston, Pennsylvania,''Hedda Hopper'', Los Angeles Times, July 27, 1950, pg. B10. who performed in theater under the directi ...

as Jan Baker *

Jeff Donnell Jean Marie "Jeff" Donnell (July 10, 1921 – April 11, 1988) was an American film and television actress. Early years Donnell was born in South Windham, Maine, to Harold and Mildred Donnell, when her father was superintendent at a boys' reform ...

as Alice Reymend *

Herbert Heyes Herbert Harrison Heyes (August 3, 1889 – May 31, 1958) was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1915 and 1956, including the famed 1947 film '' Miracle on 34th Street'', in which he played an ahistorical "Mr. Gimbel ...

as Scott Bellamy * Robert Sherwood as Benson * Don McGuire as MacWade Parker *

Barbara Billingsley Barbara Billingsley (born Barbara Lillian Combes; December 22, 1915 – October 16, 2010) was an American actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in ''Three Guys Named Mike'' (1951), ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' (1952), and '' Inva ...

as Ann White *

Hugh Sanders Hugh Howard Sanders (March 13, 1911 – January 9, 1966) was an American actor, probably best known for playing the role of Dr. Reynolds in the movie ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. Biography Born in Illinois, Sanders graduated from Northwestern U ...

as Mr. Williams * John Maxwell as Dr. Matthew Hardy * Lewis Martin as C.R. Smith * Ethel "Pug" Wells as Herself * Sydney Mason as Osgood

Production

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy ''The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer ...

wrote the screenplay. ''Three Guys Named Mike'' was "based on the story by

Ruth Brooks Flippen Ruth Brooks Flippen (born Ruth Albertina Brooks; September 14, 1921 – July 9, 1981) was an American screenwriter and television writer. Life and career Born Ruth Albertina Brooks on September 14, 1921, in Brooklyn, Flippen was married to chara ...

, from suggestions made by Ethel 'Pug' Wells", according to the screen credits. Wells was a flight attendant for

from Mississippi who was discovered by director

William Wellman William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on avi ...

when she encountered him on a flight and told him stories of her adventures in the air. She appears in a bit part in one scene, playing herself, and is credited as "

Technical Advisor In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a ...

". Jane Wyman was a major star at that time and her co-stars were equally notable, with Van Johnson being one of MGM's leading actors and Howard Keel having recently achieved stardom in '' Annie Get Your Gun''.

assisted in the production of the film and allowed the use of its aircraft for no charge. Specific airliners featured are the

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with th ...

and

Convair 240 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...

. Many scenes were shot on location at airports and some scenes portray the training given at the American Airlines school for flight attendants. The film entered the

public domain in the United States Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights (such as copyright) at all, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired. All works first published or released in the United States b ...

because the claimants did not renew its

copyright registration The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a cop ...

in the 28th year after publication.

Reception

''Three Guys Named Mike'' earned an estimated $1,707,000 at the US/Canadian box office and $523,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit to MGM of $577,000. Reviewer

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' criticized ''Three Guys Named Mike'', stating that "for services rendered in the advertising line, that company merican Airlinesshould award her arcya gold star (its name is all over the film). But if she's still hostessing, it should keep an eye on her. We suspect she spends too much time reading those leather-bound slick magazines rather than attending to the business of serving her real-life passengers" in relation to the glamorized portrayal of airline travel. Turner Classic Movies points out that many other critics gave a positive reception to the film.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Morella, Joe and Edward Z. Epstein. ''Jane Wyman: A Biography''. New York: Delacorte Press, 1985. .

External links

* * * {{Charles Walters 1951 films 1951 romantic comedy films American Airlines American aviation films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Charles Walters Films scored by Bronisław Kaper Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by Sidney Sheldon Films about flight attendants 1950s American films