''Tom, Dick and Harry'' is a 1941

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Garson Kanin Garson Kanin (November 24, 1912 – March 13, 1999) was an American writer and director of plays and films. Early life Garson Kanin was born in Rochester, New York; his family later relocated to Detroit then to New York City. He attended ...

, written by

Paul Jarrico Paul Jarrico (January 12, 1915 – October 28, 1997) was an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses during the era of McCarthyism. Biography Early years Paul Jarrico was born in Los ...

, and starring

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor, and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild fro ...

, Alan Marshal,

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

, and

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

. It was released by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

. Rogers was working on the film when she was awarded the Oscar as Best Actress for her 1940 performance in '' Kitty Foyle''. It was her first film released after her Oscar win. It was remade as ''

The Girl Most Likely ''The Girl Most Likely'' (1958) is a musical and comedy film about a young woman who becomes engaged to three men at the same time. The film, a remake of '' Tom, Dick and Harry'' (1941), was directed by Mitchell Leisen, and stars Jane Powell, Cl ...

'' (1957), a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

which was also the last film released by RKO.

Plot

Janie (

) is a telephone operator and a daydreamer. Her fondest wish is to land a rich husband. She has a boyfriend, Tom (

), a car salesman, who wants to get married, which results in Janie dreaming about what their life together would be like. Listening in on a long-distance phone call between the wealthiest eligible bachelor in town, Dick Hamilton ( Alan Marshal), and the girl Dick has been dating, Janie makes a wish that she could meet him. When an expensive car pulls alongside her that instant, Janie takes it as her wish being granted. Turns out it is garage mechanic Harry (

), driving it to be repaired. Harry is immediately smitten. He spends time with Janie, kisses her and proposes marriage. Janie's head is spinning and she daydreams about being a mechanic's wife. Disconnecting a call, Janie causes a quarrel between Dick and his girl. She ends up meeting Dick and falling for him. Tom and Harry are waiting for her, leading Janie to declare that she's engaged to all three. A dream of being Dick's wealthy wife causes her to choose him, but at the last minute, a kiss from Harry changes her mind one last time.

Cast

as Janie *

as Tom * Alan Marshal as Dick *

as Harry *

as Ice Cream Vendor * Joe Cunningham as Father *

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

as Mother *

Lenore Lonergan Lenore Lonergan (June 2, 1928 in Toledo, Ohio – August 31, 1987) was a stage and film actress during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Biography She came from a long line of actors; her paternal grandfather, Lester Lonergan, was an Irish-b ...

as Butch (Janie's sister) * Vickie Lester as Paula (Vickie Lester) * Betty Breckenridge as Gertrude

Reception

The film earned a profit of $234,000. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an aggregate score of 100% based on 5 critic reviews.

References

External links

* * * * {{Garson Kanin 1941 films 1941 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films 1940s English-language films American black-and-white films Films scored by Roy Webb Films directed by Garson Kanin RKO Pictures films 1940s American films