''Three Little Girls in Blue'' is a 1946

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

H. Bruce Humberstone H. Bruce "Lucky" Humberstone (November 18, 1901 – October 11, 1984) was an American film director. He was previously a movie actor (as a child), a script clerk, and an assistant director, working with directors such as King Vidor, Edmund Gould ...

and starring

June Haver June Haver (born Beverly June Stovenour, June 10, 1926 – July 4, 2005) was an American film actress, singer, and dancer. Once groomed by 20th Century Fox to be "the next Betty Grable", Haver appeared in a string of musicals, but she never achie ...

along with George Montgomery,

Vivian Blaine Vivian Blaine (born Vivian Stapleton; November 21, 1921 – December 9, 1995) was an American actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production of ''Guys and Dolls'', as well as appearin ...

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to th ...

, and Vera-Ellen. The

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

film was adapted from Stephen Powys' 1938 play ''Three Blind Mice'' and featured songs with music by

Josef Myrow Josef Myrow (February 18, 1910 – December 24, 1987 in Los Angeles, California) was a Russian Empire-born composer, known for his work in film scores in the 1940s and 1950s. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1947 for the song "You Do ...

and lyrics by

Mack Gordon Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American composer and lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years betwee ...

. The score is notable for the first appearance of the song "

You Make Me Feel So Young "You Make Me Feel So Young" is a 1946 popular music, popular song composed by Josef Myrow, with lyrics written by Mack Gordon. It was introduced in the 1946 musical film ''Three Little Girls in Blue'', where it was sung by the characters performed ...

Plot summary

In 1902

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York Metropolitan A ...

, sisters of modest means Pam (

), Liz (

), and Myra Charters ( Vera-Ellen) inherit a chicken farm from their aunt. They soon discover that the windfall is not quite enough to finance their dreams of attracting and marrying millionaires. Reasoning that if one of them catches a rich husband, the other two will thereafter find it easier to do the same, they decide to pool their inheritances. Pam poses as a wealthy heiress, Liz poses as her social secretary, and Myra poses as her maid. The three go to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

, check into a luxurious hotel, and promptly meet millionaire Steve Harrington (

Frank Latimore Franklin Latimore (born Franklin Latimore Kline, September 28, 1925 – November 29, 1998) was an American actor. Life and career Latimore was born in Darien, Connecticut. He came from a well-to-do family, and was able to trace his lineage ba ...

). When Steve sends a bottle of champagne to Pam, Myra meets Mike ( Charles Smith), a waiter who becomes taken with her. A third man, Steve's friend Van Damm Smith ( George Montgomery), ostensibly another millionaire, joins in the following day when the girls' plot to interest Steve by pretending to be drowning goes awry. Steve and Van both court Pam, while Myra and Mike fall in love. Although ostensibly pursuing Pam, Steve begins to be attracted to Liz. Van proposes to Pam; however, she tells him the truth about her plan to marry a rich man and he in turn reveals that he is not really rich and is also scheming to marry a rich woman. The two call off their romance, deciding to stick to their plans of marrying money. Van helps Pam by telling Steve that she is in love with him; Steve proposes to Pam and she accepts. The couples are all sorted out after a trip to Harrington's family home in Maryland, with some help from Steve's sister Miriam (

). Steve finally realizes he is in love with Liz, Van and Pam decide they would rather be with one another, and Mike and Myra are married.

Cast

as Pam Charters * George Montgomery as Van Damm Smith *

as Liz Charters *

as Miriam Harrington * Vera-Ellen as Myra Charters *

as Steve Harrington * Charles Smith as Mike Bailey (uncredited)

Production

Production on this movie began in November 1945 and was completed in February 1946, over 100 days of shooting at a cost of $2,335,000. The main cast members were all on contract to Fox; Celeste Holm made her Hollywood film debut as Miriam Harrington. It was reported

wanted Broadway actor/dancer

Harold Lang Harold Lang (December 21, 1920 – July 26, 1985) was an American dancer, singer and actor. Life and career Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then goi ...

for the role of Vera-Ellen's boyfriend Mike but he had to refuse because of stage commitments. His replacement was Charles Smith.

Screenplay

Valentine Davies Valentine Loewi Davies (August 25, 1905 – July 23, 1961) was an American film and television writer, producer, and director. His film credits included ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), ''Chicken Every Sunday'' (1949), ''It Happens Every Spring ...

adapted the screenplay from the play ''Three Blind Mice'' which was credited to Stephen Powys, the professional alias of

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred w ...

. Fox had acquired the American rights to the play in 1937, first making a non-musical 1938 movie (also called ''

Three Blind Mice "Three Blind Mice" is an English-language nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number o ...

''). It was adapted as the movie musical '' Moon Over Miami'' in 1941 before being tapped again five years later as the basis for ''Three Little Girls in Blue''. The plot—three fortune-hunting sisters encounter humorous difficulties—was scarcely altered; even the character names are largely unchanged from the play. The locale was shifted to Atlantic City and the timeframe moved to 1902, reflecting a turn-of-the-century theme popular in musicals at the time.

Music

, who also produced the film, wrote the lyrics and

composed most of the songs for ''Three Little Girls in Blue'', including "On the Boardwalk (in Atlantic City)", "Somewhere in the Night", and "

". Initially, Gordon thought "You Make Me Feel So Young" too modern for the 1902 setting, but when

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

heard all the music played, he insisted on using it three times in the movie. "This is Always", composed by

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

with lyrics by Gordon, was sung by Haver and

Ben Gage Ben Gage (born Benjamin Austin Gage, October 29, 1914 – April 28, 1978) was an American radio singer and announcer, occasional off-screen film singer dubbing the voice of non-singing actors, and television actor active from 1937 to 1975. ...

(singing for Montgomery) in production, but the number did not make the final cut; This duet for Haver and Montgomery was set on the beach at night. It was presumably deleted because it had close-ups of Montgomery, who reportedly had demanded a salary increase after production had started. The outtake remains in the trailer. Apparently a blacklist by studio head

took effect since Montgomery's subsequent films were mostly

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s, starting in 1947 with “

The Brasher Doubloon ''The Brasher Doubloon'' (known in the UK as ''The High Window'') is a 1947 American crime film noir directed by John Brahm and starring George Montgomery and Nancy Guild. It is based on the 1942 novel ''The High Window'' by Raymond Chandler. F ...

”. After that, there were no more Montgomery films produced by

. "If You Can't Get a Girl in the Summertime", playing in the background while Haver and Montgomery dance, was not written for the film but was composed in 1915 by

Harry Tierney Harry Austin Tierney (May 21, 1890 – March 22, 1965) was an American composer of musical theatre, best known for long-running hits such as ''Irene'' (1919), Broadway's longest-running show of the era (620 performances), ''Kid Boots'' (1923) and'' ...

with lyrics by

Bert Kalmar Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter. Biography Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early age ...

. Several of the main roles were not sung by the actors portraying them. Vera-Ellen's singing voice was dubbed by Carol Stewart, Ben Gage dubbed for George Montgomery, Bob Scott sang for Frank Latimore, and

Del Porter Del Porter (April 13, 1902, Newberg, Oregon – October 4, 1977, Los Angeles) was an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, and clarinetist who, in the 1930s, performed on Broadway, toured with Glenn Miller, and recorded with Bing Crosby, Dick Powe ...

for Charles Smith.

Release

''Three Little Girls in Blue'' premiered at the Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City on September 3, 1946, opened in New York on September 26, and opened across the US in October. It was one of six films to earn over $3 million for Fox in 1946.

Reviews

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 ...

'' gave the film a reserved but positive review, calling it "just a sprightly, happy show"; Holm and Vera-Ellen were singled out for praise, as was the score. The industry paper ''

Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' also discounted the story but praised the score and the production; this review, too, took note of the performances of Holm and Vera-Ellen.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{H. Bruce Humberstone 1946 films 1946 musical comedy films 1940s historical comedy films American historical comedy films American musical comedy films 20th Century Fox films Films directed by H. Bruce Humberstone Films set in 1902 Films set in Atlantic City, New Jersey American historical musical films 1940s historical musical films 1940s American films