Three Little Words (1950)

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1. 

   Jane_or_Debbie_I_cant_decide

   Respectfully, I will disagree with the previous comment to mine that Three Little Words is a substandard Fred Astaire movie. Although I agree that musical biopics are often bad (think Till the Clouds roll by, Words and Music, and Night and Day), I put this in the top 5 or 7 that Fred made. The songs are great, Vera-Ellen is much under regarded as one of the best dancers in the classical musical era, and Red Skelton and Fred play off each other nicely. Plus (I don't know whether to classify the following as a guilty pleasure or not) this movie has a nearly surreal production number, Mr and Mrs Hoofer at home; and many other gems. This is a gem of its kind and should be seen and enjoyed. 3 years 11 months ago
2. 

   Siskoid

   My least favorite musical subgenre is the biopic, because biopics are generally my leave favorite movie genre. I don't think Three Little Words is an exception to that rule, despite being dressed up as a fairly standard Fred Astaire affair. Certainly, the use of Kalmar and Ruby's original songs means there's hardly a false note in the whole thing, and Astaire and Red Skelton have a good relationship going as the two leads. But this is definitely a Fred Astaire film, with the usual song and dance routines, just one where his character hurts his knee and gives up on dance. They find ways around that, either by less showy moments where he gives his feet a little go, or through a series of other artists doing the numbers (including a young dubbed-over Debbie Reynolds who nevertheless gives a fun performance in her one scene), and some very strong dancing from Vera-Ellen who is at least one of the stars (as Mrs. Kalmar). I mean, those are the realities of the biography (though I take a LOT of this with a grain of salt), so I can't be too disappointed. But I still kind of am. 4 years ago

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