''Three for the Show'' is a 1955

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 ...

and in CinemaScope musical

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

remake of '' Too Many Husbands''. It stars actress

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

, in her last musical, opposite Jack Lemmon,

Gower Champion Gower Carlyle Champion (June 22, 1919 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer. Early years Champion was born on June 22, 1919, in Geneva, Illinois, as the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Car ...

and

Marge Champion Marjorie Celeste Champion ( Belcher; September 2, 1919October 21, 2020) was an American dancer and actress. At fourteen, she was hired as a dance model for Walt Disney Studios animated films. Later, she performed as an actress and dancer in film ...

. 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.

Plot

Singing-and-dancing stage star Julie (

) is told that husband Marty ( Jack Lemmon) is reported missing in action during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. After a long waiting period, she makes plans to marry Vernon (

), 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 (

) 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

as Julie Lowndes * Jack Lemmon as Martin 'Marty' Stewart *

as Vernon Lowndes *

as Gwen Howard *

Myron McCormick Myron McCormick (February 8, 1908 – July 30, 1962) was an American actor of stage, radio and film. Early life and education Born in Albany, Indiana, in 1908, Walter Myron McCormick was the middle child of Walter P. and Bessie M. McCormick ...

as Mike Hudson *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous '' The Rest ...

as Col. Harold J. Wharton *

Robert Bice Robert Bice (March 14, 1914 – January 8, 1968), was an American television and film actor. Biography He was born on March 14, 1914, in Dallas, Texas. He died on January 8, 1968, in Los Angeles, California. Career Bice appeared in 199 films a ...

as Sgt. Charlie O'Hallihan * Charlotte Lawrence as Miss Williams

Reception

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 d ...

'' 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.

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 Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

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.pp.283-284 Sudhalter, Richard M. ''Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael'' Oxford University Press, 2003 * 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 ::Later sung by Marge Champion * 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 The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera '' William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, a ...

" ::From the opera ''

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

' by Gioacchino Rossini. ::Danced to by Gower Champion in the Two Husbands fantasy

References

External links