Movies in 2026 51

 

Three on a Match, (Mervyn LeRoy, 1932)

 
I continue to work my way through the Pre-Code Mervyn LeRoy collection on the Criterion Channel. Sometimes, when I'm tired, their shortness and oversized theatrics is a welcome. That doesn't mean that they are just flighty entertainment, and it would be grossly unfair to consider them as such. The very fact that so many of them caused "outrage" among the religious leaders of the time, and eventually led to the Code, speaks to the fact that they were talking about things that "polite" society didn't approve of and didn't think should be part of the national cultural dialogue. Rather, there are nights when you just find yourself saying, I don't think I'm up for Kieslowski or Bergman or Trier tonight, but an hour and five minutes of pre-Code bad behavior is a fitting nightcap. Last night I finished LeRoy's 1932 film Three on a Match. It was kind of a mess, mainly because I think they were trying to tell about three hours of story in an hour and five minutes. If nothing else, it's notable for the appearances of a very young Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. Davis is one of the three main stars, although with the smallest and least-demanding role, and Bogart doesn't pop up until around forty-five minutes into the movie (as always, as soon as Humphrey Bogart strides onto the screen everybody else disappears into the background, such is that strange cinematic magnetism that he always possessed). It tells the story of Mary (Joan Blondell), Vivian (Ann Dvorak), and Ruth (Davis), who grow up together, but then go their separate ways, before reuniting with unforeseen (some good, some terrible) consequences. I'm sure several things grabbed the attention of the more puritanical viewers, mainly Vivian cuckolding her attorney husband Robert (played by Warren William, in a classic Warren William role) with Michael (Lyle Talbot, in a typically slimy Lyle Talbot role) - and, by the end, Vivian clearly being a coke addict (emphasized by the fact that Bogart, smiling to the other members of the gang, brushes his fingers under his nose). Like I said, it's kind of a mess, especially with a kidnapping thrown in with exactly ten minutes left in the movie - and it's frustrating for a film buff to see Davis and Bogart given so little to do (but, again, they were just getting started - and in that sense it's kind of cool to see them) - but, all things considered, I'd recommend it. If for no other reason it does give you a sense of what eventually led to the disastrous Code a few years later.