Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Three Little Words Blu-ray Movie Review

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Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 18, 2024

Director Richard Thorpe's effervescent musical biopic Three Little Words dramatizes the life and times of Tin Pan Alley songwriting duo Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) and Harry Ruby (Red Skelton), whose respective contributions to dance / lyricism and piano playing during the Vaudeville era were heard on several Marx Bros. films including Animal Crackers, Horse Feathers, and of course Duck Soup, as well as other comedies such as Wheeler and Woolsey's Kentucky Kernels. Produced and released to a warm reception just a few years after Kalmar's untimely death in 1947, Three Little Words is thankfully more a celebration than some kind of tacky tell-all, and one that's further buoyed by a great supporting performance from Vera-Ellen, who plays Kalmar's lovely dance partner and future wife Jessie Brown.

Full synopses aren't always necessary with films like Three Little Words, which doesn't require much hindsight analysis and plays better for newcomers if they go in blind. But if a basic setup is at least warranted, it follows the dynamic duo through the ins and outs of their long partnership, their loves and losses, shared hobbies (magic and baseball!)... even a knee injury that prevents Kalmar for quite some time, which affects his mood greatly but allows him to focus more on music. All the while, a string of hit songs -- beginning with "My Sunny Tennessee" in 1921 -- keeps the pair busy, and likewise many of them are featured in a handful of standout musical performances. There are, of course, huge liberties taken with the source material -- not just in the area of historical fact, but even certain anachronistic elements of the music played and performed during specific eras. But that, as they say, is show business, and the end result is pure entertainment that feels like it captures the proper sprit of its subjects even if a lot of the facts seem iffy.

The film's lead and supporting performances are suitably showy from top to bottom; not just the acting itself, which is of course as colorful as you'd expect for this kind of melodrama, although Red Skelton deserves credit for reigning in his usual over-the-top style of performance for something more restrained here. But singing and dancing are the real stars of Three Little Words, which is evident from the very first choreographed opening number and in more than a few striking solo and duet performances, including those by an uncredited Anita Ellis who was subbed in as the vocalist for Vera-Ellen. Debbie Reynolds even has an early role -- only her second on-screen appearance -- as Helen Kane, whose prototypical "Betty Boop" singing voice was supplied by the real (though again uncredited) Kane.

I'll also admit that musicals, Golden Age or otherwise, aren't usually my cup of tea when the songs aren't organically inserted as a true extension of the story. As limited as it can be at times, Three Little Words has a knack for making its musical numbers play like a seamless part of the film, propelling it forward rather than feeling like a sideshow.

All told, Three Little Words hardly reinvents the genre but nonetheless remains an appealing crowd-pleaser now almost 75 years after its original theatrical release, where the film turned a tidy profit while bolstering the legacy of the talent portrayed on-screen. Warner Archive likewise keeps the dream alive with another top-tier restoration of this Technicolor beauty, which includes outstanding lossless audio and a nice little selection of era-specific bonus features that play well as pre or post-show entertainment. The boutique label's musical output has been surprisingly light this year, so I've got a good feeling that established fans of the film and newcomers will enjoy Three Little Words immensely.

Three Little Words Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive's dazzling 1080p transfer of Three Little Words is sourced from a recent 4K scan of the film's original Technicolor nitrate negatives... and if you're familiar with the boutique label's track record with this kind of source material, you should know that it's as close to perfection as any other disc I've seen this year. As evidenced by the included direct-from-disc screenshots, fine detail and textures are uniformly strong in the right conditions, while color reproduction is as superb as you'd expect for this particular format. Depth, stability, and contrast levels are also quite good, and the whole show runs at a supportively high bit rate from start to finish on this dual-layered disc with no obvious compression-related issues. Much like Warner Archive's Blu-ray treatment of similar Technicolor productions from this era, it's a five-star effort that should please die-hard fans and newcomers alike.

Three Little Words Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Keeping pace is this rich and surprisingly dynamic DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track, which is about as full-bodied and crisp as possible for source material produced during this era. Dialogue is always clean and intelligible, background effects are well-balanced, and of course the frequent musical numbers come through cleanly and with no age-related wear-and-tear to speak of. Optional English (SDH) subtitles round out this perfectly pleasing split-channel presentation, which of course extends to song lyrics for musical aficionados who want to sing along at home.

Three Little Words Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed artwork. A few DVD-era extras are included.

• Three Little Words: Two Swell Guys (15:13) - This mid-2000s featurette features bite-sized and mostly surface-level details about the film's production as well as the real lives and careers of Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar. It's nonetheless an enjoyable watch and will go down easy for those unfamiliar with the history.

• Ventriloquist Cat (6:43) - If this 1950 Tex Avery cartoon short looks familiar, that's because it was included in Warner Archive's Tex Avery Screwball Classics, Volume 2 Blu-ray collection released a few years ago. Either way, it's a fun short and features Spike the Bulldog battling a stray cat who can throw his voice.

• Roaming Through Michigan (8:49) - It's hard to believe this James A. FitzPatrick "Traveltalks" short also came from 1950 because it looks so dated, but it takes us on a lightweight tour of several state landmarks.

• "Paula Stone's Hollywood USA" Radio Promo (11:23) - This short but enjoyable vintage radio program, hosted by the former film actress, was created to promote Three Little Words.

• Original Theatrical Trailer (3:41) - Prefaced by a short black-and-white clip from "Academy Award Night with George Murphy", this lively promotional piece can also be seen here.

• Song Selection - Instant access to the film's 21 main performances and musical cues including "Where Did You Get That Girl?", "I Wanna Be Loved by You", "Thinking of You", and many others.

Three Little Words Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Richard Thorpe's Three Little Words is a solid little musical biopic whose portrayal of its main subjects, the legendary Vaudeville-era songwriting duo of Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, isn't historically accurate by any stretch but it's still a lot of fun. This is the kind of lightweight melodrama that follows the spirit of the law more than the letter, with no shortage of standout music performances that keep things moving nicely. Warner Archive's rock-solid Blu-ray presentation has outstanding A/V restoration merits and an assortment of DVD-era bonus features, making Three Little Words a nicely well-rounded package that's worth buying for fans and newcomers alike. Highly Recommended for sure.