Tom, Dick and Harry (1941)

I was left in a state of despair after watching Tom, Dick and Harry. The fact that a Ginger Rogers film could be this shockingly below par. It's not just a forgettable, run of the mill film. Heck, I wish I could call it mediocre. Tom, Dick and Harry is horrifyingly bad.Although the opening title is creative, it all goes downhill from there. For starters there is a "joke" early during the film, in which Phil Silvers asks Rogers if she wants some ice cream, he mentions a variety of flavours, Rogers mentions he forgot one, Silver's denies it. Once he leaves, Rogers say to her date that he forgot to say pistachio. Several minutes later Silvers returns just to mention he forgot Pistachio. I don't get it, what's the punch line!? Rest assured my laugh count by the end of the film was a total of 0.Let's move onto the most awful thing about Tom, Dick and Harry. I am talking about the film's dream sequences. They sound like an interesting idea on paper but good lord, are they terrifying! I rarely find any movie scary, weather classified as horror or not but never have I been so close to wanting the literally hide behind the couch. The most terrifying thing about these sequences are the adults dressed as babies, miniaturised and superimposed in the scenes. The Exorcist? Rosemary's Baby? Phhh , please. Those adults dressed as babies is where it's at when it comes to the stuff nightmares are made of. Was David Lynch inspired by this film? It's like something straight out of Eraserhead. Every time one of these dream sequences was about to start I was pleading with the movie, "please not another one!". This was the last thing I was expecting from a 1940's movie with such an innocent, carefree title.I can assure you that I'm not exaggerating when I call Tom, Dick and Harry one of the absolute worst films I've seen from Hollywood's golden age. After finishing the film I had to watch something else in order to help get it of my mind, not only because it's a terrible film starring my beloved Ginger Rogers but because those dream sequences will give me my own horrible nightmares (Just for the record the film I watched was Lonely are the Brave starring Kirk Douglas, which did the trick). I'd imagine after winning an Oscar for Kitty Foyle, Ginger Rogers would have had all sorts of film offers going her way. Heck, she turned down Ball of Fire and instead appeared in this. I don't even like thinking about it. Thankfully the following year she stared in The Major and the Minor, so all is forgiven.

Tom, Dick, and Harry rests on thin plot - Ginger Rogers' character Janie, a telephone operator, has to choose between her steady (Murphy), a man she just met (Meredith), and a rich man she's been dreaming about (Marshall). The romances between the characters are complimented by outrageous dream sequences that are really just ridiculous, but I found them quite funny. Burgess Meredith and Ginger Rogers share a charming chemistry - especially in a scene where their kiss fantastically "rings bells"...possibly the cutest kiss scene ever, reminiscent of Mia's foot-popping in The Princess Diaries. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and laughed a lot, as should any Rogers fan, or Meredith fan for that matter, would. But, it is hard to find. I don't believe it's been released on DVD yet, but it is a rare find on VHS.

Ginger Rogers could act, sing, dance, you name it. She did get her just desserts, unlike several other gifted performers of the period such as Cary Grant, with an Academy Award for "Kitty Foyle." "Tom Dick and Harry" was Ginger's next picture following her award winning performance. Perhaps that is why it is not so well known today, because it fell in the shadow of "Kitty Foyle." Too bad for this is definitely a winner in all departments. The delicious dream sequences are like no others, not even those by Salvador Dali for Hitchcock's "Spellbound." Not only are they surreal but they are also hilarious.As the title indicates, Janie (Ginger) must decide among three suitors, Tom, Dick, and Harry, each having asked her to marry him. Tom is the ambitious one, Dick the rich one, and Harry the lovable deadbeat. There is even a very racy part where all three disrobe and are about to jump into bed with her. The audience can tell my the look on Janie's face that this idea certainly appeals to her. But, alas, she must put a stop to the fun before the blessed event actually takes place (This is 1941 remember). The viewer may be a bit surprised with her final choice among Tom, Dick, and Harry at the end of the movie. One reason this all works is not only because of the talent before the camera but also because of the talent behind the camera. The director Garson Kanin was one of the most successful and capable directors and later writers of screwball comedies to come out of Hollywood. He would later help write the script for the Tracy and Hepburn classic "Adam's Rib."Phil Silvers has a funny cameo on lover's land (Inspiration Point)where he is trying to sell ice cream to all the young lovers parked there by the "No Parking" sign. You can imagine how much success he has.Ginger plays the role of Janie a telephone operator. Her performance in "Tom Dick and Harry" inspired the creation of Ernestine the Operator by Lily Tomlin. So the fun continues. Also George Murphy who plays Tom tells Janie in a dream sequence that he has been promoted to the office of President. She replies, "You've already told me that." Tom retorts, "No, not president of the company. President of the United States." This was considered just a funny line at the time. It is now ironic that later in real life Murphy was elected Congressman and became the inspiration for Ronald Reagan to enter politics.

Just in case you think that Hollywood never made horrible movies during the Golden Age, this one comes along to set the record straight.Although I love Ginger Rogers with Fred Astaire, she clearly thought of herself as a more versatile actress. While I have not seen her in her dramatic role for Kitty Foyle, as a comedienne (here, and in Monkey Business), she is horrible acting like a giggling teenager.She plays a telephone operator who is being pursued for marriage by three different guys. Tom is a stable, hardworking guy, but she doesn't really love him. Harry is a "what me worry" type whose kiss does cause her to hear bells! Finally, Dick is the proverbial movie millionaire.Each guy gets his own "fantasy sequence" when Ginger tries to imagine what life would be like with them.Overall, this is just a stupid movie. Lots of blame accrues to the script, which is extremely lame.Don't blame me if you rent this one anyway!