Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Don't listen to the negative reviews

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Jane Powell and Gordon MacRae, supported by Gene Nelson and Jack E. Leonard, are the stars that carry this musical comedy. Powell displays real beauty (accented by some sharp fashions) while singing and dancing up a storm. MacRae's voice may be the best part of this film.Jack E. Leonard appears in his first film. A stand-up comic better known for his appearances on television variety shows like "The Mike Douglas Show" or "The Merv Griffin Show", Leonard displays great energy and a surprising lightness on his feet.The film is about the evolution of a stage musical that is backed by some sailors (and later, some marines). It starts off as a dog, but eventually becomes a hit. The film takes a similar path; it is only in the final act that "Three Sailors" feels like a solid piece of entertainment.Look for Merv Griffin himself as a sailor. Burt Lancaster contributes a comic cameo.As musical comedies go, this film is a lightweight, but it has moments that are entertaining.

For an old much recycled plot, this ain't too bad. Both a retread of the sailors on leave in the big apple plot and the George S. Kaufman play "Butter and Egg Man", this is a slightly above average musical with a talented cast and a few good songs. Three sailors on leave are conned into investing their money (and their pals) in a Broadway show. Producer Sam Levene is your typical New York shyster who has no idea of what he's doing so the sailors take over. Handsome Gordon MacRae falls for leading lady Jane Powell, while rotund Jack Leonard clowns and Gene Nelson dances. The show they do could be called "This is the Navy" but ends up becoming too technical so some well known Broadway personalities come in to doctor the show.The silliness of the plot is topped by some of the musical numbers (by Sammy Fain and Sammy Cahn), most outrageously one ("I Got Butterflies") sung and danced in an auto shop utilizing much of the equipment. Powell has an amusing comedy number, "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (Or I'll Scream!"). Leonard comes off as a combination of Lou Costello and Jackie Gleason and tries too hard to be cute. Powell and Leonard do get to perform the amusing "Show Me a Happy Woman (and I'll Show You a Miserable Man)". That favorite tough girl Veda Ann Borg has some amusing lines. A fan favorite of the time has a cameo at the end with a hilarious reference. Overall, this is better than some of Warner Brothers' non-Doris Day musical numbers, thanks to the actress loaned to MGM for the occasion.

An American submarine docks for shore leave in New York City. The sailors decide to invest their money in a Broadway musical, instead of spending it on women. The presence of Jack Larson and Merv Griffin among the sailors somehow makes this seem more plausible. The "Three Sailors…" of the title are singer Gordon MacRae (as "Choirboy" Jones), dancer Gene Nelson (as "Twitch"), and rotund comedian Jack E. Leonard (as "Porky"). They meet promising musical comedy star Jane Powell (as Penny Weston), "…and a Girl" completes the title. She wears some sexy costumes, to show off her hourglass figure. Also watch for the service station dance solo from Mr. Nelson.**** Three Sailors and a Girl (11/23/53) Roy Del Ruth ~ Jane Powell, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Jack E. Leonard

Warner Brothers musical Three Sailors And A Girl is based, very loosely based I might add on the George S. Kaufman play The Butter And Egg Man that ran on Broadway during the Twenties. It was one of Kaufman's earliest successes and one he did without a collaborator, unusual for him. It was the Navy participation in this film that was original.Otherwise the plot has some down and out producer suckering a country yokel out of a lot of money to produce his show. In the film, the yokel is a sailor played by Gordon MacRae with a stern sense of morality, rather unusual for someone in the Navy. The crew has been on active duty for almost a year and their back pay which they've been unable to spend amounts to a considerable nest egg. While on Wall Street looking for an investment, MacRae, Gene Nelson, and Jack E. Leonard run into producer Sam Levene and he gets the boys to invest in his show. And the attraction is leading lady Jane Powell who falls for Gordon big time.No big hits come from the score written by Sammy Fain and Sammy Cahn, but the numbers are serviceable to the plot. MacRae and Powell make a good team musically, too bad they were at different studios and didn't do more films together, Powell was on loan from MGM. Gene Nelson was as always great in the dance numbers, I've said it before on other of his films I've reviewed, he came along ten years too late, what a really big dancing star he would have been.Jack E. Leonard was an early version of Don Rickles. I remember seeing him many times on the Ed Sullivan Show as a kid. His character was interesting, but too bad we didn't get one of his insult monologues for which he was so famous.Part of the plot involves MacRae taking over the show and making a holy hash of it and Jane Powell calling in George Abbott, Ira Gershwin, and Moss Hart to contribute their talents to save the show. The real people weren't in Three Sailors And A Girl, just actors playing them. But as the show originated with George S. Kaufman, had all these people put their talents into this film for real, we might have seen a real classic unfold.The mind boggles at the possibility.