gavin6942 Although Vivian Revere (Ann Dvorak) is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery and drugs.This film has it all, and could very easily be called the exploitation film of the 1930s. While common decency kept it from showing nudity and having people cussing, it has a wealthy wife neglecting her son and getting involved in partying with gamblers and gangsters. This is very much the "bad girl" film of its time.Interestingly, in retrospect the biggest names attached are Humphrey Bogart (who barely has a supporting role) and Bette Davis, who still looks like she had the potential to be a movie star rather than the B-movie queen she became.

vincentlynch-moonoi It's not often that I am truly impressed with films as early as 1932. This is one of the exceptions, and I give it an "8", a rating which I rarely hand out. And I credit director Mervyn Leroy for its excellence.Three women who had attended elementary school together (but were not exactly friends and had distinctly different personalities) meet again by chance and become friends. Mary (Joan Blondell) has gone into show business after spending some time in reform school. Ruth (Bette Davis) is in secretarial school. And Vivian (Ann Dvorak) has married a rich businessman, but is not content. At lunch one day they each light a cigarette from the same match and briefly mention the superstition that doing so is bad luck and that the last to light her cigarette -- Dvorak -- will be the first to die.On a cruise, a gambler (Lyle Talbot) sweeps Dvorak off her feet and she runs away with him...becomes addicted to drugs (watch for Humphrey Bogart's hint at this)...and she gives up her child to her ex-husband...clearly the good guy here. Dvorak's ex eventually marries Blondell. Dvorak's money slowly disappears, and Talbot owes big money to gangster Edward Arnold and his thugs (including a young and handsome Humphrey Bogart). Desperate, Talbot attempts to blackmail Dvorak's ex-husband by threatening to expose Blondell's time in reform school. His blackmail attempt is rebuffed, so he kidnaps the child. Dvorak eventually jumps out the window to her death, sacrificing her own life so the crowd below will see a message in lipstick on her nightgown, telling police where the child is.This is Dvorak's picture, and she is excellent, though not very likable. Blondell is superb, as well. Bette Davis' part is the lightest of the principals, but she does fine as the most prim and proper of the three friends (although in this pre-code film you do get to see her in her undies). The film is fast paced, not lasting much over an hour, but it's the pace adds to the excellence of the film. And, it's intense; it's gut-wrenching to realize the thugs are about to murder the child when the kidnap plan begins to go wrong, and a shock to see Dvorak leap out the window to her death. Make no mistake, this is an emotional film, and Leroy handle sit perfectly.A great addition to your DVD shelf!

Scarecrow-88 The tragic consequences following a young woman (Ann Dvorak, sensational) who impulsively leaves her rich, successful lawyer husband (Warren William) for a no-good gambler (Lyle Talbot) who owe thousands to a menacing loan shark (Edward Arnold, very bullish). When Talbot fears for his life he first approaches William for the dough, threatening to expose his wife's provocative activities to the newspapers, turning so desperate he kidnaps his and Dvorak's child. Arnold enlists his hoods (led by a thuggish Humphrey Bogart in one of his standard issue Warner Bros gangster parts, bullying and intimidating) to hold sway over Talbot and Dvorak, demanding a far greater ransom than what was first asked for. Dvorak makes a startling decision only a mother could do for a child, the ultimate sacrifice in a potent, shocking finale, produced during the Pre-Code era of the 30s. Joan Blondell (who seems to have star treatment—and she is quite beautiful—but has the less interesting part opposite Dvorak) is one of Dvorak's childhood friends, along with Bette Davis (who has an underwritten part as a secretary). Watching Dvorak's life unravel and diminish is haunting and sad, as Blondell (who would marry the betrayed William after Dvorak divorces him), once in prison for grand larceny, rises from a difficult predicament to secure a better life. Dvorak, unhappy with William, despite the luxury and comfortable trappings of wealth and family, finds excitement and worldly pleasure with Talbot, missing from the married life, selfish in her own desires, not thinking about the repercussions of her behavior, particularly in regards to her son, who Blondell cares deeply for. The film, directed by Mervyn LeRoy (The Bad Seed; Mister Roberts), establishes time and place and how the city is affected by what was going on at the time, such as the Depression and rise in gangster activity. Very quickly paced and doesn't have a lot of fat, "Three on a Match" is mostly melodrama, using images just as importantly as dialogue and performance, with plenty of subtlety. The film does a fine job of making us aware of Dvorak's plight, as each scene she reappears after time away from the screen, she looks more and more worse for wear, such as the fidgeting while waiting on a street corner for Blondell (by this time married to her ex-husband) for some money or the dark circles under her eyes--the worsening state reminds us of those who fall under the spell of meth or crack.

zardoz-13 Director Mervyn LeRoy, who helmed "Little Caesar" and "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang," directed this seamy but above-average urban saga about three women who attended the same grammar school Public School No. 62 and then departed to got their separate ways in life. Fun-loving Mary Keaton wound up in reform school. Academically gifted Ruth Westcott, who graduated with highest honors, entered a business college to learn how to become both a stenographer and a typist. Finally, Vivian Revere went to an elite boarding school. Ultimately, Vivian (Ann Dvorak of "G-Men") wedded a wealthy lawyer Robert Kirkwood(Warren William of "Midnight Madonna") and they have a little boy. Mary (Joan Blondell) survives the reformatory and becomes a chlorine in the chorus line. Ruth (Bette Davis of "Waterloo Bridge") works in a business office as a secretary. Although it may not appear to be a seamy, unsavory proletarian melodrama, "Three on a Match" presents images of child abuse, suicide, alcoholism, and despicable debauchery.The problem with poor Vivian is that she does not appreciate all the good fortune that she has achieved. She does not love her husband, refuses to kiss him on the mouth, and wants to separate from him. Robert Kirkwood agrees to send her and his son on a cruise. After Kirkwood leaves the ship to attend to legal matters, Vivian runs into Mary aboard the ship before it heaves anchor. Mary is enjoying a party with several people, one of whom is a shady character (Lyle Talbot) who eventually gets Vivian drunk and preys on her weakness for alcohol. Vivian leaves the ship under mysterious circumstances and Kirkwood sends out detectives to find her with no luck. Mary realizes the wrong that she has done and worries about the welfare of Vivian's child. Eventually, Vivian turns into an alcohol and there is the implication that she is snorting cocaine. She divorces Kirkwood and he remarries. He takes Mary Keaton has his wife and they live happily until Vivian needs money and her evil boyfriend kidnaps her son to pay off his debts to a gangster (Edward Arnold) who employs a nasty thug (Humphrey Bogart in a minor role). Meantime, the cops close in on the kidnappers and a desperate Vivian writes a note on her gown about the whereabouts of her son and crashes through an upstairs window and dies when she strikes the stairs outside the apartment building. Mervyn LeRoy does a good job with this trim 64 minute drama. He establishes the historical setting of the events and that adds to the realism. This is an example of Pre-Code Hollywood entertainment and it is well above average. Bette Davis exposes more of her flesh that she ever would in later pictures, and Warren William (who went on to play the first Perry Mason) is cast ironically as a sympathetic character.