Evening star., 1950-07-28

him, Mr.. Astaire is given ample
opportunity to demonstrate that
superiority in his field which won't
permit his retirement.
And. since his partner, Ruby,
was and still is the worlds No. l
baseball fan, who would rather
play second base than do ANY
THING else. there is room for
Shelton to get around as a come
dian. This is somewhat of a de-
parture. though, for Shelton. In
stead of indulging in his usual
slapstick, he plays something like
straight role with comedy over
tones here and 1t is a pleasure
to report that he brings it off with
complete success.
The two haven't been so hap
PLY engaged in a long time and
to make matters more pleasant
for them the principal young
woman of Three Little Words"
are Vera-Ellen and Arlene Dahl,
which ought to be enough of
good thing to keep you happy for
awhile. AS Astaire's partner, Vera
Ellen has ample opportunity to
show off her sprightly dancing
skill and she also demonstrates
again that she is one of the most
appealing feminine personalities
on tap in Hollywood. Miss Dahl,
with that red hair and that COM
plexion, is the girl for whom Tech
nicolor would have to be invented
if that hadn't already have been
taken care of. A look at Arlene
here is worth half the cost of
ticket. After the prices go up.
The two central figures of the
Palace film have provided quite an
impressive score for their musi-
cal biography. They first get to-
gether with MY Sunny Tennessee"
and their rise in the hit tune
world is accompanied by such
nostalgia chords as those of 80
Long. Oolong," "All Alone Mon
day" up in the Clouds" Never
theless." Thinking of YOU"
who's Sorry Now?" 1T Love You
So Much" II Wanna Be Loved
BY You" and sundry others.
The lives of two people turn
ing out hit tunes at this rate do
not arouse any great dramatic sus-
pense, of course. Scriptwriter
Wells has managed. however, to
keep things interesting. First there
is Kalmar's problem Of the
injured knee, which leaves him
broke and induces him to send
his loving partner out Of his life,
temporarily. to be sure.
Then there is Ruby's continual
problem with scheming women,
which is always solved by having
Al Schacht send for him to work
out with the WASHINGTON ball club.
Finally, there is the split over
a misunderstanding. which has a
more contrived look than any
t'7inn about the film. It allows for
the ultimate reunion. though, and
q conclusion on a happy note with
Kalmar finely coming up with the
1vrics for "Tl1ree Little Words" to
the tune Ruby has been plugging
for years.
Several incidental performances
add to the brightness of Three
Little Words" One is an i'm
personation of her mother sing
ing who's Sorry Now?" done
nicely by pretty Gloria De Haven.
Another is a wonderful Helen
Kane done by Debbie Reynolds,
which should delight anyone who
remembers when the Boop-a-Doop
girl was in her prime. Phil Regan
is around, too, to play himself
well if briefly; Gale Robbins is
fine as one of Ruby's predatory
women, and Keenan, Wynn has
a couple of moments as Kalmar's
agent.
/ The one false note is Skeletons
playing for laughs in his imper-
sonation of Ruby impersonating
hallplayer. funny as these scenes
are. In allowing this. Mr.. Ruby
has proved himself a truly gener-
Gus man. No line drive ever kock-
ed HIS glove off.