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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little-known comedic gem, September 21, 2003
This review is from: Three Men on a Horse [VHS] (VHS Tape)
A funny, fast-paced comedy about a nebbishy, stuttering greeting card writer (and would-be poet) who has a foolproof system for picking race horses, and his unlikely partnership with a gang of second-rate hoodlum gamblers. Character actor Frank McHugh is perfect in the role; this is probably his shining moment as a 'Thirties film lead. The tough-talking, blustering boss of the gang and his doofy henchmen are also riotously funny in their roles, and the changes in their relationships to McHugh is what makes this flick so endearing. Well written, well acted and genuinely hilarious, this is a little-known oldie that's well worth checking out.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gem, December 8, 2006
This review is from: Three Men on a Horse [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This is one of the most hilarious films of the 1930s, a jewel of a play put on film with the best of the Warner Brothers actors and first class direction. Joan Blondell nearly steals the film, but the competition is stiff. What a delight. And why on earth isn't this in DVD? My VHS copy, the only thing available, flickers and is unsteady. Movie lovers arise!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The kind of comedy that Warner Bros. did so well in the 30's, April 19, 2008
This review is from: Three Men on a Horse [VHS] (VHS Tape)
In the 1930's Warner Bros. had a group of supporting players that they largely cast in the manic comedies that they did so well in those days. Three of those players - Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, and Joan Blondell - all show up in this often forgotten little film. What is so odd here is Joan Blondell, after several starring roles, is playing in support of Frank McHugh. McHugh had been an excellent supporting player in all kinds of Warner Bros. pictures for several years - an eccentric choreographer in Busby Berkeley's "Footlight Parade", a kind-hearted neer-do-well in the melodrama "Lily Turner", etc. However, here McHugh is the center of attention, and he handles it well.
Here Warners has managed to combine comedy with crime after the production code was in full effect with no danger of violating the code yet with great comic effect. McHugh plays a mild-mannered man who writes greeting card slogans and lives in a house on a street where every house looks the same. One morning, after a fight with his brother-in-law, he stops in at a bar rather than going to work. There he makes the acquaintance of three hoods who are trying to pick a winning horse without much success. The key to this new friendship is that McHugh has a gift for picking the winning horse in every race every day as long as he doesn't bet himself.
If you ever run across this film I strongly recommend it for an amusing way to spend eighty or so minutes.
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