Three Little Words is a 1950 American biographical musical comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe from a screenplay by George Wells. It stars Fred Astaire as lyricist Bert Kalmar and Red Skelton as composer Harry Ruby, along with Vera-Ellen and Arlene Dahl as their wives, with Debbie Reynolds in a small but notable role as singer Helen Kane and Gloria DeHaven as her own mother, Mrs. Carter DeHaven.

The film was produced by Jack Cummings and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Ruby served as a consultant on the project and appears in a cameo role as a baseball catcher. The third in a series of MGM biopics about Broadway composers, it was preceded by Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) and Words and Music (1948) and followed by Deep in My Heart (1954).

Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) co-stars in a popular vaudeville dance act with his partner and sweetheart, Jessie Brown (Vera Ellen). Bert is also a part-time magician and playwright; though Jessie loves him, she is rather fed up with his other interests and wants to get married and settle down.

Things take a turn one evening when stagehand Harry Ruby (Red Skelton) unintentionally makes a wreck of Kalmar’s magic act. When Kalmar injures his knee and has to give up dancing for a while, he concentrates on songwriting and winds up partnered with composer Ruby. The duo overcome some initial quarrels and become friends as they work together and their songs gain popularity.

Along the way, Bert and Jessie use Harry’s fondness for baseball to involve him with one of his favorite teams while distracting him from unsuitable girlfriends. Harry eventually meets singer Eileen Percy (Arlene Dahl) and the two fall in love.

A side plot (invented for the film) involves a play by Kalmar that becomes the basis of a major falling-out between the songwriters, who eventually resolve their differences.

A number of vignettes featuring Kalmar, Ruby, Brown and others feature some of the pair’s best-known tunes including “Who’s Sorry Now?”, “Nevertheless”, “Thinking of You”, and “I Love You So Much”. One memorable scene features a young Debbie Reynolds as Helen Kane singing “I Wanna Be Loved By You.”

A running gag features Ruby’s frustration as he seeks fitting lyrics for one of his melodies. Kalmar resolves this near the movie’s end when he and Ruby are being celebrated for their work, and (to Ruby’s surprise) performs their newest song, “Three Little Words“.

Appetizers

Vera Allen

Arlene Dahl