Plot
Three-Cornered Moon is regarded by many film buffs as the first of the genuine "screwball comedies." Claudette Colbert stars as the only level-headed member of a wacky Brooklyn family. Her mother (Mary Boland) loses the family fortune in the stock market, forcing Colbert's knuckleheaded brothers to look for work. Unfortunately the boys seem interested only in jobs for which they're uniquely unsuited. Even Colbert has her weak moments, especially when she falls for a callow writer (Hardie Albright), but she eventually finds happiness with sensible doctor Richard Arlen. Three-Cornered Moon was written by the gloriously named Gertrude Tonkonogy. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
The golden age of screwball comedy was brief but glorious, and exactly when it began and ended is a source of some debate. Three-Cornered Moon is often cited as the first real example of the genre, but whether screwball or not, it's a delightful and charming comedy that, at 77 minutes, knows better than to outstay its welcome. The script is literate and sophisticated, making comedic a situation that at the time would have been rather desperate. Claudette Colbert is winning as the relative center of calm and sanity in the storm of lunacy. Her soft, round face is a mask of sensibility covering both determination and exasperation. She holds her own against the scene-stealing efforts of Mary Boland, who creates a character whose obliviousness and ditziness could be irritating in less expert hands. Boland knows quite well how to deliver her laugh lines so they land exactly where they're supposed to, as well as how to clear them out to make room for the next one -- while at the same time giving them a freshness to disguise the technique beneath it all. Altogether Moon is a bit too soft to be the kind of knockabout it wants to be, but it's a pleasing trifle nonetheless. ~ Craig Butler, RoviCast
- Claudette Colbert - Elizabeth Rimplegar
- Richard Arlen - Dr. Alan Stevens
- Mary Boland - Nellie Rimplegar
- Wallace Ford - Kenneth Rimplegar
- Tom Brown - Eddie Rimplegar
Credit
Travis Banton - Costume Designer, Elliott Nugent - Director, Ralph Rainger - Songwriter, Leo Robin - Songwriter, Leon Shamroy - Cinematographer, B.P. Schulberg - Producer, S.K. Lauren - Screenwriter, Ray S. Harris - Screenwriter, Gertrude Tonkonogy - Play Author| Three's a Crowd (1969 Film), Three's a Crowd (1945 Film) | |
| Three-Five People (2001 Film), Three-Way Split (1970 Film) |
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