Jane Wyman takes the Mike
Over the years cinema has evolved going from silent movies to talkies, black and white to colour and whilst 3D isn't new the technology which is used now has certainly improved it. But one thing which hasn't changed is the constant flow of romantic comedies, those almost factory line produced vehicles which are made purely to entertain and some may say to give actors something to do. "Three Guys Named Mike" is a prime example of one of the fluffy romantic comedies from the early 50s which sees Jane Wyman as newly qualified air stewardess Marcy Lewis who finds herself dating 3 men all called Mike. As such there is something very obvious about "Three Guys Named Mike" with comedy coming from her finding herself in this sticky situation and once that has been worked to deliver some humour it is a case of which Mike will be the lucky fellow. Other than that there is nothing else to the movie other than some charming performances, some sweet 50s humour and the delightful Jane Wyman at the centre of it all.
Having recently qualified as an air stewardess Marcy Lewis (Howard Keel - The War Wagon) doesn't make the best of starts when she forgets to make sure the in-flight refreshments and meals are onboard before they take off. But despite this she hits it off with pilot Mike Jamison (Howard Keel - The War Wagon), she also hits it off with science lecturer Mike Lawrence (Van Johnson) and also advertising exec Mike Tracy (Barry Sullivan - Earthquake) which whilst not confusing for Marcy certainly confuses the 3 Mike's when they all meet forcing Marcy decide which Mike is the Mike for her.
Now I don't usually do this but if you are thinking of buying "Three Guys Named Mike" on DVD I suggest doing some research first. The reason being that whilst an MGM movie they never renewed the copyright when it ran out and so it fell into Public Domain, that means there are various versions of this on DVD and some are of an inferior quality, so inferior that watching them on a TV is a dire experience with the picture being blurred and chopped off.
As for the movie well "Three Guys Named Mike" is for me the 50s equivalent of a modern mass produced romantic comedy. What I mean by that is for the most the storyline is obvious, you know that having flirted with 3 men named Mike it will inevitably come back and bite Marcy in the butt when they meet each other. You know that these men will feel threatened by each other and there will be some comedy thrown in as well as they try to outdo each other. And then it's just a case of which Mike Marcy will pick and you can actually work that out before even watching "Three Guys Named Mike".
As such the first hour of "Three Guys Named Mike" is all about the set up, the persuasive Marcy training to be an air stewardess and then her meeting each Mike. There is plenty of fluffy comedy through this as Marcy makes various mistakes be it forgetting to put the food on the plane or mistaking one Mike for a gardener. But none of it is comedy which will generate big laughs rather mild amusement. And on a similar note none of the romantic stuff will get you gushing because the romance side of things comes second to the comedy. But it is very typical of any romantic comedy both new and old and as such works as simple fun.
Whilst Barry Sullivan, Van Johnson and Howard Keel do solid jobs as the various Mike's "Three Guys Named Mike" basically revolves around Jane Wyman as Marcy Lewis. Now whilst not the most memorable of Wyman's movies she does a pleasant enough job of delivering the comedy especially from her almost accidental prone ways. Plus of course Wyman is very lovely and it makes it easy to warm to her as well as forgive those few moments early on in the movie when she seems to be trying to remember her lines.
What this all boils down to is that "Three Guys Named Mike" is the 1950s equivalent of a modern romantic comedy made not for any grand reasons other than to be simple fun entertainment. And it is all those 3 as whilst not the most memorable of movies it is a simple storyline with plenty of fun moments and will most certainly entertain. But as I mentioned before, if you are planning or buying "Three Guys Named Mike" on DVD check the individual product reviews because there are some inferior copies out there.
