Three childhood girlfriends take wildly different paths only to reunite later on in life. The symbol that unites their fates is the lighting of a cigarette match in which the last person to do so will have a grim fate. And while THREE ON A MATCH is as far removed of superstitions and remains firmly entrenched in Warner's roster of fast moving gritty dramas, there is a sense of doom hovering over one of the three friends. Vivian, played by Ann Dvorak in one of her more known roles, is the woman who while life treats quite well, can't seem to resist temptation and gives into liquor and cocaine while her neglected son looks on. Circumstance has her friends Mary Keaton (Joan Blondell) and Ruth Wescott (Bette Davis) take care of Vivian's boy, but tragedy looms not far from Vivian when her vices catch up on her and gets caught in a kidnapping ring.
THREE ON A MATCH is gritty, short, and to the point and just how Warner's made them those days. Not a shred of visual treatment is given to the story which helps it to look darker still and since many of the characters do wind up on the underbelly of society, it's probably best that it was filmed this way. Despite being touted as a Bette Davis movie, it's not: hers is the character least written about in the movie, there is nothing we learn about Ruth, who just happens to be there for plot purposes. We do learn more about Mary and Vivian, who are well fleshed out, and Vivian's (literal) descent at the end is quite shocking, more so because it was filmed instead of implied. Future famous actors also make their appearances here: Bogart, for one, playing a gangster, has a short but sharp role. Overall, a routine but better than average movie filled with shady characters and a trio of women caught in the middle.
THREE ON A MATCH is gritty, short, and to the point and just how Warner's made them those days. Not a shred of visual treatment is given to the story which helps it to look darker still and since many of the characters do wind up on the underbelly of society, it's probably best that it was filmed this way. Despite being touted as a Bette Davis movie, it's not: hers is the character least written about in the movie, there is nothing we learn about Ruth, who just happens to be there for plot purposes. We do learn more about Mary and Vivian, who are well fleshed out, and Vivian's (literal) descent at the end is quite shocking, more so because it was filmed instead of implied. Future famous actors also make their appearances here: Bogart, for one, playing a gangster, has a short but sharp role. Overall, a routine but better than average movie filled with shady characters and a trio of women caught in the middle.