Three Men on a Horse
Encyclopedia
Three Men on a Horse is a play by George Abbott
and John Cecil Holm
. The comedy focuses on a man who discovers he has a talent for choosing the winning horse in a race as long as he never places a bet himself.
life with his wife and brother-in-law and frustrated by his low-paying job writing greeting card verses, decides to declare his independence by skipping work and spending the day in a local saloon. There he meets two men and a woman who make a living by betting on horse races. When they discover Erwin has an almost supernatural ability to go through a racing form and pick the winners, they persuade him to join them at a New York City
hotel and regularly give them tips. Complications arise when Erwin begins to miss his wife and job and his cronies insist he put some money on a horse himself, despite his claim he will lose his power if he places a bet.
four times. The original production
opened at the Playhouse Theatre on January 30, 1935 and remained there until November 1936, when it transferred to the Fulton Theatre to complete its run of 835 performances. Directed by George Abbott, the opening night cast included Garson Kanin
, Shirley Booth
, and Sam Levene
.
The first revival opened at the Forrest Theatre on October 9, 1942 and ran for 28 performances. Directed by John Cecil Holm, the cast included Horace McMahon
.
The second revival opened at the Lyceum Theatre on October 16, 1969. It ran for four previews and 100 performances. Directed by George Abbott, the cast included Sam Levene, Jack Gilford
, Dorothy Loudon
, Butterfly McQueen
, Paul Ford, Hal Linden
, and Rosemary Prinz
.
The third revival was staged by the National Actors Theatre
. It began previews at the Lyceum Theatre on March 23, 1993, opened on April 13, and closed on May 16 after 24 previews and 39 performances. Directed by John Tillinger
, the cast included Tony Randall
, Jack Klugman
, Jerry Stiller
, Ellen Greene
, and Julie Hagerty
.
The play was staged by the Royal National Theatre
from January 22 through June 27, 1987. Because it was the first time it was produced in London
, it was eligible for nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, which it won.
An Off-Broadway revival of the play at The Actors Company Theatre is scheduled to open March 14, 2011 and run until April 15, 2011.
was produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy
and starred Frank McHugh
, Joan Blondell
, Guy Kibbee
, and Sam Levene.
A 1957 German language film adaptation, Drei Mann auf einem Pferd, starred Walter Giller
and Nadja Tiller
.
A 1969 French language
screen adaptation, Trois hommes sur un cheval, was written and directed by Marcel Moussy
.
In 1989, the same title, and same basic plot--though purportedly based on a novel--were used for an American-produced screen comedy starring Richard Dreyfuss.
, was presented by Prudential Family Playhouse on November 21, 1950.
Orson Bean
starred in a Broadway Television Theatre production on April 21, 1952.
On April 18, 1957, Playhouse 90
presented an adaptation directed by Arthur Hiller
and starring Johnny Carson
, Jack Carson
, Mona Freeman
, Carol Channing
, Larry Blyden
, and Edward Everett Horton
.
, with music by Vernon Duke
and lyrics by John La Touche, opened on Broadway at the Hollywood Theatre
on December 25, 1941 and ran for 126 performances. The cast included Eddie Cantor
, Virginia Mayo
, Lionel Stander
, and Jacqueline Susann
.
Directed by Stanley Prager
and choreographed by Onna White
, Let It Ride
, with music and lyrics by Jay Livingston
and Ray Evans
, opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre
on October 12, 1961 after one preview and ran for 68 performances. The cast include George Gobel
, Barbara Nichols
, Paula Stewart
, Ted Thurston
, and Sam Levene.
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
and John Cecil Holm
John Cecil Holm
John Cecil Holm was an American dramatist, theatre director and actor.He is best known for his 1935 play Three Men on a Horse, co-written with George Abbott....
. The comedy focuses on a man who discovers he has a talent for choosing the winning horse in a race as long as he never places a bet himself.
Plot
Mild-mannered Erwin Trowbridge, bored with his suburban New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
life with his wife and brother-in-law and frustrated by his low-paying job writing greeting card verses, decides to declare his independence by skipping work and spending the day in a local saloon. There he meets two men and a woman who make a living by betting on horse races. When they discover Erwin has an almost supernatural ability to go through a racing form and pick the winners, they persuade him to join them at a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
hotel and regularly give them tips. Complications arise when Erwin begins to miss his wife and job and his cronies insist he put some money on a horse himself, despite his claim he will lose his power if he places a bet.
Productions
The play has been produced on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
four times. The original production
opened at the Playhouse Theatre on January 30, 1935 and remained there until November 1936, when it transferred to the Fulton Theatre to complete its run of 835 performances. Directed by George Abbott, the opening night cast included Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin was a prolific American writer and director of plays and films.-Film and stage career:...
, Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth was an American actress.Primarily a theatre actress, Booth's Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950...
, and Sam Levene
Sam Levene
Sam Levene was an American Broadway and film actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1927 with five lines in a play titled Wall Street, and over a span of nearly 50 years, appeared on Broadway in 37 Shows, of which 33 were the original Broadway Productions, many now considered legendary...
.
The first revival opened at the Forrest Theatre on October 9, 1942 and ran for 28 performances. Directed by John Cecil Holm, the cast included Horace McMahon
Horace McMahon
Horace McMahon was an American actor.- Biography :In his early career he mostly played thugs or jailbirds, but in 1949 he starred in his most acclaimed role, as Lieutenant Monaghan in the drama play Detective Story and in 1951 he reprised his character in Paramount Pictures' film version Detective...
.
The second revival opened at the Lyceum Theatre on October 16, 1969. It ran for four previews and 100 performances. Directed by George Abbott, the cast included Sam Levene, Jack Gilford
Jack Gilford
Jack Gilford was an American actor on Broadway, films and television.-Early life:Gilford was born Jacob Aaron Gellman on the lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, and grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn...
, Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon was an American comedy actress and singer. She won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie.-Early life and career:Loudon was born in...
, Butterfly McQueen
Butterfly McQueen
Thelma "Butterfly" McQueen was an American actress. Originally a dancer, the 28-year-old McQueen first appeared as Prissy, Scarlett O'Hara's maid in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, then continued as an actress in film in the 1940s, then moving to television acting in the 1950s .-Early life:Born...
, Paul Ford, Hal Linden
Hal Linden
Hal Linden is an American stage and television actor and television director, best known for his role in the television comedy series Barney Miller and as presenter on the ABC educational series Animals, Animals, Animals....
, and Rosemary Prinz
Rosemary Prinz
Rosemary Prinz was a stage and television actress. She is most known for her work in the early era of the American soap opera.-Life and career:Prinz was born in New York City...
.
The third revival was staged by the National Actors Theatre
National Actors Theatre
The National Actors Theatre was a theater company founded in 1991 by Tony Randall, whose dream it was to create such an organization. He was chairman until his death in 2004. At first the company was housed at the Belasco Theatre New York, then at the nearby Lyceum Theatre, and in 2002 was based...
. It began previews at the Lyceum Theatre on March 23, 1993, opened on April 13, and closed on May 16 after 24 previews and 39 performances. Directed by John Tillinger
John Tillinger
John Tillinger is a theatre director and actor.Born in Tabriz, Iran, Tillinger was raised in England, where he first was exposed to the theatre...
, the cast included Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
, Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
, Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
, Ellen Greene
Ellen Greene
Ellen Greene is an American singer and actress. Greene has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actor and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many films – notably Little Shop of Horrors...
, and Julie Hagerty
Julie Hagerty
Julie Hagerty is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Hagerty was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Harriet Yuellig, a model and singer, and Jerry Hagerty, a musician. Her brother Michael Hagerty was also an actor. Her parents later divorced. Hagerty attended Indian Hill High...
.
The play was staged by the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
from January 22 through June 27, 1987. Because it was the first time it was produced in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, it was eligible for nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, which it won.
An Off-Broadway revival of the play at The Actors Company Theatre is scheduled to open March 14, 2011 and run until April 15, 2011.
Film adaptations
A 1936 film adaptationThree Men on a Horse (film)
Three Men on a Horse is a 1936 comedy film adapted from the Broadway play of the same name written by George Abbott and John Cecil Holm. A mild-mannered greeting card poet has the uncanny ability to pick winners in horse races.-Plot:...
was produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy was an American film director, producer and sometime actor.-Early life:Born to Jewish parents in San Francisco, California, his family was financially ruined by the 1906 earthquake...
and starred Frank McHugh
Frank McHugh
Francis Curray "Frank" McHugh was an American film and television actor.Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents ran a stock theatre company and as a young child he performed on stage...
, Joan Blondell
Joan Blondell
Rose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in movies and on television for five decades as Joan Blondell.After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career...
, Guy Kibbee
Guy Kibbee
Guy Bridges Kibbee was an American stage and film actor.Born in El Paso, Texas, Kibbee began his entertainment career on Mississippi riverboats and eventually became a successful Broadway actor...
, and Sam Levene.
A 1957 German language film adaptation, Drei Mann auf einem Pferd, starred Walter Giller
Walter Giller
Walter Giller is a German actor.He has been married since 1956 to actress Nadja Tiller.On August 6, 2009, he was diagonosed with lung cancer. He underwent a major operation...
and Nadja Tiller
Nadja Tiller
Nadja Tiller is an Austrian actress. She was one of the most popular German actresses of the 1950s and 1960s.She won the Miss Austria competition in 1949, a national beauty pageant for unmarried women in Austria. She had her major film debut in 1952 in 'Märchen vom Glück .In 1955, she acted...
.
A 1969 French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
screen adaptation, Trois hommes sur un cheval, was written and directed by Marcel Moussy
Marcel Moussy
Marcel Moussy was a French screenwriter and television director. He was co-nominated with François Truffaut for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for the film The 400 Blows ....
.
In 1989, the same title, and same basic plot--though purportedly based on a novel--were used for an American-produced screen comedy starring Richard Dreyfuss.
Television adaptations
The play, starring Hiram ShermanHiram Sherman
Hiram Sherman was an American actor.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Sherman made his Broadway debut as a playwright with the short-lived comedy Too Much Party in 1934. It proved to be his sole attempt at writing. Two years later he made his first appearance as an actor in Horse Eats Hat...
, was presented by Prudential Family Playhouse on November 21, 1950.
Orson Bean
Orson Bean
Orson Bean is an American film, television, and Broadway actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including being a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
starred in a Broadway Television Theatre production on April 21, 1952.
On April 18, 1957, Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
presented an adaptation directed by Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller, OC is a Canadian film director. His filmography includes 33 major studio releases, including the 1970 film Love Story...
and starring Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
, Jack Carson
Jack Carson
John Elmer "Jack" Carson was a Canadian-born U.S.-based film actor.Jack Carson was one of the most popular character actors during the 'golden age of Hollywood', with a film career spanning the 1930s, '40s and '50s...
, Mona Freeman
Mona Freeman
Mona Freeman is an American film actress. The 5' 1" blonde was a model while in high school, and after becoming the first "Miss Subways" of the New York City transit system, eventually signed a movie contract with Howard Hughes. Her contract was later sold to Paramount Pictures. After 1944, she...
, Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
, Larry Blyden
Larry Blyden
Larry Blyden was an American actor and game show host, best known for his appearances on Broadway and as the host of the game show What's My Line?-Personal life:...
, and Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons. He is especially known for his work in the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Isabella...
.
Musical adaptations
The play was adapted for the musical stage twice. Banjo EyesBanjo Eyes
Banjo Eyes is a musical based on the play Three Men on a Horse by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. It has a book by Joseph Quinlan and Izzy Ellinson, music by Vernon Duke, and lyrics by John La Touche and Harold Adamson....
, with music by Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
and lyrics by John La Touche, opened on Broadway at the Hollywood Theatre
Mark Hellinger Theatre
The Mark Hellinger Theatre is a generally used name of a former legitimate Broadway theater, located at 237 West 51st Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Since 1991, it has been known as the Times Square Church...
on December 25, 1941 and ran for 126 performances. The cast included Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
, Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
, Lionel Stander
Lionel Stander
Lionel Jay Stander was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television.-Early life and career:Lionel Stander was born in The Bronx, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants, the first of three children...
, and Jacqueline Susann
Jacqueline Susann
Jacqueline Susann was an American author known for her best-selling novels. Her most notable work was Valley of the Dolls, a book that broke sales records and spawned an Oscar-nominated 1967 film and a short-lived TV series.-Early years:Jacqueline Susann was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to...
.
Directed by Stanley Prager
Stanley Prager
Stanley Prager was an American actor and a television and theatre director.Born in New York City, Prager began his career as the stage manager for the Broadway production The Skin of Our Teeth in 1942...
and choreographed by Onna White
Onna White
Onna White was a Canadian choreographer and dancer nominated for eight Tony Awards.-Career:Born in Inverness, Nova Scotia, White began taking dance lessons at the age of twelve, and eventually her studies took her to the famed San Francisco Ballet Company, where she danced in the first full-length...
, Let It Ride
Let It Ride (musical)
Let It Ride is a Broadway musical based on the 1935 Broadway farce Three Men on a Horse by George Abbott. The musical, with book by Abram S. Ginnes and music and lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, opened in New York at the Eugene O'Neill Theater on October 12, 1961, and played 68 performances...
, with music and lyrics by Jay Livingston
Jay Livingston
Jay Livingston was an American composer and singer best known as half of a songwriting duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote the music and Evans the lyrics....
and Ray Evans
Ray Evans
Raymond Bernard Evans was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films...
, opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
The Eugene O'Neill Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 230 West 49th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was built for the Shuberts as part of a theatre-hotel complex named for 19th century tragedian Edwin Forrest...
on October 12, 1961 after one preview and ran for 68 performances. The cast include George Gobel
George Gobel
George Leslie Gobel was an American comedian and actor. He was best known as the star of his own weekly NBC television show, The George Gobel Show, which ran from 1954 to 1960 .-Early years:He was born George Leslie Goebel in Chicago, Illinois, His father, Hermann Goebel, was a...
, Barbara Nichols
Barbara Nichols
Barbara Nichols was an American actress who often played brassy comic roles in a number of films in the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life and Career:...
, Paula Stewart
Paula Stewart
Paula Stewart is an American stage, film and television actress.-Life and career:Born as Dorothy Paula Zürndorfer, her father was Dr. Walter Zürndorfer and her mother, Esther Morris, appeared in the films, Ziegfeld Follies and Lady Be Good. She attended Northwestern University before joining the...
, Ted Thurston
Ted Thurston
Ted Thurston was an American actor and singer.Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Thurston made his Broadway debut in the short-lived 1951 musical Flahooley. He had better luck with his next show, the Lerner and Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon...
, and Sam Levene.