Jean, Polaire, and Schatze are three sometime showgirls living in Prohibition-era New York on the hunt for a good man or even better a rich man. But just because they are friends doesn't mean they are going to play fair with each other. Hilarity Ensues.
The Greeks Had a Word for Them (also known as Three Broadway Girls) is a 1932 pre-Code comedy based on the Zoe Akins play The Greeks Had A Word For It. It was directed by Lowell Sherman and starred Joan Blondell, Madge Evans, and Ina Claire. A generation later it would be one of the inspirations for the more famous How to Marry a Millionaire.
Notable for featuring one of the earliest uses of a variation on the Video Will in a movie.
The movie is in the Public Domain and can be viewed online for free here.
This Film contains examples of:
- Catchphrase: "Ask me no secrets, I'll tell you no lies." (Jean)
- Deadpan Snarker: Schatze.
- Golddigger: All three of them really but to varying degrees with Polaire being the least venal and Jean the most.
- Poor Man's Substitute: Joan Blondell (Schatze) was hired when Howard Hughes refused to release Jean Harlow.
- Pretty in Mink: A major part of the story.
- Video Will: A Phonograph Will actually, but otherwise the trope is played completely straight (complete with a The Tape Knew You Would Say That gag). Perhaps the Ur-Example.
- With Friends Like These...: It really stretches disbelief that Polaire and Schatze remain friends with Jean after the stunts she pulls.
