Jane Wyman is perky, freshly-scrubbed and impertinent (as usual) playing an stewardess-trainee with American Airlines. She clashes lightly with pilot Howard Keel and passenger Van Johnson up in the air before having a run-in with Barry Sullivan on the ground. All three men--each named Mike--quickly come around with romantic notions--this is the kind of '50s comedy where men can't wait to get hitched--but Wyman is so busy hatching ideas and shooting from the hip that she barely notices all their attention. What begins as a smartly-written and executed glimpse at a stewardess's life in the sky is soon hustled right into romantic comedy territory. The question is obvious: which Mike will our heroine choose? However, I didn't find any of these potential suitors capable of handling Wyman, who is continually mouthing off in a wide-eyed, nonchalantly feminine way. This puff-piece, directed with snap but no flair by Charles Walters, is nearly impossible to critique seriously; if pressed, I would have to say the fistfight in the photographer's apartment wouldn't really be worthy of front page news in the paper (did the fight last long enough for the reporters and shutterbugs to show up?). Walters captures first-day-on-the-job jitters exceptionally well, but Sidney Sheldon's screenplay goes soft too fast. The final line between the men is amusing, but what we don't get see at the fade-out is a career girl who feels alive up in the air quickly tied down in suburbia with kids tugging at her apron. **1/2 from ****
Review of Three Guys Named Mike
