Three Kisses is a 1955 short film (9 minutes) from Ireland directed by Justin Herman.
It's a lighthearted story focused on the peculiarly Irish sport of hurling, a ball-and-stick game somewhat resembling lacrosse, using a stick with a cup on the end. The protagonist is Colm Gallagher, a young man in his late teens who is the best hurler in his little village of Ballykilly. His coach sends him to Cork where he is introduced to Jim Barry, manager of the Cork hurling team. Soon Colm is playing for Cork, winning fame for himself and his town and impressing the girl that he likes.
Tropes:
- Arcadia: Ballykilly is the stereotypical Irish village with green fields and a rolling stream.
- As Himself: Jim Barry, a real guy who was for many years manager of the Cork hurling team, plays himself.
- Documentary: It's sort of a genre mashup between a fictional sports story and a documentary, as Colm in his narration spends much of his time explaining hurling, a game that is little known outside of Ireland.
- Dramatic Drop: The first time Colm's girl kisses him, he drops his hurling stick. The second time he drops his traveling bag, having returned from Cork. The third time, after he comes back in triumph after playing in his first game for Cork, she drops her bag of groceries.
- Last-Second Word Swap: One of Colm's Suspiciously Specific Denials. He stops to watch his girl playing hurling with her friends, because, as he explains in the narration, "I am interested in her—in hurling."
- Narrator: There is no spoken dialogue, but instead a narrative track from Colm, who tells his story of making the Cork team and impressing his girl.
- No Name Given: Colm's pretty young "friend" is not named.
- Rule of Three: It's in the title! Colm's "friend" kisses him three times, first when he tells her he's going off to Cork to try out, second when he comes back after having made the team, and for the last time after he returns following his first game for Cork. There are also three Dramatic Drops (see above).
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Colm spends a lot of time denying things that are obvious. He insists that he does not want his "name printed in giant letters" in the paper, but that he's only doing it for the glory of the town. He says he "just happened" to walk by the field where his girl and her friends are playing hurling, when obviously he wanted to impress her.
