Warner Brothers kicked off its adaptation of Frederick Nebel's McBride and Kennedy stories with Smart Blonde, the only feature out of its nine film series based off source material. However, they made a revolutionary change regarding one of the main characters. While retaining the persona of gruff Police Lieutenant Steve McBride they replaced his frequently inebriated and cynical newspaperman sidekick Kennedy with the wisecracking, relentless female reporter Theresa "Torchy" Blane. In casting the role Warners hit a home run with Glenda Farrell who perfectly embodies everyone's idea of a plucky, scoop-chasing heroine.
The scenario takes the form of a traditional who-done-it. A murder is committed early on and the bulk of the running time involves piecing together the clues before the big reveal in the final few minutes. Boston native "Tiny" Torgenson purchases the New York nightclub of Fitz Mularkey for a suspiciously low price and takes a train to the City That Never Sleeps to consummate the deal. Before that happens he is murdered and the requisite suspicious characters, including songstress Dolly Ireland, bodyguard Chuck Cannon, Mularkey's fiancée Marcia Friel, and her brother Lewis are presented over the next 50 minutes before the crime is finally solved.
The picture opens with Torchy Blane's newspaper article detailing the Torgenson-Mularkey transaction and cuts to her pursuing a moving train in a taxi cab. As the locomotive stops Torchy hops on board and locates Torgenson's compartment to follow up on her expose. They arrive in New York together and hail a cab before Torgenson is gunned down right in front of her. Before the body is even cold Torchy is in a phone booth feeding her chief Maxie the story. This opening act does an efficient job of establishing the Torchy Blane character as an unstoppable force of nature that will do anything for a scoop. Glenda Farrell is superb in these scenes and sets the tone for the entire series.
For the rest of Smart Blonde Torchy is more of a junior detective than a reporter. She makes all the right connections and is responsible for solving the case while Lieutenant Steve McBride (Barton MacLane) blunders around yelling at people and making the wrong assumptions. Unlike future episodes where Steve is constantly trying to ditch Torchy he willingly brings her along this time although he does crab about her shooting down all his theories without providing a useful counterpoint (until the end of course). And if things go too fast for the audience Steve is there to explain the mystery before the fade out.
Smart Blonde introduces many recurring characters that will reappear in future episodes. Tom Kennedy portrays the childlike lug Gahagan who eventually blossoms into a costar but here is relegated to 10th billing. His small role consists of him gushing about what a beautiful day it is and getting an innocent delight out of running the car siren (Sirens and all!) while functioning primarily as Steve's chauffeur. George Guhl has his bit as the forgetful Desk Sergeant Graves; here perusing a detective magazine while supposedly on duty. Joe Cunningham makes his first of seven appearances as Maxie Monkhouse.
The supporting cast ably fills their assignments. Addison Richards contributes a strong performance as Fitz Mularkey; he is the lynchpin for the plot and is involved in just about everything that happens. Winifred Shaw is particularly fetching as Dolly while Charlotte Wynters, soon to be Mrs Barton MacLane, portrays Fitzs' fiancee Marcia without making much of an impact. David Carlyle, whom Universal fans will recognize as the future Robert Paige, is on hand portraying her brother and supporting Errol Flynn's mustache.
The Torchy Blane string became notable for using recognizable, up-and-coming actors in small roles and this film is no exception. Wayne Morris can be glimpsed very briefly as the Railroad Information Clerk while more notable is the nubile Jane Wyman as Dixie, the hat check girl. Miss Wyman displays a bubbly enthusiasm here which serves her well as the title character in the last film of the collection, Torchy Blane . . Playing With Dynamite (1939).
The reason this series survives is unquestionably the appeal of Glenda Farrell as Torchy and the chemistry she demonstrates with costar Barton MacLane. They bicker and feud through 7 films although in Smart Blonde they are relatively amicable. Torchy desperately wants Steve to buy her a meal (a running gag) but must settle for a marriage proposal at the end (another running gag). Through it all Torchy manages to show Steve up at every turn and is always a step or two ahead of him; very brave of a major studio to feature a female character intellectually superior to her male colleagues and a justification for why Torchy Blane endures to this day. Smart Blonde is fast, fun, and undeniably Warner Brothers.
The scenario takes the form of a traditional who-done-it. A murder is committed early on and the bulk of the running time involves piecing together the clues before the big reveal in the final few minutes. Boston native "Tiny" Torgenson purchases the New York nightclub of Fitz Mularkey for a suspiciously low price and takes a train to the City That Never Sleeps to consummate the deal. Before that happens he is murdered and the requisite suspicious characters, including songstress Dolly Ireland, bodyguard Chuck Cannon, Mularkey's fiancée Marcia Friel, and her brother Lewis are presented over the next 50 minutes before the crime is finally solved.
The picture opens with Torchy Blane's newspaper article detailing the Torgenson-Mularkey transaction and cuts to her pursuing a moving train in a taxi cab. As the locomotive stops Torchy hops on board and locates Torgenson's compartment to follow up on her expose. They arrive in New York together and hail a cab before Torgenson is gunned down right in front of her. Before the body is even cold Torchy is in a phone booth feeding her chief Maxie the story. This opening act does an efficient job of establishing the Torchy Blane character as an unstoppable force of nature that will do anything for a scoop. Glenda Farrell is superb in these scenes and sets the tone for the entire series.
For the rest of Smart Blonde Torchy is more of a junior detective than a reporter. She makes all the right connections and is responsible for solving the case while Lieutenant Steve McBride (Barton MacLane) blunders around yelling at people and making the wrong assumptions. Unlike future episodes where Steve is constantly trying to ditch Torchy he willingly brings her along this time although he does crab about her shooting down all his theories without providing a useful counterpoint (until the end of course). And if things go too fast for the audience Steve is there to explain the mystery before the fade out.
Smart Blonde introduces many recurring characters that will reappear in future episodes. Tom Kennedy portrays the childlike lug Gahagan who eventually blossoms into a costar but here is relegated to 10th billing. His small role consists of him gushing about what a beautiful day it is and getting an innocent delight out of running the car siren (Sirens and all!) while functioning primarily as Steve's chauffeur. George Guhl has his bit as the forgetful Desk Sergeant Graves; here perusing a detective magazine while supposedly on duty. Joe Cunningham makes his first of seven appearances as Maxie Monkhouse.
The supporting cast ably fills their assignments. Addison Richards contributes a strong performance as Fitz Mularkey; he is the lynchpin for the plot and is involved in just about everything that happens. Winifred Shaw is particularly fetching as Dolly while Charlotte Wynters, soon to be Mrs Barton MacLane, portrays Fitzs' fiancee Marcia without making much of an impact. David Carlyle, whom Universal fans will recognize as the future Robert Paige, is on hand portraying her brother and supporting Errol Flynn's mustache.
The Torchy Blane string became notable for using recognizable, up-and-coming actors in small roles and this film is no exception. Wayne Morris can be glimpsed very briefly as the Railroad Information Clerk while more notable is the nubile Jane Wyman as Dixie, the hat check girl. Miss Wyman displays a bubbly enthusiasm here which serves her well as the title character in the last film of the collection, Torchy Blane . . Playing With Dynamite (1939).
The reason this series survives is unquestionably the appeal of Glenda Farrell as Torchy and the chemistry she demonstrates with costar Barton MacLane. They bicker and feud through 7 films although in Smart Blonde they are relatively amicable. Torchy desperately wants Steve to buy her a meal (a running gag) but must settle for a marriage proposal at the end (another running gag). Through it all Torchy manages to show Steve up at every turn and is always a step or two ahead of him; very brave of a major studio to feature a female character intellectually superior to her male colleagues and a justification for why Torchy Blane endures to this day. Smart Blonde is fast, fun, and undeniably Warner Brothers.