Smart Blonde (1937)

Director:

Frank McDonald

Writers:

Frederick Nebel (story)
Kenneth Gamet (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 January 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Sport

Plot:

Journalist Torchy Blane and her fiance Lt. Steve McBride are trying to solve the murder of Tim Torgson, who was killed right before Torchy's eyes.

Plot Keywords:

Torchy Blane | Murder | Singer | Gunfire | Impersonation

Cast

Glenda Farrell	...	Torchy Blane
Barton MacLane	...	Steve McBride
Wini Shaw	...	Dolly Ireland (as Winifred Shaw)
Addison Richards	...	Fitz Mularkey
Robert Paige	...	Lewis Friel (as David Carlyle)
Craig Reynolds	...	Tom Carney
Charlotte Wynters	...	Marcia Friel (as Charlotte Winters)
Jane Wyman	...	Dixie - Hatcheck Girl
Joseph Crehan	...	'Tiny' Torgenson
Tom Kennedy	...	Gahagan
John Sheehan	...	Leon Blyfuss
Max Wagner	...	Chuck Cannon
George Lloyd	...	Pickney Sax

Runtime:

59 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2568)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Some cast members in studio records/casting call lists did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names): George Beranger (Trusty), Sol Gorss (Truck Driver), Jack Mower (Policeman) and Stuart Holmes (Houseman)

Movie Connections:

Followed by Torchy Blane in Panama (1938)

Soundtrack:

You Left Me Everything But You

Not bad at all--an amiable entry into the Torchy Blane series

This is the first of nine Torchy Blane films. Glenda Farrell plays Torchy and Barton MacLane plays her fiancé, the police lieutenant. In an almost unrecognizable supporting role, you have a young Jane Wyman--look carefully, it really is her. This is ironic, as in the last Torchy Blane film (TORCHY BLANE...PLAYING WITH DYNAMITE), Wyman herself played the role of Blane. In total, Farrell played the lead in seven of the nine films--with Lola Lane playing Torchy in one of the films in the middle of the series.

The film begins with Torchy rushing to meet a train so she can interview Tim Torgensen who just agreed to buy the business empire of Fitz Mularkey. However, just after they leave the train, Torgensen is shot and killed. Who did it is uncertain, but it happens right before Torchy's eyes. Naturally she calls her newspaper with the story, but in a pattern to be repeated in future films of the series, she helps her fiancé investigate the crime.

Look quickly at the railway station. That's Wayne Morris behind the desk doing a tiny bit part just before he became a Warner Brothers star.

Overall, the film is very typical of B-detective films of the era. While not nearly as interesting as the Charlie Chan or Saint films, it's pretty good for fans of the genre. For others, it's a pleasant little time-passer.