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IMDbPro

Glenda Farrell(1904-1971)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Glenda Farrell in I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:07
The Disorderly Orderly (1964)
12 Videos
99+ Photos
Glenda Farrell began as the archetypal wisecracking blonde in 1930s gangland films like Little Caesar (1931) and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932). Diminutive, grey-eyed and undeniably sassy, she was a seasoned performer long before Warner Brothers snapped her up as a contract player in 1929. She made her debut on the stage as a 7 year-old playing Little Eva in "Uncle Tom's Cabin". Via provincial theatre Glenda eventually made her way to Broadway where she scored a palpable hit in "Life Begins" (later recreating her role for the screen). That attracted the Hollywood talent scouts and her movie contract followed in due course. Though seemingly destined for typecasting as hardboiled gangster molls, showgirls and gold diggers, it was her role as fast-talking, resourceful girl reporter Torchy Blane in her own series of films (beginning with Smart Blonde (1937)) that made her a star, albeit a minor one. She later recalled "Warners never made you feel you were just a member of the cast. They might star you in one movie and give you a bit part in the next...You were still well paid and you didn't get a star complex. We were a very close group..."

Glenda was also paired with another livewire, Joan Blondell, for a series of high octane, madcap farces which consistently made money at the box office. Inevitably, though, her roles became more and more repetitive. After her contract with Warner Brothers expired, she continued to appear with diminishing effectiveness in films for Universal (1938) and Columbia (1942-44). In the 50s, Glenda made the transition to more mature character roles, alternating screen work with Broadway plays -- pretty much throughout the remainder of her acting career -- eventually winning a Primetime Emmy Award in 1963 as Best Supporting Actress for the television series Ben Casey (1961). She took ill during a stage performance of "Forty Carats" in New York in 1969 and died at her home two years later. As the wife of a former U.S. Army colonel, Glenda became the only actress to be interred in the cemetery of West Point Military Academy.
BornJune 30, 1904
DiedMay 1, 1971(66)
BornJune 30, 1904
DiedMay 1, 1971(66)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Won 1 Primetime Emmy

Photos246

Glenda Farrell and Red Skelton in Susan Slept Here (1954)
Debbie Reynolds, Glenda Farrell, and Alvy Moore in Susan Slept Here (1954)
Anne Francis, Glenda Farrell, and Dick Powell in Susan Slept Here (1954)
Glenda Farrell in Susan Slept Here (1954)
Glenda Farrell in Susan Slept Here (1954)
Debbie Reynolds, Glenda Farrell, and Maidie Norman in Susan Slept Here (1954)
Debbie Reynolds, Glenda Farrell, and Alvy Moore in Susan Slept Here (1954)
Glenda Farrell and Alvy Moore in Susan Slept Here (1954)
Glenda Farrell in Susan Slept Here (1954)
Glenda Farrell and Frank McHugh in Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
Glenda Farrell in Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
Glenda Farrell in Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

Known for

Glenda Farrell and Ben Lyon in Girl Missing (1933)
Girl Missing
6.7
  • Kay Curtis
  • 1933
Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane in Blondes at Work (1938)
Blondes at Work
6.5
  • Torchy Blane
  • 1938
Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane in The Adventurous Blonde (1937)
The Adventurous Blonde
6.4
  • Torchy Blane
  • 1937
Little Caesar (1931)
Little Caesar
7.2
  • Olga Stassoff
  • 1931

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Charo and Christopher George in Tiger by the Tail (1970)
    Tiger by the Tail
  • Elizabeth Montgomery, Agnes Moorehead, and Dick York in Bewitched (1964)
    Bewitched
  • The Name of the Game (1968)
    The Name of the Game
  • The Felony Squad (1966)
    The Felony Squad
  • Jerry Lewis and Susan Oliver in The Disorderly Orderly (1964)
    The Disorderly Orderly
  • The Bing Crosby Show (1964)
    The Bing Crosby Show
  • Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, and Pernell Roberts in Bonanza (1959)
    Bonanza
  • Elvis Presley, Teri Garr, Pamela Austin, Yvonne Craig, Lynn Fields, Gail Ganley, Cynthia Pepper, Hortense Petra, and Beverly Powers in Kissin' Cousins (1964)
    Kissin' Cousins
  • David Janssen in The Fugitive (1963)
    The Fugitive
  • Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar, and Sheb Wooley in Rawhide (1959)
    Rawhide
  • Dr. Kildare (1961)
    Dr. Kildare
  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    The United States Steel Hour
    • ...
  • Vince Edwards in Ben Casey (1961)
    Ben Casey
  • George Maharis and Martin Milner in Route 66 (1960)
    Route 66
  • Robert Reed and E.G. Marshall in The Defenders (1961)
    The Defenders

Soundtrack

  • Elvis Presley, Teri Garr, Pamela Austin, Yvonne Craig, Lynn Fields, Gail Ganley, Cynthia Pepper, Hortense Petra, and Beverly Powers in Kissin' Cousins (1964)
    Kissin' Cousins
    • (uncredited)
  • Harry Cording, Glenda Farrell, Sheldon Leonard, Tom Neal, Ann Savage, and Constance Worth in Klondike Kate (1943)
    Klondike Kate
    • (uncredited)
  • Hugh Herbert, Johnnie Davis, Glenda Farrell, Benny Goodman, Ted Healy, Lola Lane, Rosemary Lane, Frances Langford, Alan Mowbray, Louella Parsons, and Dick Powell in Hollywood Hotel (1937)
    Hollywood Hotel
    • (uncredited)
  • Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane in The Adventurous Blonde (1937)
    The Adventurous Blonde
    • ("The Wedding March" (1843))
  • Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, Ethelreda Leopold, Victor Moore, and Dick Powell in Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
    Gold Diggers of 1937
  • Sybil Jason and Jesse Scott in Little Big Shot (1935)
    Little Big Shot
    • ("I'm a Little Big Shot Now" (1935), uncredited)
  • Joan Blondell, Hugh Herbert, and Glenda Farrell in We're in the Money (1935)
    We're in the Money
    • (uncredited)
  • Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
    Gold Diggers of 1935
    • (uncredited)
  • Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young in Man's Castle (1933)
    Man's Castle
  • Glenda Farrell, Guy Kibbee, Barry Norton, Jean Parker, May Robson, and Warren William in Lady for a Day (1933)
    Lady for a Day
    • (uncredited)
  • Monica Bannister in Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
    Mystery of the Wax Museum
    • (uncredited)
  • Eric Linden and Loretta Young in Life Begins (1932)
    Life Begins
    • (uncredited)

Videos12

Trailer
Trailer 2:29
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:30
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:31
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:42
Trailer
Restoration Preview
Trailer 3:32
Restoration Preview
Smart Blonde
Trailer 1:07
Smart Blonde
The Big Shakedown
Trailer 2:01
The Big Shakedown
Kissin' Cousins
Trailer 2:41
Kissin' Cousins
Gold Diggers of 1937
Trailer 3:53
Gold Diggers of 1937
The Disorderly Orderly
Trailer 2:07
The Disorderly Orderly
Little Caesar
Trailer 2:09
Little Caesar
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang
Trailer 2:33
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

Personal details

Edit
    • June 30, 1904
    • Enid, Oklahoma, USA
    • May 1, 1971
    • New York City, New York, USA(lung cancer)
    • January 19, 1941 - May 1, 1971 (her death)
    • Tommy Farrell
    • (Sibling)
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 4 Articles
    • 3 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    The fast-talking reporter Torchy Blane, who Farrell played in a series of movies, was the inspiration for Lois Lane.
  • Quotes
    [on the arrival of talkies] Not many actors could talk. So they shoved the ones that came from Broadway into everything. It all went so fast. I used to ask myself, 'What set am I on today? What script am I supposed to be doing - this one or that one? All I shouted for was a day off. We got it Sunday. But I had to stay in bed that one day to get ready for the next six days of shooting. I wonder if Jack Warner appreciated his movie-acting family?
    • Glenda Farrell is Torchy Blane

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