Smart Blonde

Smart Blonde

The trailer for Smart Blonde.
Directed by Frank McDonald
Produced by Jack L. Warner
Hal B. Wallis
Screenplay by Kenneth Gamet
Don Ryan
Starring Glenda Farrell
Barton MacLane
Wini Shaw
Addison Richards
Robert Paige
Music by Heinz Roemheld
Cinematography Warren Lynch
Edited by Frank Magee
Distributed by Warner Bros
Release dates
  • January 2, 1937 (1937-01-02)
Running time
 59 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Smart Blonde is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Frank McDonald. Starring Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane, a fast-talking, wisecracking, female reporter teams up with her boyfriend detective Steve McBride to solve the killing of an investor who just bought a popular local nightclub. This is the first of nine "Torchy Blane" films by Warner Bros. It was released on January 2, 1937.[1][2][3]

Plot

Torchy Blane, a reporter for "The Morning Herald" interviews 'Tiny' Torgenson on the train, regarding the purchase of the Million Club and various gambling/sporting enterprises from Fitz Mularkey. Mularkey has decided to quit the business due to his upcoming marriage to Marcia Friel. When Torgenson arrived at the train station, he is killed. His murder was witness by Torchy and she calls her newspaper with the story.

Torchy goes with her boyfriend, detective Steve McBride, to the Million Club and tells Mularkey of Torgenson's murder. McBride suspects Chuck Cannon (Mularkey's bodyguard) of the murder, since after the sell of the business, he's out of a job and was also seen at the train station around the time of Torgenson's murder. Mularkey, being very good friends with Torgenson, wants to catch the murderer before the police can, but McBride advises him to do otherwise.

Cannon is later found dead in his hotel room, and the evidences leads to Mularkey being the killer. Mularkey is confronted by McBride, but escapes. McBride doesn't believe Mularkey is the killer and is covering for someone else. Torchy has other ideas however and tries to convince McBride. Torchy, McBride, and Gahagan goes to Marcia Friel's apartment to find Mularkey. That's when Torchy exposed Marcia and her brother Lewis Friel being phonies, and are two con artist out to steal Mularkey's money. They killed both Torgenson and Cannon. Lewis is shot by Mularkey and Marcia is arrested.

Development

In 1936, Warner Bros. began to develop an adaptation of the MacBride and Kennedy stories by detective novelist Frederick Nebel. For the film version, Kennedy is changed to a woman named Teresa "Torchy" Blane, and is now in love with MacBride's character. Director Frank MacDonald immediately knew who he wanted for the role of Torchy Blane. Glenda Farrell had already played hard-boiled reporters in Mystery of the Wax Museum and Hi, Nellie!. She was quickly cast in the role as Torchy with Barton MacLane as detective Steve McBride. The film was based on Macbride and Kennedy story "No Hard Feelings".[4] The story was later adapted again as the 1941 film A Shot in the Dark.

Cast

Torchy Blane series

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Smart Blonde (film).
  1. ↑ "SMART BLONDE (1937)". TCM. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  2. ↑ Backer, Ron (August 25, 2012). Mystery Movie Series of 1930s Hollywood. McFarland. p. 260. ISBN 0786469757.
  3. ↑ "Smart Blonde (1936)". New York Time. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Smart Blonde (1936)". All Movie. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

External links

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