MartinHafer "Blond Cheat" is a film with a rather dumb plot...and whether or not you can look past this will influence your enjoyment of this piece of fluff. It begins with a loan officer, Michael (Derrick De Marney), making an insane loan which no sober loan officer on this planet would make. A guy claims he MUST get a loan immediately and for collateral he's offering some earrings which his niece (Joan Fontaine) is wearing. He agrees and the guy runs off...leaving the girl behind. Inexplicably, the earrings won't come off her...so he hangs onto the girl throughout the film! And, throughout the film he keeps her with him so the bank won't be taken! However, carting around this pretty girl is a serious problem...especially since Michael is supposed to be marrying the boss' daughter soon and it's highly unlikely she'll approve of this odd arrangement. What's next and what's really afoot? Watch this movie and find out for yourself...or not.Does this plot make any sense? Absolutely not. No person would loan money like this and how can earrings be impossible to remove? Despite serious and obvious logical errors, the folks at the studio chose to go ahead with the film anyway!Despite being very stupid, the film had a certain silly fluffiness that also made it inoffensive and a competent time-passer. Hardly a glowing endorsement...but there you have it.

utgard14 Trifling romantic comedy about a pretty actress (Joan Fontaine) hired to break up the engagement of an heiress (Lilian Bond) to a loan broker's assistant (Derrick De Marney). Naturally, Fontaine and De Marney fall in love. Joan is lovely as ever but after awhile her playful coyness with De Marney wears on the nerves. Still, she's the only reason to see this otherwise forgettable comedy. She even gets to sing and dance a little. It's easy to see why she was more successful in dramas. Normally solid supporting stars Cecil Kellaway and Cecil Cunningham offer little help here. It's hard to believe this is an RKO film. Seems very much like a British film from the '30s.

wes-connors London "Trafalgar Loan Co." worker Derrick DeMarney (as Michael "Mike" Ashburn) must hold pretty young Joan Fontaine (as Juliette "Julie" Evans) for collateral against her uncle's £400 loan, due to an expensive pair of diamond earrings she wears. Ms. Fontaine claims the earrings have grown into her lobes, through excessive wear. Mr. DeMarney is engaged to boss Cecil Kellaway (as Rufus Trent)'s beautiful daughter, Lilian Bond (as Roberta Trent). Naturally, Fontaine and DeMarney find themselves becoming more and more attracted to each other.Fontaine looks very beautiful, as photographed by Roy Hunt; early on, she looks especially lovely in an "magnifying glass" shot. The film is a fairly routine "programmer". But, it features some cute scenes, and gets funnier in the second half; the London setting, and British cast, help. Fontaine gets to perform the musical number "It Must Be Love". No threat to Alice Faye or Ginger Rogers, Fontaine is better with the comedy; but, she would soon find her greatest success with drama. Everything ends up as you'd expect. A livelier ending might have helped it add up to something more.**** Blond Cheat (1938) Joseph Santley ~ Joan Fontaine, Derrick De Marney, Cecil Kellaway

Neil Doyle At a time when Fontaine's sister had reached overnight stardom in '35's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and CAPTAIN BLOOD, JOAN FONTAINE was in the starlet phase of her early career at RKO. She was very pretty and showed a modest amount of talent, but nobody suspected that in a few short years she would come into her own as an actress.BLOND CHEAT is a pleasant enough programmer, designed to give Fontaine a chance to shine in a light romantic comedy. She has a role requiring her to be charming and coyly flirtatious with leading man DERRICK DE MARNEY, but the silly script is a bit much for anyone to deal with in credible fashion. Even CECIL KELLAWAY looks a bit foolish.Fontaine is part of a scheme with a pair of expensive earrings, sent to break up an impending marriage by crafty millionaire CECIL KELLAWAY. Of course we know the marriage plans won't go through as soon as Fontaine and De Marney fall in love.It's forgettable nonsense like this that kept Fontaine's career in low drive until she found more rewarding roles in the '40s.