JohnHowardReid Noted for his celerity, Frank McDonald once let me into his secret. The players were the key, he said. "Take Torchy Blane. When Brynie (Bryan Foy, a supervisor in Warners' 'B' unit) offered me the assignment, I insisted he hire Glenda Farrell for the lead. Nobody could spout lines at a faster clip than Glenda. In fact, she still holds the world's record. In "Torchy Gets Her Man", which Bill Beaudine directed, Glenda rattles off a four hundred-word speech in forty seconds. Nobody could beat Glenda. I took the precaution, though, of surrounding her with some equally clear-mouthed players, even if they weren't quite as fast. Barton MacLane was always well up in his lines and he could speed through an otherwise boring continuity scene like an express train."Glenda Farrell saw Torchy as a challenge. "She gave me a chance to break a Hollywood stereotype," Glenda explained to me. "Until Torchy arrived on the scene, most women reporters were portrayed as either sour old maids, masculine-looking feminists, or twittery young girls who couldn't wait to be rescued from tabloid drudgery by some bright young man. But Torchy Blane was a real girl. I made her bright, attractive, intelligent, daring and single- minded, able to hold her own. Sure, she loved McBride, but she had her own career and wasn't about to settle for keeping house and raising kids while he brought home the bacon. By making Torchy true to life, I tried to create a character practically unique in movies."Glenda Farrell (her real name) was born in Enid, Oklahoma in 1904. From early childhood, she wanted to be an actress. After training in stock, she arrived on Broadway in the 1920s and scored a hit in several successful plays. Hollywood beckoned in 1929. All told, she made 122 movies, but only the Gold Digger series are still aired today. She invented the tough, wisecracking, knowing, but undefeatable Hollywood blonde, inspiring scores of imitators. Despite her constant movie work, she still managed the occasional Broadway and television play, winning the 1963 Emmy for best supporting actress.The creator of Torchy Blane, of her lover/rival Detective Lieutenant Steve McBride (MacLane), of his poetically not-so-helpful assistant Gahagan (Tom Kennedy) was Frederick Nebel, whose short story, "No Hard Feelings", served as the pilot for the entire nine- picture series. Typical of pulp stories, "No Hard Feelings" has a somewhat complicated plot line which, due to the speed of the film version, requires viewers to keep on their toes. Director McDonald adds to the sense of urgency by inventing so many bits of business for his players that the screen often seems like a maze of movement. The terrific support cast includes Wini Shaw, Charlotte Wynters (the real-life Mrs. Barton MacLane), Jane Wyman (in her first screen billing), and ex-gangster Al Hill, out of character as a cab- driver. Smart Blonde generated such immediately favorable response from critics and public, it was quickly followed by "Fly-Away Baby" (1937).

utgard14 Good start to the B series about the fast-talking, gutsy, and snoopy lady reporter, a forerunner to Lois Lane. It has a brisk pace and a fun cast of characters. This first entry deals with the murder of a guy who just bought a popular nightclub. Reporter Torchy Blane (Glenda Farrell) and her detective boyfriend Steve McBride (Barton MacLane) set out to solve the case, together and in spite of each other.Farrell and MacLane are both terrific in parts well-suited to their particular talents. Jane Wyman, who would later play the role of Torchy herself, has a small part here as a gabby hatcheck girl. Good support from Addison Richards, Tom Kennedy, Wini Shaw, Robert Paige, Joseph Crehan, and Charlotte Wynters (the future Mrs. Barton MacLane). If you're a fan of B's from back in the day, or just a fan of the great Glenda Farrell, you should find a lot to like here.

oldblackandwhite Dynamite comes in small packages. Which describes both short "B" second feature Smart Blonde and its cute, perky star Glenda Farrel as Torchy Blane. Initial entry in the highly successful Torchy Blane series, Smart Blonde runs on open throttle for its entire 59 minutes. It is smart, tough, breezy, lightning paced, with funny, snappy dialog delivered incredibly fast. This picture is nothing if not fast-talking. Glenda Farrell reportedly could speak 390 words per minute, and she demonstrates it throughout. But co-star Barton MacLane, who plays her tough cop boy friend Steve McBride, may actually have surpassed her in the motor mouth department in a couple of scenes. Most of the other Runyonesque characters in this entertaining mystery do likewise. If all the dialog in this movie had been delivered at a normal cadence, the running time would have been at least twenty minutes longer. This picture along with other Warner Brothers gangster movies of the 1930's makes you wonder if the studio had a course in fast talking for its stock players.Stock players were exactly what Farrell and MacLane were. Usually in supporting parts, she the hard-boiled broad, he the burly, loud-mouthed gangster or cop. But the Torchy series gave both a chance to use their special talents in leading roles, and both made the best of it. The pair had crackling chemistry together, with cozy affectionate interludes only occasionally breaking their constant rat-a-tat wise-cracking. Torchy is a smart girl reporter who solves the cases Steve isn't sharp enough to dope out on his own. At least that's the way she sees it.Farrell and MacLane get solid support from a crew of other Warner Brothers stock players, especially Addison Richards as a shady, but on-the-level night club/race track operator around whom the murder mystery swirls, Wini Shaw as the beautiful singer who loves him, and Charlotte Wynters as the high class dame he loves. This role as a tough, but likable borderline hoodlum was a real change of pace for Richards. In 400 movie and television appearances from the 1930' to the 1960's the tall, lanky actor rarely played other than judges, district attorneys, doctors, high ranking army officers, and other dignified types. MacLane may have showed good chemistry with the pretty, vivacious Farrell, but it was Charlotte Wynters who became Mrs. Barton MacLane about a year after Smart Blonde's release.Smart Blonde is a delightful, stimulating little mystery potboiler, full of plot twists, intrigues, and explosive bursts of action. Characterization is colorful and well developed. As a big studio "B" picture, the sets and cinematography are nearly as good as in one of Warner Brothers' top productions. Director Frank McDonald, a life-long "B" picture specialist, keeps all on target throughout. To compress all that happens in the story into less than an hour running time, even considering the machine gun dialog delivery, should rate as a masterpiece of film editing for Frank MaGee. Acting was first rate all around but especially from the two likable leads.An enduring example of how the big studios of Old Hollywood could turn out good looking, entertaining pictures when only half-way trying.

asia1 It was nice seeing Barton MacClane as the good guy. Glenda Farrell and Ginger Rogers are look alikes. At first sight I though it was Ginger. Also got a kick out of seeing a very young Jane Wyman as Dixie. The mystery was a bit contrived but I'd see the movie again.