utgard14 The ninth and final Torchy Blane movie. This one stars Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins, replacing Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. Tom Kennedy stays on as Gahagan. The plot has Torchy going undercover to prison to get closer to a gangster's girlfriend. Wyman and Jenkins are fun but it's hard not to compare them to Farrell and MacLane, who perfected these roles and had much better chemistry. Ultimately, the individual pieces are greater than the whole here. I can't say I wasn't entertained. A good cast goes a long way. The highlights include Gahagan wrestling, Torchy stopping a prison fight, and characters with colorful names like Denver Eddie.

Michael_Elliott Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite (1939)** (out of 4) The ninth and final film in the series finds Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane being replaced by Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins. This time out Torchy has herself thrown into jail so that she can get close to a gangster's girlfriend (Sheila Bromley). The plan is for the two to get close and Torchy hopes that the girlfriend will then lead her to the gangster where Lt. McBride and Gahagan (Tom Kennedy) will arrest him. TORCHY BLANE... PLAYING WITH DYNAMITE really isn't all that bad when you consider it's the ninth film in a series but there's still no question that the only ones who need watch it are those who watched the previous eight and just want to say they've seen everything in the series. I think there are some good moments scattered around but even at just 59-minutes there's just not enough going on to keep you fully entertained. I thought both Wyman and Jenkins were good in their roles and I thought their chemistry and back and forth nature made for some entertainment. Bromley was also attractive in her part as is Eddie Marr as the gangster. Kennedy doesn't get as many poems to read but that's okay because it's still nice seeing him appear for his ninth time. The story itself has quite a few plot holes and there are many logical issues but these here shouldn't be taken too serious. After all, this is a "B" picture that was probably made in a week or two.

gridoon2018 Perky, bright and very beautiful 22-year-old Jane Wyman takes over the role of Torchy Blane from Glenda Farrell for the last film in this series, with little to no negative impact. She may not have the toughness of Glenda, but she does have the spirit. I also found no problem with Allen Jenkins replacing Barton MacLane as Steve - he does have the kind of face that seems more suitable for comedy than for action, but he handles his one quick action scene well. The notorious bank robber and his girlfriend are well-cast, and of course Tom Kennedy is back as Gahagan; this time he ends up in a pro-wrestling ring against an old rival! The film is amiable entertainment, but the ending feels extremely rushed-through. ** out of 4.

Richard Burin Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite is the final entry in Warner's popular B-movie run of the late 1930s. Blane was the inspiration for Superman's Lois Lane, the name partly drawn from Lola Lane, who played the character in one outing. Glenda Farrell was the only true Blane, though, appearing in seven of the nine entries and getting it supremely, effortlessly right each time. Absent here, Farrell is obviously missed, but Jane Wyman does an unexpectedly strong job of deputising, and Allen Jenkins is very good as her cop boyfriend, replacing Barton McLane. Absent-minded desk sergeant George Guhl is also elsewhere (literally this time), but ever-present Tom Kennedy is back for more as Gahagan, the soft detective with a yen for composing verse. The key for the series was really the performances. The first Blane film, Smart Blonde, benefited from snappy, clever dialogue, but generally the scripts were rushed, meaning the plots were full of holes and the patter erratic. Here, the story is better than usual, with Blane getting slung in jail to befriend gangster's moll Sheila Bromley, though her tactic of getting there - raising 11 false fire alarms - is slightly questionable, and her supposed rivalry with the police evaporates after about 10 minutes. Still, it's tense and enjoyable, with an abrupt ending that works quite well.