Simply A Masterpiece

Better Late Then Never

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

When you get right down to the message this is really a delightful film. Cagney's character might be brash and a boor at times, but he gets to see the error of his ways after being framed by his boyhood best friend Hugo Barnstead (Jack Carson). The story has a present day (for the turn of the 20th century) opening that flashes back ten years when Biff Grimes (Cagney) and Hugo were beginning to romance the young ladies and about to make their mark on the world.You know, as a time capsule of what life was like a century ago you really can't beat this flick. Biff was learning dentistry by mail order, can you believe that? Why even Doc Holliday went to dental school, so that was an eye opener. Going one better than that though, how about barber Nick (George Tobias) using a leech to treat one of Biff's barroom brawl facial cuts? This wasn't the first time I've seen it in a movie, but it sure does make you wonder what medical procedures must have been like back in the day. Or how a barber could make a living charging twenty cents for a haircut and shave, can you imagine that? Say, what did you think about Amy's (Olivia de Havilland) comment to Virginia (Ava Gardner) when Hugo and Biff showed up the first time - "...come on, let's shake our tootsies"! I'm pretty sure tootsies referred to feet back in the day but watching today it seems like they might have referred to something a bit higher on the anatomy. Considering the era in the story, Amy's views and comments positioned her as a real freethinker, unlike pal Virginia who's comeback was "I refuse to listen to advanced ideas"! She might have had a bit of a problem with Women's Lib in the Sixties, don't you think?Alan Hale was pretty much a sketch in this picture as well, hitting on the neighborhood women and never holding down a job for any length of time. As Biff's Dad, Hale's a riot as a practice patient for one of his son's dental lessons with a little nitrous oxide thrown in for good measure. Watching him here it's hard not to confuse him with his real life son who went on to Gilligan's Island fame as the Skipper. Both had a hearty, jovial nature that their films brought out real well.With it's splendid characters and old time values, this is a treasure of a movie that I'm glad I finally got around to. It's a throw back to a simpler era that can be widely appreciated today when the world seems to be going topsy turvy at times. As the picture's final song suggests, this might be just what you need to 'Let the rest of the world go by' for a couple of hours.

. . . in this Warner Bros. spoof of GONE WITH THE WIND. Rita Hayworth is STRAWBERRY BLONDE's incarnation of Scarlett O'Hara, though her title character is called "Virginia Brush" here to avoid infringing upon MGM's copyrights. No GWTW parody would be complete without a Rhett Butler, so Jack Carson's "Hugo F. Barnstead" stands in for that caddish scoundrel. James Cagney is spot on as feisty milquetoast oxymoron Mr. Wilkes, otherwise known as mail-ordered dentist "Biff Grimes." In a stunning lack of casting imagination, Olivia De Havilland reprises her own Melanie role under the guise of "Amy Lind" here. As in GWTW, the Ashley\Biff character gets separated from his wife for a five-year ordeal. Just as in GWTW, the Melanie\Amy lady gets pregnant before the Scarlett\Virginia hussy. As in GWTW, the former is a plain homebody with simple tastes, while the latter lives life large to extravagant excess. Both movies contain racist song lyrics, and an Irish dad accidentally dying at an inopportune juncture. But STRAWBERRY BLONDE wins the better picture award hands down, since you can view it in one sitting and it concludes with audience karaoke rather than with a lot of swearing.

Strawberry Blonde, The (1941) ** (out of 4) James Cagney falls head over hills for a woman (Rita Hayworth) but she won't have anything to do with him so he marries another woman (Olivia de Havilland) instead. I haven't seen the original film or the future remake and while I know this version gets pretty good reviews it just didn't work for me. I thought the screenplay was rather weak and most of the comedy is rather forced and in the end unfunny. Cagney gives it his all trying to bring laughs but the screenplay doesn't do him any justice. Hayworth is cute in her role but sadly she's not in too much of the film. The real problem for me was de Havilland who really comes off bad. She's playing a bland character but her performance doesn't come off very well. She sleepwalks through the role and I just didn't want to see her on screen at anytime. Walsh's direction is nice but in the end this is a bland comedy all around. Alan Hale, Jack Carson, George Tobias, Una O'Connor and George Reeves co-star.

Who would had ever known that Raoul Walsh was also capable of making, fun, sweet, charming movies such as this one.It's a real irresistible movie, with a solid great and also quite original love-story, supported and uplifted even more by its great cast. It's the sort of story that sort of has it all; romance, drama and comedy. What I like about the movie is that it has all of the generic required elements but yet is non-formulaic. For instance the lead doesn't get the girl he wanted most and the leading lady has her own very free mind and will, especially for those days of course. The movie has several dramatic themes in it, as well as a sort of message in the end but above all the movie is a really fun one to watch. It has some great subtle comedy and I'm sure you'll discover new little subtle comedy elements in the movie each time you'll see it.James Cagney doesn't seem like the most likely choice for the leading role in a romantic movie. He was often type-casted as tough guys and he of course most certainly also did not had the right looks to play in a movie such as this one. But perhaps of that very same reason his character works out so well in the movie. It makes the story all the more believable and cuter, knowing that the main character isn't the prettiest or cutest boy on the block. On top of that, James Cagney was of course also a great actor, that could time well, which helps him in the more comical moments in the movie. The movie also has an impressive female cast with both Olivia de Havilland and Rita Hayworth. Two of THE leading ladies of the '40's. But also Alan Hale, Jack Carson and George Reeves where no unknowns.By todays standards the sets and background of the movie are all cheap and of course fake looking but this always has been sort of part of the charm of '40's movies. The musical score by Heinz Roemheld was surprisingly great (also Oscar nominated). I wish it was more present in the movie.A really recommendable movie.8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/