The Adventurous Blonde (1937)

A Disappointing Continuation

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The whodunit part is fairly complicated involving a newspaper rivalry, a faked murder that turns real, along with Torchy and her cop buddy trying to stay out of trouble. Logic-wise, the plot's more than the usual stretch.I haven't seen other entries in the Blaine series so I can't compare. This programmer, however, carries the earmarks of 30's style WB—fast paced, lots of street-wise mugs, few lengthy talk scenes, and a sassy blonde. Torchy (Farrell) is a cannily aggressive reporter who pairs up with cop Steve (Mac Lane) to scoop rival reporters. Note how, in one scene, she even takes over Steve's seat at the station house. There's some typical lowbrow humor from the likes of Tom Kennedy who specialized in such roles. And catch tough guy Mac Lane in what's almost a leading man role, certainly a departure for him. Likely a handsomer Lawler (Hugo) was added to compensate in the looks department. I guess I missed Perry Mason's William Hopper who's in the credits, but short on screen time.Anyway, the programmer's okay as a time passer, especially if you keep a note pad to keep up with the plot, but otherwise it's nothing special.(In passing—Over the years, I've surmised that whenever viewers see a city street closed off at one end by a cross street, that means it's a back lot set, as is the case here.)

Leonard Maltin calls this film one of the better entries in the Torchy Blane series, but I think it is easily the worst one out of the first three at least. The premise that sets the plot in motion (rival reporters staging a fake murder to discredit Torchy and delay her wedding to Steve) is dated at best, stupid at worst (is a hoax like that worth risking your job at the very least, and possibly spending a few years behind bars?). The crime plot itself begins with a classic setup of the genre (the "fake" murder happens for real), but soon gets muddled, not helped by the fact that two important female characters look so much alike. One very funny line, though: - humming Gahagan: "How do you like my execution?" - angry reporter: "I'm in favor of it!". *1/2 out of 4.

This is the 3rd film of the Torchy Blane series and once again Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane are in the leads once again. The film begins with the Lieutenant (MacLane) getting a slight dressing down by his boss. It seems that since Torchy is the lieutenant's fiancée, she gets an inside scoop of crimes that other newspaper people are now complaining about--after all, should the Lieutenant's girl get stories that no other reporter has access to? In addition, the reporters decide to play a trick on the couple to get revenge--they'll stage a fake murder and make them look like idiots when they investigate. The problem is that this fake murder turns out to be a real one--and once again, Torchy gets the scoop.Throughout the film, Torchy takes the law into her own hands--making guesses and playing hunches again and again. And, since this IS a Torchy Blane film, you know that all of it will work out in the end. Unfortunately, compared to the earlier Torchy Blane films, this one more contrived and less believable. Enjoyable, sure--just not particularly outstanding in its execution.

I like the Torchy Blane character and the way Glenda Farrell played her in the Warner Brothers series. But this third episode probably could have sank the whole series.Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane are about to be married which of course will make them even closer. Both the police and Farrell's fellow reporters see problems. But the reporters in their infinite wisdom decide to do something about it.Can you believe these lugnuts decide to stage a fake murder of and hire a ham actor to play the part? But then the ham actor really does turn up dead, leaving another mystery for Farrell and MacLane to solve.Call me just an old fuddy duddy but I seem to remember their being laws against this sort of thing. There sure is in making a false report of a crime. In real life a lot of the working press of Torchy's city would have been filing their stories from the big house. And that's even if this thing had stayed just a gag.Incredibly stupid movie.