The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

James Hagan (play)
Julius J. Epstein (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 February 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Biff Grimes is crazy about Virginia Brush, but his "pal" Hugo Barnstead marries her himself and makes Biff the fall guy for his shady dealings...

Plot Keywords:

Band | Falling Building | Suffragette | Accidental Death | New York City

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

James Cagney	...	Biff Grimes
Olivia de Havilland	...	Amy Lind
Rita Hayworth	...	Virginia Brush
Alan Hale	...	Old Man Grimes
Jack Carson	...	Hugo Barnstead
George Tobias	...	Nicholas Pappalas
Una O'Connor	...	Mrs. Mulcahey
George Reeves	...	Harold
Lucile Fairbanks	...	Harold's Girl Friend
Edward McNamara	...	Big Joe
Helen Lynd	...	Josephine
Herbert Heywood	...	Toby

Runtime:

97 min | Argentina:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | USA:Approved | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Adapted from a Broadway play that originally opened Feb. 7, 1927 at the Bijou Theatre and ran for 24 performances.

Goofs:

Continuity: The skins of the bananas that Biff eats, disappear from under the bench when he and Virginia stand up.

Quotes:

Virginia Brush: [Biff and Hugo arrive in the park]
Virginia Brush: Now listen. We won't say a word to them. Just let them pass. Of course if they say something, we'll say something.
Amy Lind: And if they don't say anything, we won't say anything.
Virginia Brush: No. Just drop your eyes.
Amy Lind: Drop my eyes?
Virginia Brush: Yes. That'll show them we're good girls and they can't trifle with us.
Amy Lind: Well, for goodness sakes, what did we come here for if not to be trifled with.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strangers on a Train (1951)

Soundtrack:

Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis

Raoul Walsh at his peak

It is always a great thrill to watch this classical comedy drama made by one of greatest directors of the bygone Hollywood golden era, Raoul Walsh. You may also point out that The Strawberry Blonde in many ways reflect his own boyhood and youth memories of New York and in some ways that is also the case for the vibrant, arrogant and cocky James Cagney. The film has a wonderful turn of the century atmosphere and it is so highly professional made in all aspects of film-making, that is to tell a story with pictures.The actors are superb and of course you notice that Walsh was a no nonsense director. Someone said about him that Walsh's idea of a great love scene was to "burn down a brothel". But in The Strawberry Blonde you can see that he had many sides and abilities. All together a masterpiece of it's time and a tribute to American culture and the real golden era of film-making.