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24 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
A totally engaging, charming and wonderful little romantic comedy., 4 February 1999
Author: Glyn Ingram (mringram@hotmail.com) from London, England

A completely charming movie from the early 1940's, "The Strawberry Blonde" is both a lesson on just how funny romantic comedies can and should be, as well as being a brilliant example of just what a great actor James Cagney was when he wasn't necessarily in Gangster mode. And, considering "The Strawberry Blonde" is from the director of gangster pictures such as the classic "White Heat," one could almost argue that the unachieveable is achieved in making this charming tale a total success.

James Cagney is Biff Grimes, a likeable if slightly simple student dentist, whose always seemed to come second place with everything he does in life. This includes the relationships he has with the opposite sex. However, when Grimes becomes infatuated with a new lady in town (Rita Hayworth a.k.a The Strawberry Blonde), he's determined to do anything to get a date with her. However, as usual, Virginia shows interest in Grimes' best friend (Jack Carson) instead, leaving Biff to be endlessly frustrated in non-stop arguments with The Strawberry Blonde's best friend, Amy (The remarkable Olivia De Havilland). However, as Grimes' relationship increases with Amy (When he'd rather it be with Virginia), he finds himself stuck in an extraordinary situation when the prospect of marriage looms.

There are moments in "The Strawberry Blonde" which are quite remarkably funny, and, when it's not being funny, it's just being plain entertaining. In fact, there's never a dull moment in this movie, and it's really both true and fair to say that they just don't make pictures like this any more.

Also very much to its credit, unlike so many other films made during the Hollywood studio system, "The Strawberry Blonde" gives a very positive image of women, even finding time to respect and to poke a little fun at 'Women's rights,' yet still managing to make Amy a very feminine character, and yet a no-nonsense and sometimes quite a domineering one. The many scenes between herself and Cagney are brilliant, and, the picture goes off in a direction towards the end that, again to its credit, comes quite unexpectedly.

All the main performances are excellent, and whilst this is James Cagney in 'Nice' mode, he's still plenty aggressive enough in this movie, with a rage and temper to match anyones (Perhaps most obvious in one of the opening sequences). Indeed, for those who can't stand a Cagney movie without a little violence, "The Strawberry Blonde" has a couple of fist fights and comic moments to keep even those members of the audience entertained. Maybe it's the little ideas that keep "The Strawberry Blonde" on track - The idea of making James Cagney a dentist (James Cagney a Dentist?!), or the even more successful addition of the comic relationship that Biff has between his wild, drunken father.

The tune 'The Band plays on' is played throughout the movie (Another nice touch), and is an important and very comic part of it, and whilst the tale is quite a sentimental little one, it never goes overboard with the slush. Even those with the hardest of hearts won't disagree that "The Strawberry Blonde" is one sweet little film that is as entertaining as it is over-and-over rewatchable.

A real Hollywood gem, this one comes highly recommended.

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17 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliant, crisp film-making, 29 December 2004
8/10
Author: Michael Bo (michael.bo@pol.dk) from Copenhagen, Denmark

I have a soft spot for this movie, it makes me cry and it challenges me. It hovers eagle-like over other pieces of quaint, nostalgic Americana in its brilliant mise-en-scène by overlooked film-maker Raoul Walsh, its crisp and very acute script, and its wonderful acting.

James Cagney is the small-town dentist, just out of jail, having been framed by his business partner and boyhood best friend, Jack Carson. Carson married the local beauty, Rita Hayworth of the film's title, and left Cagney with Hayworth's best friend, the free-thinking, no-nonsense Olivia De Havilland. And now, after all these years, Cagney learns that Carson is on his way to his dentist's practice with a bad tooth-ache. What to do ...?

There is such pain underlying all the ebullient humor of 'The Strawberry Blonde', and as usual Walsh gets away with superlative results from mixing genres. From the first frames of the bulldog chasing the cat and the two different social environments on each side of the garden wall, on one side throwing horse-shoes, on the other playing cricket, Walsh wastes no time and is always to the point, telling his story.

Everybody in this movie is perfect. Hayworth waltzes through it all by way of her radiant looks, but Cagney surpasses himself as this charming bigot, always with a black eye to show for the numerous scrapes he gets into.

Olivia De Havilland deserves a whole chapter to herself. I doubt if she was ever better than as the tough kooky, Amy, who never tires of preaching women's lib to Hayworth's Virginia ("I refuse to listen to advanced ideas!"). "What did we come for if not to be trifled with?", she asks, indignantly, of Virginia, seated as they are on the bench in the park, waiting for their beaus. She calls marriage "an institution started by the cavemen and endorsed by florists and jewelers" and insists on her right to pick up men by winking at them. De Havilland is hilarious, and you also notice the vulnerability beneath the feminist swagger.

Not everybody will care for 'The Strawberry Blonde'. If you only give it a superficial look, you will find it dated and cutesy, whereas it is everything but.

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16 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
A witty comedy that stands the test of time, 12 June 2003
8/10
Author: Drewy from Sydney, Australia

Julius Epstein (the man who gave us Arsenic and Old Lace) excels with his adaptation of James Hagan's play One Sunday Afternoon. (For those who think the credit belongs with the playwright not the scriptwriter, I refer you to the 1948 remake One Sunday Afternoon.) The script is crisp and witty, one liners abound, and I found myself laughing out loud often.

The film gains its strength from the morals of a bygone era, as men and women struggle to find love without overstepping the bounds of decency. Yet it holds up well more than 60 years after it was made. The themes of love and happiness are timeless.

Cagney is excellent as jailbird-turned-dentist Biff Grimes. His famed tough guy persona bubbles not very far below the surface but we are reminded that this actor is much more multi-faceted than history sometimes remembers him.

The female cast members are outstanding. The beautiful Susan Hayworth plays the title character Virginia Brush superbly, showing every nuance of the shallow yet ultimately dissatisfied wannabe socialite. Her best friend, Ann Lind, provides a great showcase for Olivia de Havilland's talent, moving from the brash, forward suffragette to the devoted wife, showing her vulnerability as well as her strength along the way.

Some of Hollwood's fine character actors get a chance to impress too. The hard-working Jack Carson impresses as Hugo Barnstead, the charming womanizer turned sleazy tycoon. George Tobias has plenty of scene-stealing moments as Grimes' good friend, Nick the barber. (Look closely and you may recognize him as Bewitched's Abner Kravitz.) Alan Hale is at his best as Grimes' irrepressible Irish father. Keep your eye out for TV's Superman George Reeves as Harold, the Yale student neighbour.

This film provides an amusing reminder that beauty and wealth do not always bring happiness.

Enjoy Strawberry Blonde. I did.

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Raoul Walsh at his peak, 10 December 2005
10/10
Author: Sven-Erik Palmbring from Sweden

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.

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Comedy triumph for Cagney & de Havilland, 15 August 2004
9/10
Author: dougandwin from Adelaide Australia

What an enjoyable movie with the three stars making it so! James Cagney as Biff Grimes, the local dentist, is a joy and shows how well suited he was to this type of serio-comedy, and what a pity he did not get the opportunity to play this type more in his early days at Warners. I think Olivia de Havilland is the real surprise as Biff's wife and she also showed a wonderful gift for comedy mixed with minor drama - her very special "wink" added so much - she was just great! As the Strawberry Blonde, Rita Hayworth in one of her earliest roles was excellent, and was well supported by Jack Carson, while "Superman" George Reeves had a cameo role early & late in the movie. If you see this, make sure you watch the very end for the sing-a-long, it certainly leaves you with a very good feeling. Alan Hale as Biff's father was a bit over the top, and his scenes dragged a little, but that is irrelevant in the total package.

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11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Cagney and that Strawberry Blonde, 23 August 2005
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

The Strawberry Blonde was the second and best version of this film and gives James Cagney one of his best screen roles. This version was sandwiched in between a 1933 version and a 1948 musical version under its original title of One Sunday Afternoon.

Most people think of James Cagney as the sharp, know it all from the city streets. He's certainly played that part often enough especially in his early days at Warner Brothers. But there was a softer, more nostalgic side to Cagney and it comes out in films like this one, Johnny Come Lately, and The Time of Your Life. And of course his most famous piece of turn of the last century nostalgia, Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Part of Strawberry Blonde's charm is the nice musical background of turn of the last century popular music. Makes you feel that you really are back in the New York City of Tammany Hall. In fact some aside references to Tammany are in the script.

The plot is simple, Cagney and Jack Carson are after the same woman, the glamorous Strawberry Blonde played by Rita Hayworth. She's of course got a plain jane girlfriend in Olivia DeHavilland.

One unusual twist for Cagney is that normally he's the con man in films. Here he's the butt for all of Jack Carson's cons. Some of them have tragic results for Cagney.

The ending is sweet however for both Cagney and DeHavilland. Lots of truth in that old adage about being careful what you wish for.

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10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Cagney Carries The Day Again, 29 September 2006
7/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Here's another film in which James Cagney carries it. Even here, with other "stars" like Olivia de Havvilland, Rita Hayworth, Alan Hale, George Tobias and Jack Carson, it's Cagney who is the heart-and-soul of the picture, and the actor that makes this film click. Few other actors could have made this film as interesting.

Hayworth, of course, is easy on the eyes and Tobias was fun as Cagney's Greek friend. Hale was a little annoying as Cagney's father and I don't think that a man who does nothing but chase married women should have been treated so kindly as he was by the filmmakers in this movie.

That was the only bad message of the film. A good message was that marrying someone just for their looks can quickly lead to disaster. That was what was pictured here as "Hugo Barstead" (Carson) got the "prize" girl in "Virginia Brush" (Hayworth), and suffered for it while Cagney - unhappy at first - was happy in the end for getting the less pretty but much nicer woman "Amy Lind" (de Havilland).

Of course, for most of us, settling for Olivia de Havilland would NOT be exactly a losing proposition to begin with! Anyway, the movie is nothing super but it's an entertaining film, for the most part, thanks to Jimmy.

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Sparkling comedy with top-notch Cagney-De Havilland-Hayworth performances..., 1 April 2001
Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

Charming turn-of-the-century romantic comedy gives Rita Hayworth her breakthrough role as the flirtatious town siren who gets her comeuppance when she ditches James Cagney for Jack Carson. Her best friend Amy (Olivia de Havilland) marries dentist Biff (Cagney) after an unusual courtship which provides some amusing scenes between the outspoken miss and her boyfriend. The plot thickens when Cagney's best friend Hugo (Jack Carson) uses him in a shady business scheme that leaves Cagney taking the blame and serving time in prison. He resolves to get even with Hugo one day--and gets his chance when Hayworth brings Hugo to his dental office to have a tooth pulled. It's all done with a light touch and played to the hilt by an engaging cast. Rita shines in the title role but it is Olivia de Havilland who really walks off with the film as Cagney's sweetheart. Time magazine reported that she stole the film from both of them with her "electric winks". Only flaw is the occasional emphasis on comedy scenes with Alan Hale (as Cagney's father) that tend to drag. George Tobias has a good supporting role, as does George Reeves ("Superman") who appears at the beginning and end of the story as Cagney's belligerent neighbor. Cagney is his usual blustery self but shows a nice flair for comedy. Entertaining and a great film to watch on a rainy afternoon.

Trivia note: Compare this with the musical remake Raoul Walsh directed in '48 called ONE Sunday AFTERNOON with Dennis Morgan, Dorothy Malone and Janis Paige in the three central roles. Painfully bad and painfully dull with terrible songs and lackluster work by Morgan as Biff Grimes.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A Feel Good Movie, 29 July 2006
8/10
Author: lpersons-2 from United States

Music, Music music.....costumes...what a delightful old movie... Go back in time to an easier period. When you could take your best girl out on the town for $2.50. This movie just makes you long for the old, old days..when life was so much easier. Very little serious matter in the movie. Lot's of lessons to learn to. The beautiful package, the elusive girl, the importance of life. By todays standards this would be an extremely low budget film, yet it captures you and you leave the movie feeling better for watching it. Great cast with James Cagney, Olivia DeHavilland, Rita Haywood, Jack Carter who bring the movie to life. Not a great movie, but one worth seeing just to look back in time and enjoy.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent period piece with a great cast, 31 May 2003
8/10
Author: mightymezzo from San Jose, CA

This is a genuinely charming dramedy that avoids idealizing its circa-1900 setting. Excellent performances all around, especially from James Cagney and the up-and-coming Rita Hayworth. I had the opportunity to see this *after* seeing its original, the 1933 "One Sunday Afternoon." "The Strawberry Blonde" proves that a remake can sometimes improve on the original. It's far better paced than "One Sunday Afternoon," and Cagney is better suited to the role of a likeable working-class braggart than Gary Cooper was.

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