The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

88% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
75% of users liked it
(562 ratings)

Strawberry Blonde is the second, and by far the most well-regarded, of the three film versions of James Hogan's play One Sunday Afternoon. James Cagney stars as Biff Grimes, a turn-of-the-century dentist married to onetime suffragette Amy Lind (Olivia de Havilland). A former convict, Biff has great… More Strawberry Blonde is the second, and by far the most well-regarded, of the three film versions of James Hogan's play One Sunday Afternoon. James Cagney stars as Biff Grimes, a turn-of-the-century dentist married to onetime suffragette Amy Lind (Olivia de Havilland). A former convict, Biff has great difficulty keeping his temper--and when alderman Hugo Barnstead (Jack Carson), the man responsible for Cagney's unjust prison term, shows up one Sunday afternoon to have a tooth pulled, the pugnacious dentist begins developing homicidal urges. In a lengthy flashback, we learn that Biff and Hugo, once the best of friends, were business partners in a construction firm. When one of their buildings collapsed due to shoddy materials, Biff was sent to jail for five years, while Hugo escaped scot-free. Even worse, Hugo stole Biff's girlfriend Virginia Brush (Rita Hayworth), the "strawberry blonde" of the title. The flashback over, Biff sharkishly welcomes Hugo into his office, fully intending to bump off his old enemy. But during a reunion with his "dream girl" Virginia, Biff realizes for the first time that Amy was the right girl for him all along, and that Hugo did him a favor by taking the strident, shrewish Virginia off his hands. Letting Hugo off with little more than a sore jaw, Biff takes Amy in his arms--but not before settling a few old accounts with his fists, just for old time's sake. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 41 min.
Directed By: Raoul Walsh
Written By: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein
Genres: Western, Drama, Romance, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1941 Limited
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Appealing comedy with a historical background.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Rita Hayworth is the eye candy who sweetens the plot as the alluring strawberry blonde.
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Grand, old fashioned romantic comedy a la Warners and Cagney.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Raucous comedy-drama with more hits than misses.

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

Winning comedy drama that started Rita Hayworth's ascent to stardom. Olivia and Jimmy are well matched and Jack Carson is at his slick oily best. Good direction and fine supporting cast.
First L

James Cagney? Olivia de Havilland? Rita Hayworth? What more do you want, spontaneous barbershop quartets? Yes. How about the dad of "the Skipper" from Gilligan's Island engaging in olde timey fisticuffs with guys wearing handlebar mustaches? Okay, you'll find… More
James Cagney? Olivia de Havilland? Rita Hayworth? What more do you want, spontaneous barbershop quartets? Yes. How about the dad of "the Skipper" from Gilligan's Island engaging in olde timey fisticuffs with guys wearing handlebar mustaches? Okay, you'll find that here too. Cagney plays a hot-headed dentist named Biff (who his foreign friend calls "Beef") who's married to the knockout Olivia de Havilland, but all he can think about is the one that got away (Hayworth). It's not just that she got away, but that she ran off with a booming-voiced showoff and all around jerk (played by the well-enunciated Jack Carson). When the creep unknowingly makes an appointment with his old pal dentist for some emergency tooth ache pulling, Biff plots a revenge that may include murder, and sets up the flashbacks which will tell his life story and the wrongs done to him over the years by this man. Set in the early 1900s, the film makes comical use of all the customs and beliefs that were popular at the time: from women's suffrage to the aforementioned barbershop quartets and handlebar mustaches (even George Reeves, the man who would become Superman, gets in on the handlebar mustache thing). Let's face it, you just can't make a period piece without using certain signature elements. You wouldn't make a movie set in the 1960s without including hippies, you wouldn't make a 50s film without beatniks, and you certainly couldn't make a film set in the 90s without referencing grunge (well, obviously you could do all these things, but for some reason most mainstream filmmakers choose not to). Things from the past often times just look silly to people in the present. Cagney does a good job being "Cagney" in this role, but overall the film is a little shallow. It is none the less an easily enjoyable, if overall lightweight film.

Cast

            James Cagney as Biff Grimes

            Olivia de Havilland as Amy Lind

            Rita Hayworth as Virginia Brush

            Jack Carson as Hugo Barnstead

            Alan Hale as Old Man Grimes

            George Tobias as Nick Pappalas

            Una O'Connor as Mrs. Mulcahey

            George Reeves as Harold

            Lucille Fairbanks as Harold's Girl Friend

            Edward McNamara as Big Joe

            Helen Lynd as Josephine Miller

            Herbert Heywood as Toby

            Herbert Anderson as Girl-chaser in park

            Paul Barrett
            
            Wade Boteler as Warden

            Lucia Carroll as Nurse

            Eddy Chandler as Streetcleaner

            Jack Daley as Bartender

            Abe Dinovitch as Singer

            Pat Flaherty as Policeman

            James Flavin as Boat Inspector

            Roy Gordon as Bank president

            Harrison Greene as Hangers-On

            Creighton Hale as Secretary

            Carl Harbaugh as Workman

            Russell Hicks as Treadway

            Max Hoffman Jr. as Policeman

            George Humbert as Guiseppi

            Frank Mayo as Policeman

            Frank Melton as Man

            Jack Mower as Streetcleaner

            William Newell as Man

            Frank Orth as Baxter

            Bob Perry as Hanger-on

            Susan Peters as Girl

            Paul Phillips as Fellow

            Addison Richards as Official

            Harry Seymour as Man

            John Sheehan as Streetcleaner

            David Thursby as Street Cleaner

            Dorothy Vaughan as Woman

            Dick Wessel as Man

            Richard Clayton as Dandy

            Ann Edmonds as Girl

            Peter Ashley as Young man

            George Campeau as Sailor

            Peggy Diggins as Girl

            Tim Ryan as Streetcleaner foreman
See full cast