The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

The Strawberry Blonde 
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Written by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein from a play by James Hagan
1941/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing/Amazon Instant Video

[box] Biff Grimes: I’ve been around, they can say an awful lot of things about Biff Grimes, but not that he ever gave a cigarette to a girl.[/box]

This light romantic tale is a nostalgic look back at the Gay Nineties and its music.

As the story begins, Biff Grimes (James Cagney) is a struggling dentist desperate to drum up a few patients.  Suddenly he is called on to pull the tooth of one alderman Hugo Barnstead (Jack Carson) who double-crossed him in love and business ten years before.  As he is relishing this unexpected opportunity for revenge, he reflects on his life.

Hugo and Biff were both infatuated with lovely Virginia Brush (Rita Hayworth), The Strawberry Blonde.  Virginia is a flirtatious and proper maiden of the period.  Her friend Amy (Olivia De Havilland) is a nurse and self-proclaimed woman’s rights advocate who has a yen for Biff.  He, a traditional male, wouldn’t have her because of her forwardness even if he wasn’t  pining for Virginia.  On their double dates with Hugo and Virginia, Biff is inevitably left holding the bag.

On the day Biff is to go on a longed for date with Virginia, he finds out she has married Hugo. Amy helps him cover his shame and he marries her, evidently still not appreciating her properly.  When the couple next run into Hugo and Virginia, Hugo is rich and Virginia urges him to find Biff work.  Hugo complies by making him the front man for a construction business benefitting from city graft.  Needless to say, this does not work out well for Biff. When the couples are brought together again on the day of the tooth-pulling, Biff is at last able to put his life in perspective.   With Alan Hale as Biff’s reprobate father (??!), George Tobias as his friend, and a small bit by Una O’Connor as a maid.

For a very charming musical, the plot has a bit of bite.  If there had been an award for best costumes at the time, it would have deserved a nomination.  Olivia De Havilland is absolutely irresistible in this.

Heinz Roemheld was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.

Trailer