Torchy Blane Reporter
One of my 2021 movie watching goals was seeing the entire Torchy Blane series and I thought this month was as good a time as any to tick this goal off my list. I finished watching the last film in the series last weekend (Saturday) and felt like dedicating a post to Torchy now. So here goes!
Between 1928 and 1937, detective novelist Frederick Nebel wrote the MacBride and Kennedy series, a total of 37 novellas, about cop Steve MacBride and crime reporter Kennedy who were investigating crimes in Richmond City. The stories appeared as a serial in the pulp magazine Black Mask. Nebel sold the rights to the stories to Warner Brothers who adapted them for the screen and changed hard-drinking male newspaperman Kennedy to a female wise-cracking and feisty reporter (with the Hays Code being in full force an alcoholic protagonist would not be accepted). Thus Torchy Blane was born, and Steve MacBride (in the films his name was spelled McBride) became the object of Torchy's affections. Warner Bros produced a total of nine Torchy films between 1937 and 1939, and they became very popular with the public and quite profitable for the studio. They were B-movies, with a short runtime, and complemented a double bill.
Director Frank McDonald, who would direct the first four Torchy films, wanted Glenda Farrell for the role of the adventurous female reporter. Farrell was under contract to Warner Brothers since the beginning of the 1930s and had appeared in over 30 films in her first five years. Sometimes she would even work on three films at the same time. She had already portrayed fast-talking and sassy reporters in earlier Warner Bros films, Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) and Hi, Nellie! (1934). They matched her with Barton MacLane, another Warner Bros contract player, who had done major supporting roles throughout the 1930s. They starred in 7 of the 9 Torchy films. For some reason Lola Lane and Paul Kelly replaced them in Torchy Blane in Panama, the 5th film in the series, but the audience's reception was lukewarm and this made Warner Bros cast Farrell and MacLane again for another two titles. In 1939 Farrell left the studio for good. One more entry in the series would be made with Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins in the roles of Torchy and Steve.
In 1930s films, the female reporter was the epitome of a career woman. As far as a working woman was concerned, she couldn't be more independent and intelligent. Torchy, as played by Glenda Farrell, was the embodiment of what a newspaper woman looked and sounded like for that era. Farrell said in a 1969 interview with Time: "So before I undertook to do the first Torchy, I determined to create a real human being — and not an exaggerated comedy type. I met those [newswomen] who visited Hollywood and watched them work on visits to New York City. They were generally young, intelligent, refined and attractive. By making Torchy true to life, I tried to create a character practically unique in movies." Reportedly Torchy was thé role model for Superman's Lois Lane. Creator Jerry Siegel used the name of actress Lola Lane (Torchy in the 5th film) for his fictional Daily Planet reporter, but it was Glenda Farrell's portrayal of Torchy which served as inspiration for Lois Lane.
The Torchy Blane films were released in the following order:
Smart Blonde (with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane)
The Adventurous Blonde (with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane)
Blondes at Work (with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane)
Torchy Blane in Panama (with Lola Lane and Paul Kelly)
Torchy Runs for Mayor (with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane)
Torchy Blane .. Playing with Dynamite (with Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins)
All of the following synopses are taken from the AFI website (like the hyperlinked film titles above) because I'm too lazy to write my own, lol.
SMART BLONDE (1937)
Smart Blonde was the only film in the series that was really based on a Nebel's MacBride and Kennedy story, namely No Hard Feelings. (It would be adapted again in 1941 as A Shot in the Dark, which was not a Torchy Blane film, but stars William Lundigan, Nan Wynn and Ricardo Cortez.)
Synopsis: After nightclub owner Fitz Mularkey sells his business enterprises because he intends to marry Marcia Friel, who disapproves of them, Torchy Blane, a reporter, interviews Tiny Torgenson, the man who bought the business and who is a close friend of Fitz. As they leave Union Station, Torgenson is shot. Torchy's boyfriend, police lieutenant Steve McBride, who is in charge of the case, brings Torchy with him to Fitz's nightclub. While he investigates, Torchy learns from the hat check girl Dixie that singer Dolly Ireland was in love with Fitz and that Fitz's right-hand man Chuck was angry about losing his job. Steve suspects the other bidders for the business, but Torchy suspects Chuck. She persuades Steve to look for him, and while they are at Chuck's apartment, Fitz shows up and demands to know what the police have on his man. Steve learns that Chuck and Dolly were seen at Union Station just before Torgenson was killed. Meanwhile, Torchy lunches with Fitz's fiancée Marcia, who begs her to convince Fitz to sell his business to anyone who wants to buy it. When Chuck is found murdered, Steve immediately suspects Fitz, but later decides that he is covering for someone and he accuses Dolly. When the forensics report states that Chuck's gun did not kill Torgenson, Marcia tells Steve that because Chuck threatened her, she is afraid that Fitz killed him to protect her. Torchy becomes suspicious when Marcia and her brother Lewis tell conflicting stories about their parents. Finally, Torchy deduces that Lewis and Marcia are crooks who have been trying to take Fitz for his money and that Lewis killed Torgenson when he recognised Marcia as an imposter. Fitz decides to stay in business and proposes to Dolly, his real love. Inspired, Steve proposes to Torchy. (Source: AFI)
FLY AWAY BABY (1937)
Synopsis: When jeweler Milton Devereux is killed and a collection of diamonds is stolen, reporter Torchy Blane is assigned to the case. Her fiancé, policeman Steve McBride, is investigating the case, so Torchy tags along as he hunts for the murder weapon. Using her reporter's instinct, Torchy finds the gun hidden in a drainpipe in the alley behind the store. Torchy learns that Devereux had quarreled with Sonny Croy, the son of a rival newspaper owner, over a loan, and that Devereux had threatened to tell Sonny's father that he was living beyond his means. She also learns that during the time Devereux was murdered, Croy was at lunch with Guy Allister, Devereux's partner. Steve and Torchy question the waiter in the restaurant, and she finds a clue on a menu that leads her to believe that Sonny was planning to leave town after the murder. They trace Sonny to the apartment of nightclub dancer Ila Sayre, who insists that Sonny was on the phone with her at precisely the time of the murder. Sonny explains the notes on the menu by saying that he is taking a zeppelin flight around the world as a publicity stunt. Determined to follow Sonny, whom she believes to be the murderer, Torchy talks her paper into sending her around the world in a race against Sonny and another reporter, Hughie Sprague. When the airship lands in Hawaii, Torchy searches Sonny's room and finds a message indicating that some goods will be exchanged in Frankfurt. Sonny discovers her investigation after finding a lipstick that she dropped during the search. Sonny truly seems to be the most likely suspect for the murder after Ila admits that she did not actually talk to Sonny while she was on the phone, but only kept the line open. When Torchy points out that the back door of the restaurant is opposite the back door of the jewelry store, Steve, who has joined Torchy on board the zeppelin, decides to arrest Sonny. This plan is thwarted when they find Sonny dead and discover that the jewels hidden in the false bottom of his suitcase are not diamonds. Torchy puts together various clues to determine that Allister was the actual murderer, and that Sonny was working for him to pay off his debt. They are puzzled, however, because Allister is not on board the airship. After further investigation, they learn that he boarded the ship using a false name. Allister attempts to parachute off the zeppelin, but his parachute does not open properly and he dies. Torchy gets a bonus for her efforts. (Source: AFI)
THE ADVENTUROUS BLONDE (1937)
Synopsis: Newspaper reporter Torchy Blane is handed a telegram, which she reads before realising it actually was sent to Theresa Gray, the woman sitting next to her on the train. Torchy's telegram, when she gets it, is from policeman Steve McBride, announcing that he will have a minister waiting to marry them when her train arrives. Worried that her marriage to Steve will put Torchy ahead in covering the police beat, several reporters decide to play a practical joke on her and postpone her wedding at the same time. The reporters hire an actor to play dead and phone Steve with the news. They hope that Torchy will report the death and that a second paper owned by publisher Mortimer Gray will embarrass her by printing the truth. Then, Harvey Hammond, the actor, is actually murdered, and Torchy beats the other reporters to the story as usual. The suspects in his death are Grace Brown, an actress in Hammond's company; her boyfriend Hugo Brand; Mrs. Jenny Hammond, who was jealous of Hammond's love for Grace; and Theresa Gray, Hammond's discarded lover. Torchy frames Theresa for the murder in order to force a confession from publisher Gray, her husband. Gray, who knew about the proposed joke, was jealous of his wife's relationship with Hammond and seized the opportunity to kill him. He now confesses before taking poison. Cleared of any suspicion, Hugo and Grace are married by Torchy's waiting magistrate, and Torchy and Steve postpone their wedding once again. (Source: AFI)
BLONDES AT WORK (1938)
Synopsis: Police Lieutenant Steve McBride is in trouble with his superiors because they suspect him of leaking police information to his fiancée, crack reporter Torchy Blane. During the course of an argument, Torchy and Steve agree that they will not exchange information about police cases in the future. When Bon Ton department store heir Marvin Spencer is found murdered, however, Torchy stops at nothing to scoop the other papers. She sneaks a look at the diary that Gahagan, Steve's driver, keeps locked in his glove compartment, and the clues she finds there lead her to Louisa Revelle, the woman who was with Spencer the night he was stabbed. Louisa admits to Torchy that millionaire Maitland Greer was also present that night, and although she is upset when Greer is charged with murder, Louisa will say nothing more. Always one step ahead of the police, Torchy eavesdrops on the jury room, overhears their decision to declare Greer guilty, and breaks the story in an extra edition of the Star before the verdict is announced in court. Furious, the judge sentences her to jail for contempt. Visiting her a few days later, Steve tells her that after the verdict was announced, Louisa broke down and confessed that she stabbed Spencer when he treatened to shoot Greer, her new lover. Steve adds that it seems like a case of self-defense and speculates that both Louisa and Greer will be cleared. Torchy is pleased that things will work out, but is disappointed that for once her paper didn't break the story. Then Steve admits that he gave the story to the Star before the other papers, and once again Torchy scoops them all. (Source: AFI)
TORCHY BLANE IN PANAMA (1938)
Synopsis: When Gahagan, a policeman, witnesses a bank robbery during a parade of the Loyal Order of Leopards, he rushes off to call his boss, Steve McBride. Moments after Steve arrives at the bank, reporter Torchy Blane, Steve's fiancée, follows in order to do some investigating of her own. She is miffed to find another reporter there ahead of her, so when Steve ignores her after she finds a lodge button wedged in a teller's cage, she breaks the story in her newspaper, The Star. Steve discovers that the pin's owner has been dead for three years, but still Torchy theorises that the thief will travel with the Los Angeles delegation of Leopards, returning home by way of Panama, in order to pass the stolen money outside the country. Steve laughs at her theory and then leaves for Panama without her. Furious, Torchy parachutes into the ocean, forcing the ship to rescue her. On board, she ignores Steve and flirts with all the Leopards, trying to identify the thief. Her attention focuses on Stan Crafton after Gahagan tells her that he did not know the secret Leopard handshake, but a search of his stateroom yields no money. Crafton sees Torchy leaving his stateroom with Steve, so he sneaks off the boat in Panama with the money, which he has hidden in the mascot, a stuffed leopard. By accident, Torchy sees him leave and follows him, leaving a note for Steve. As soon as the ship docks at the other end of the Canal, Steve flies back to look for Torchy. In the meantime, Crafton has caught her spying on him and plans to kill her. Steve spots her wet clothes drying on Crafton's balcony and breaks in, shooting Crafton. Gahagan helps Torchy make her scoop and Steve proposes again. (Source: AFI)
TORCHY GETS HER MAN (1938)
Synopsis: Reporter Torchy Blane is in the police station when Gilbert, a secret service agent, asks the police for help in catching a counterfeiter known as $100 Bailey, who is passing hundred dollar bills. He tells police detective Steve McBride that the man he suspects will pass the money at the racetrack and convinces Steve to let him watch the $100 betting window. Captain McTavish dispatches Sergeant Gahagan with a letter to confirm Gilbert's identity, but, unknown to the police, Gilbert is actually Bailey and he intends to use his position at the racetrack to pass counterfeit money under the eyes of the police. Gilbert switches McTavish's letter with one written by a member of his gang, and his cover is maintained. McTavish forbids Steve to tell Torchy about the investigation, but determined to get her story, Torchy follows Gilbert from the racetrack. Gilbert notices her on his tail, however, and loses her. By questioning Gahagan, Torchy figures out what the investigation is about, but when she writes the story, her editor explains that they have been asked not to publish anything on the subject in order to keep the operation secret. Torchy is still suspicious, so she marks Gilbert's automobile tire with creosote and borrows a dog to track the scent. With Gahagan's help, Torchy discovers Gilbert's hideout, but they are spotted by Gilbert's men and kidnapped. Torchy sends the dog to get help. Meanwhile, Steve has begun to worry about Torchy. Gilbert's response makes him suspicious and when the dog shows up without Torchy, Steve sets off in search of her. They arrive just before a bomb is set to go off, and Bailey panics, revealing Torchy's hiding place. (Source: AFI)
TORCHY BLANE IN CHINATOWN (1939)
Synopsis: The friendly rivalry between newspaper reporter Torchy Blane and her pal, police lieutenant Steve McBride, escalates as the two investigate a death threat involving priceless jade tablets brought to the United States on behalf of Senator Baldwin by three adventurers. A note, written in Chinese characters, warns the trio of impending doom at midnight unless a ransom is paid for the tablets, which have been stolen. That night, Torchy joins Steve at the Adventurers Club, where he and his assistant, Gahagan, are guarding the threatened victims — Fitzhugh, Mr. Mansfield and Captain Condon. Once safely past midnight, they leave, but shortly afterward Fitzhugh is machine-gunned in his car. A note found in the car warns that Mansfield will be the next to die, and despite every possible precaution, he smokes a poisoned cigarette and expires. Before the coroner arrives, Mansfield's body mysteriously vanishes. The next threat occurs when Dick Staunton, the fiancé of Baldwin's daughter Janet, is ordered by the mysterious menace to deliver the $250,000 ransom to the last buoy in New York harbour. Torchy, who has discovered that Fitzhugh's fingerprints and those of the body in the morgue do not match, joins Steve in a submarine as Dick rides out to pay the ransom. At the appointed rendez-vous, Torchy and Steve surface in the submarine just in time to save Dick and prove that the murders were all part of a plot by the adventurers to extort money from Baldwin. (Source: AFI)
TORCHY RUNS FOR MAYOR (1939)
Synopsis: Reporter Torchy Blane repeatedly accuses Mayor Saunders of being in league with Dr. Dolan, who controls the city through graft. The articles worry policeman Steve McBride, Torchy's fiancé, because he believes that they place her in danger. By asking his allies to withdraw advertising from the newspaper, Dolan pressures Torchy's editor into cancelling her articles. Determined to prove that her articles are correct, Torchy searches Dolan's office and steals a small red book in which Dolan records his transactions. Dolan calls the police after the robbery, demanding the return of the book but also requesting that the theft receive no publicity. When Torchy writes an article exposing Dolan, the publisher of her newspaper refuses to print it. She takes her piece to other papers with no luck until she encounters Hubert Ward, the publisher of a small, relatively unknown newspaper. With the help of Gahagan, Steve's partner, they distribute the publication all over town. Now that Torchy has revealed the mayor's corruption, the citizens choose Ward to run as a reform candidate. Before the election, however, Dolan kills Ward with an injection, using a letter he found in Ward's papers to place the blame for the murder on an innocent man. Because he is annoyed at her interference, Steve writes in Torchy's name as the new reform candidate. To his dismay, she decides to campaign seriously. From the podium, Torchy promises to name Ward's murderer, but before she can, she is kidnapped. Steve and Gahagan set off to find her. Steve threatens Dolan to no avail, but in the meantime, Steve has found an address that he believes to be the gang's hideout. They find Torchy and Dolan waiting there. Dolan and Steve fight and Dolan escapes in Steve's car, which Dolan's men have rigged to explode when the siren is used. Dolan is killed by the bomb. Torchy wins the election, but at the sight of a baby, decides to marry Steve instead of assuming the mayorship. (Source: AFI)
NOTE from WIKIPEDIA: "Farrell was elected to a one-year term as the honorary mayor of North Hollywood in 1937, beating her competition Bing Crosby and Lewis Stone by a three-to-one margin. Even though it began as a Warner Bros. publicity stunt, Farrell took the job seriously, attending functions, presentations, and ceremonies. She was also put in charge when the North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced that it wanted to put sewers along Ventura Highway and started the groundwork for that project."
TORCHY BLANE .. PLAYING WITH DYNAMITE (1939)
Synopsis: Reporter Torchy Blane is covering a bank robbery, one of a series committed by Denver Eddie. Returning to the newspaper, Torchy is stopped by a policeman for speeding and because she does not have her driver's license with her, he takes her to court where she is present for the sentencing of 'Jackie' McGuire, a woman accused of shoplifting. After Torchy's fiancé, Lt. Steve McBride, identifies her, Torchy is released. Almost immediately, however, she begs Steve to put her back in jail, having realised that Jackie is gangster Denver Eddie's girlfriend. Her plan is to make friends with Jackie and use her to get a lead on Eddie. Torchy has no luck with her plan until she helps subdue another prisoner who tries to stab Jackie. In gratitude, Jackie suggests that she and Torchy escape from jail. Steve agrees to cooperate with Torchy's plan when she explains that the reward money for Eddie's capture will enable them to get married. After they escape, Torchy and Jackie, followed by Steve and his assistant Gahagan, head for San Francisco. Intending to keep the reward for himself, Steve does not notify the local police of Eddie's expected arrival, but his actions are so suspicious that the police think he and Gahagan are criminals. Simmons, a San Francisco policeman, follows them, but Steve succeeds in convincing him that Gahagan is a wrestler and he is his manager. Meanwhile, Torchy has arranged to signal Steve when Eddie arrives by hanging her stockings on the fire escape. Gahagan sees Jackie hang her stockings out to dry and they burst into the women's room only to find that Eddie is not there yet. Torchy then quickly makes up a story to explain their presence. During the afternoon, Simmons has set up a match between Gahagan and another wrestler. When Eddie and his men arrive, Bugsie recognises Steve as a policeman, but pretends that he thinks Steve is another criminal. Not knowing that they recognise him, Steve invites Eddie to join him in robbing the wrestling stadium. Eddie goes along with the plan, arranging for his men to kidnap Steve on the way there. At the arena, another reporter recognises Torchy and reveals her identity. After getting rid of Eddie's men, Steve rushes to the arena where Gahagan gets thrown out of the ring just in time to land on Eddie who is trying to run out with Torchy. Steve and Gahagan are credited with the arrest and Steve and Torchy now have the money to marry. (Source: AFI)
I really enjoyed the series and was actually kind of sad when they had come to an end after spending all that time with the characters. When I started watching Torchy Runs for Mayor, I already felt a trace of sadness during the opening credits with the lovely opening tune, realising it would be the last Torchy starring Farrell and MacLane. It won't come as a surprise that they are my favourite couple of the three playing these characters. Their chemistry is simply first class and they are a very believable couple.
Of the three couples I thought Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins had the worst chemistry. There was actually none to speak of. I prefer Jane Wyman as Torchy over Lola Lane, but it has more to do with the fact that I really love Jane Wyman (she also played a supporting role as the hat check girl in Smart Blonde). And she's so cute being this young and blonde (in comparison, Farrell is not really cute). Yet the last entry in the series didn't feel like a Torchy film at all — Wyman and Jenkins seem to be playing other characters — even less than Torchy Blane in Panama with Lola Lane and Paul Kelly. At least Kelly's McBride has some of MacLane's gruffness, and even though I don't really like Kelly as McBride, he's better than Jenkins. The public reaction to both of the Torchy/Steve replacements were tepid. Farrell and MacLane came back after Torchy Blane in Panama for two more films but after Torchy Blane .. Playing with Dynamite the studio decided to stop the series altogether. There was a left-over script for another Torchy film which they used for a Jane Wyman vehicle, Private Detective (she did some sleuthing in this film but not as Torchy).
Of the Torchy films I liked Torchy Gets Her Man best. It has a nice plot and it's more memorable than the other entries. Funnily enough it has also the best rating on IMDB (at the moment), whereas I thought that the first films in the series were the most popular. What I like about Torchy Gets Her Man is the humour. I thought the lottery system of Gahagan, McBride's dim-witted sidekick, was very funny and I also liked the bit with the letter switching. The best part was the German shepherd dog, rented by Torchy from a German owner to track down the bad guys. This dog only understands German so our star reporter communicates with the animal using a dictionary. There is also a clever clue here to put Steve on the trail of the bad guy. When Torchy's kidnapper mentions her love for steak dinners (this is a thread running through the series, Torchy's huge appetite and fondness for steak), McBride knows the kidnapper couldn't have known this unless he had spoken to Torchy and Steve comes to the conclusion that he has kidnapped her. It's a bit funny that I like Torchy Gets Her Man best, since for me the Torchy films are mostly about the chemistry between Torchy and Steve and not so much about the plot. And here Torchy and Steve don't have that much screen time together. Still, it was really good fun and I enjoyed the time Torchy spent with Gahagan a lot. (By the way, Torchy's craving for steak dinners is absent in Torchy Blane in Panama and Torchy Blane .. Playing with Dynamite.)
I liked the Lola Lane and Jane Wyman entries the least. For me, Allen Jenkins is really the weak link in Torchy Blane .. Playing with Dynamite and that affected my enjoyment. I did like how physically active Lola Lane was in Torchy Blane in Panama and how she got herself wet twice (once after parachuting from a plane).
Now let me comment on Torchy Blane, the character. She is a great heroine. I like fast-talking characters (Farrell was said to be able to speak 400 words in 40 seconds) and I love women to be independent and feisty. From the first film on, it's immediately clear Torchy is smarter than her boyfriend McBride, she can outsmart him any time despite his access to police information and resources. McBride is acting like the tough cop and seems very sure of himself but he's also a bit clumsy. (I really like McBride, liked him better with every new episode!) It's funny how he tries to keep Torchy out of things, shutting the door in her face, while he knows it's futile. Because when Torchy wants a scoop, she'll do anything to get it. And this is where I sometimes struggle with her character, i.e. when she uses unethical means to get a scoop. I don't mind so much when she's breaking and entering to get her hands on information but in Blondes at Work I didn't like her misusing Gahagan's trust and reading his diary. Badly done, Torchy! I would also like to make a comment in regards to the independence of her character. When she runs for mayor in Torchy Runs for Mayor, she is more than willing to give up her career for marriage and babies. That was actually a bit of a bummer but not so surprising considering the times. By the way, the wish of the main characters to get married is another thread that runs through the series but somehow something (mostly work-related) always interferes with their wedding plans. I like the fact that jobwise they may be on opposite sides and may behave tough, but off the job they are really sweet on each other. They even have nicknames for one another: Torchy calls McBride Skipper and he calls her Kid.
So all in all, this was a good pastime, binge-watching the whole series. Plotwise it was nothing special (though I liked the plot of Torchy Gets Her Man a lot). You don't watch these films for the plots anyway but for the characters *) and their chemistry. And Torchy and Steve are two people that I would have loved to spend more time with, so it's a pity that there are so few films made. I think it would have been really nice if they would have gotten married and we would have gotten to see another dynamic in their relationship, namely the domestic side (like Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man series), with Torchy still working for the paper, of course. Too bad there's no way of knowing how that would have turned out and I guess we have to be content with the films we have, and watch them over and over again.
*) Various Warner stock actors were used for multiple entries in the series. Tom Kennedy as Gahagan was the only actor to appear in all nine Torchy Blane films. (I love it when he spontaneously bursts into self-composed poetry.) George Guhl as the forgetful Desk Sergeant Graves appeared in all films except the last one.
Some lines I love:
SMART BLONDE
Steve McBride: "Come on, kid. Let's call it a day."
Torchy Blane: "Aw, gee, Skipper. You're the tops!"
Steve McBride: "Aw, you're aces with me, kid. You know, Torchy, I like you and I ought to be hung for slamming you around the way I have."
Torchy Blane: "Skipper ..."
Steve McBride: "Yeah, from now on the rough stuff is out, as far as you're concerned. I'm gonna treat you right."
Torchy Blane: "Oh, Skipper!"
Steve McBride [as Torchy tries to get out of the car to go with Steve]: "No! You wait here!"
Torchy Blane: "Oh, but I want to go with you!"
Steve McBride: "This rat hole is no place for a woman!"
Torchy Blane: "But I'm a newspaperman!"
Steve McBride: "Well, you just sit quiet and maybe nobody'll notice it."
FLY AWAY BABY
Steve McBride: "Why don't you stop trying to be a detective?"
Torchy Blane [sassily]: "Why don't you start?"
THE ADVENTUROUS BLONDE
Steve McBride: "Hammond's been murdered!"
Torchy Blane [sarcastically]: "No? I thought he was lying in front of that fireplace to keep warm!"
Steve McBride [exasperated]: "I never know what you're gonna do next."
Torchy Blane: "Wait'll we get married!"
BLONDES AT WORK
Steve McBride: "If you keep getting me into jams like this, you'll cook my goose!"
Torchy Blane [laughs]: "Swell! We'll fatten it up and have it for dinner."
TORCHY BLANE IN PANAMA
Torchy Blane: "Why you're so dumb that all our kids, if we had any, would probably turn out to be morons!"
TORCHY BLANE IN CHINATOWN
TORCHY BLANE RUNS FOR MAYOR
Steve McBride: "Let's go into the other room so I can think."
Torchy Blane: "With what?"
Steve McBride: "I've got an idea."
Torchy Blane: "Give it to me. I'll sew a button on it."
Steve McBride: "What?"
Torchy Blane: "I said you'd better get working on it."
Torchy Blane: "You think they might tie a can to you, Steve?"
Steve McBride: "Why certainly, they might. Awh, it's not just myself I'm thinkin' about. I've gotta consider which side our bread is buttered on — yours as well as mine."
Torchy Blane: "Oh, no, you don't, now. Not OUR bread, not until the rice begins to fly. Until then, I have my own slice to butter."
Steve McBride: "Sit down."
Torchy Blane: "Well, is this the masterful lover or the third degree?"
Steve McBride: "Well?"
Gahagan: "Shhhh! Lamp that copper. He's been talkin' about us."
Steve McBride: "How do yuh know?"
Gahagan: "He and that guy behind the desk been watchin' me and whisperin'."
Steve McBride [dryly]: "Well, lots of people do that when they first see you, Gahag."
PHOTOS/GIFS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
*Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane and Barton MacLane as Steve McBride;
*Smart Blonde (1937), title card;
*Smart Blonde (1937) with Joe Cunningham and Glenda Farrell;
*Fly Away Baby (1937), title card;
*Fly Away Baby (1937) with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane;
*The Adventurous Blonde (1937), title card;
*The Adventurous Blonde (1937) with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane;
*Blondes at Work (1938), title card;
*Blondes at Work (1938) with Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane and Frank Shannon;
*Torchy Blane in Panama (1938), title card;
*Torchy Blane in Panama (1938) with Lola Lane and Paul Kelly;
*Torchy Gets Her Man (1938), title card;
*Torchy Gets Her Man (1938) with Glenda Farrell, Tom Kennedy, Barton MacLane and Willard Robertson;
*Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939), title card;
*Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939) with Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane and Tom Kennedy;
*Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939), title card;
*Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939) with Glenda Farrell, Joe Cunningham and Charles Richman;
*Torchy Blane .. Playing with Dynamite (1939), title card;
*Torchy Blane .. Playing with Dynamite (1939) with Jane Wyman, Allen Jenkins and Tom Kennedy;
*Blondes at Work (1938) with Glenda Farrell as Torchy; (gif by me)
*Torchy Blane .. Playing with Dynamite (1939) with Jane Wyman as Torchy;
*Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939), film poster;
*Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939), film poster;
*Torchy Gets Her Man (1938), film poster;
*Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939) with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane;
*Smart Blonde (1937) with Glenda Farrell;
*Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939), behind the scenes with Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy and the rest of the cast. (I really wonder what's going on with all the knitting?!)