Customer Reviews

The Strawberry Blonde

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

... you may not know what you're getting. This is a Warner Archive product. It is a barebones DVD-R with no extras with the exception of maybe a trailer. You can't even pick scenes. You can only go forwards and backwards in 10 minute intervals.

On top of that, this is an unrestored version. The best version that you've seen on Turner Classic Movies - that is what you're getting here, no more no less.

Until recently Warner Brothers was selling these items through their own store for considerably less than this price. Now they've taken (at least) the following films and put them all on Amazon as an exclusive at this price:
Bordertown
Colorado Territory
Crime School
Doctor Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
The Male Animal
The Unsuspected
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
The Verdict (1946)
Look for the Silver Lining

The original idea of the Warner Archives was to sell the titles in the Warner film library that would probably not break even in a general retail release on demand via the archives. If Warners doesn't believe that James Cagney and "The Strawberry Blonde" will sell in a general release, then they believe nothing will.

How far Warner Home Video has fallen since they released The Jazz Singer (Three-Disc Deluxe Edition) in a three disc deluxe edition with commentary, shorts, and even original programs and lobby cards. Times may be hard in the classic DVD industry, but for me they will never be this hard.

This has been a favorite of mine for many years. James Cagney and Olivia DeHaviland are great on the screen. The plot is full of comedy. There are many songs that we know by heart. Look for the Warner Bros. stable of character actors. The dvd itself is lacking though for the price. The only extra feature is the trailer. Given the product, it looks like a economy dvd. It is priced otherwise. Nonetheless, I had to have the movie.

I completely agree with the previous reviewer. Wonderful titles I'd love to own, but badly produced, marketed and priced outrageously!

I have bought about half a dozen of these Warner Archive DVDs and I have to say that I am very pleased with them.

1. While there is a disclaimer notice on the DVD about only playing on players and not on recorders or computers, this is not the actual case. Each title that I have purchased and watched so far has played with no problem on my Mac laptop.

2. While I had trouble using the online purchase at the WB site, this was due to operator error, not due to problems with the site itself. I ended up calling the 800 order number and placing my order through a very helpful operator, who answered several questions for me regarding quality issues.

3. On the WB site, there are usually two options for purchase of a specific title, one being a cheaper on-demand copy of the title and one being a DVD copy of the title, for a higher price. The DVD copy is guaranteed to play in a regular DVD recorder or a computer. The note on the box is only a disclaimer regarding the on-demand copies. They cut corners by not having separate containers for each type of copy.

4. While these are not remastered copies of the titles, they are the best available without remastering. The titles I have watched so far have been excellent as to video and audio quality, even for non-remastered copies. These copies are from the original film stock, not multi-generation copies of copies. They are well worth the $20 per copy, esp. since these are titles that likely will never be remastered.

So, even though I am typing this into Amazon's website, I will state that you can get any of these titles listed here on WB's site for much less than you will pay a third party seller here. The items will come quickly and will play beautifully. Don't be scared away by the naysayers here.

I agree completely with "Texas Refugee" that these Warner Archive items are grossly overpriced at Amazon's $28.98 price. They are listed at $19.95 on Warner's own website WBshop.com. However, that website is a pain in the you-know-what to use. All the screens are so badly designed that it takes forever to scroll through a screen once you've called it up. Besides being a waste of time, the shopping basket allowed me to load only four items at a time. Warner's should scrap the item of selling Warner Archive titles through their own website and farm them out to someone who can market them more efficiently, such as Amazon or Oldies.com.

There are a lot of titles that I personally find attractive in the Archive collection, but I'm not about to pay either $19.95 or $28.98 a shot to get them, especially since they do not seem to have any extras, even including subtitles. Doesn't Warner know there's a recession going on? If this is what the future holds for selling classic movies on home video, I don't care for it. I'm going to wait until the list price drops to at least a third of what it is now before buying. And it won't be from WBshop unless they change their website.

Here we have James Cagney playing a determined young man who is studying via correspondence school so he can be a dentist. This movie takes place around the turn of the century so perhaps that is how one could become a dentist back then. It is funny to see how he learns to pull a tooth on his "guinea pig" father. Anyway, Cagney gets caught up unknowingly in a scheme by one of his friends and ends up spending a few years in prison for something he did not do. He suddenly finds a way to get even with this friend when Cagney is released from prison and his friend has a toothache. The comedy part comes when a beautiful, red haired young lady walks past the staring eyes of the local boys and every one of them falls in love with her. Though she has many dates and loves none none of them, Cagney is determined to win her hand in marriage. The red haired girl is very proper and plays hard to get, but her heart is fickle as Cagney finds out. Our family has been looking for this movie on DVD for a long time. Now, we can watch this movie over and over. It is a good, clean movie; acceptable for families. A very good story line; no dancing or singing though Cagney often would dance in his movies. I loved the "no nonsense," determined fellow that Cagney plays. His famous line, "Well, that's just the kind of hair pin I am" describes his character beautifully.

I have bought a number of Warner Archive titles from Amazon. As I live in the UK this is my only option as WB will not post outside the USA even on the many titles on which it holds worldwide rights. WB-DVD head honcho
Warren Lieberfarb stated that once the Archive was up and running it would ship worldwide. That was in early 2009. The Archive is up and running and they still won't ship WB titles to Europe. Some of the discs I have bought are as good as the Warner catalog titles, for example "GOLD OF THE SEVEN SAINTS" and "THE MONEY TRAP" are both in anamorphic widescreen black and white and look stunning with no picture problems of any kind. However, "THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE" is soft throughout and has hiss of intermittent intensity. It looks and sounds worse than the copies screened on British TV and on the British TCM channel. How can this be when many titles of the same age look perfect. Is there something wrong with the original materials held by Warners and is this why this popular title has not been included in any of the previously released Cagney box sets. If this is the case how about a short note on the Archive website warning prospective buyers and/or a reduced price.

Just a review of the quality of the DVD itself. The Warner Archive DVD is the best quality readily available of the film. Naturally, it's much better than the VHS version, and it's also noticeably better than the broadcast versions on TCM. If you've seen the film before and enjoyed it enough to own a copy for your film library, you'll appreciate having a nice, clean version to watch whenever you're in the mood for a classic feel-good movie.

I saw the same movie on another website for $14.95. While I love this film, I am not willing to spend so much money on it when it is available elsewhere for so much less. I do have one question though, and that is, why was I not notified by Amazon that this movie is now out on DVD? It has been in my email alert list for years.

The Strawberry Blonde is a charming and funny romantic comedy I discovered years ago on late night television during a bout of insomnia. It delighted then and continues to do so even after repeated viewings. The story evolves around the beautiful and popular Virginia Brush and takes place over several years. Friends and rivals Biff Grimes and Hugo Barnstead both fall for Virginia and engage in a lively competition for her affections. Meanwhile, Virginia's best friend, forward thinking Amy Lind, watches from the sidelines, posing as Biff's girlfriend while the four go on double-dates. Ultimately the wealthier Hugo wins the hand of Virginia, while Biff begrudgingly marries Amy, whom he cares for but clearly considers a poor consolation prize. Hugo offers Biff a position in his construction company, and that's where the real trouble begins; the ole "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" conundrum. This film has so many lovely aspects to recommend it. The screen play was penned by the wonderful Julius and Philip Epstein, who also gave us some personal favorites: Casablanca, Romance on the High Seas, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Male Animal, and The Bride Came C.O.D. Their writing is always witty, sarcastic, biting, and above all, very, very funny! This is another film with a nearly perfect cast. James Cagney plays Biff not that differently from some of his gangsters, with a bombastic, roosterish arrogance, but with the notable exceptions that Biff is actually a good guy and Cagney displays an unerring sense of comedy. I would rate this as one of his best performances, right up there with his brilliant performance as Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Olivia de Havilland is also quite funny, especially in the early scenes when Amy deliberately attempts to be provocative and outrageous; her cluck and a wink reminds me of Monty Phython's wink-wink-nudge-nudge! Initially Rita Hayworth isn't required to do much more than be beautiful, which of course she was, but later on, her character is given a bit of a bite (actually, a whole lot of bite!), giving truth to the old saying of "be careful what you wish for!" Jack Carson, like George Brent, was quite popular in the day, but not well remembered in modern times. Carson was a vastly underrated actor who could be quite funny, as in The Male Animal or The Bride Came C.O.D., or quite dramatic, as in Mildred Pierce or Blues In the Night. There is also Alan Hale, George Tobias (later famous as Mr. Cravitz on Bewitched), Una O'Connor, and George Reeves (TV's Superman). The music is also of the turn-of-the-century era and nicely enhances the playful mood, with songs such as "In My Merry Oldsmobile", "Wait Til The Sun Shines, Nellie", and "In the Good Old Summertime". The film cutely ends with a sing-a-long of, what else, "The Strawberry Blonde", a featurette quite popular during the time period in which this story was set. The ending is perfect, with a bit of sass and sentimentality, fun and fancy. Biff Grimes: (at the Stature of Liberty, after a woman slaps a man who tried to kiss her) "Well, if a man can't get liberties here, where can he?"