Customer Reviews

Torchy Blane Complete Movie Collection: Archive Collection

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

For the first time, the Torchy Blane movies are available on DVD. For years, they have been unavailable. The Torchy Blane movies are very fun. They are the type of movies you watch for the actors and characters, not for the plot. The plots are good, but the emphasis is on the characters. The biggest reason to watch them is for Glenda Farrell, who gives an unforgettable performance as the title character. Barton Maclane plays as her cop boyfriend, who is a little on the dumb side and sort of cranky, but nonetheless oddly loveable. Seven of these movies, those with Glenda Farrell and Barton Maclane, are very good. The other two are not so good. The one with Lola Lane stinks, due to Lola Lane's very lackluster performance. The one with Jane Wyman is all right, but suffers from not having Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane, especially Glenda Farrell. No one but Glenda Farrell can correctly play Torchy Blane, it just doesn't work. The character was even created especially for her. Torchy is a very memorable character. She is beautiful, smart, hilarious, and has a certain energy that you have to see to understand. She is one of a kind. Glenda Farrell was a great actress. She wasn't the Oscar-winning type, but she knew how to light up the screen with her presence like few others. She is one of the greatest scene-stealers of all time.

Torchy is also a rather unusual character, in that she's a smart blonde. (The title of the first Torchy Blane movie is even "Smart Blonde". When you think of blondes, you usually think of the "dumb blonde" archetype, as played by Marilyn Monroe or Jayne Mansfield. Well, Torchy is the exact opposite: a smart sleuth who always gets her man. She's so good at solving cases, that, in one of her most iconic scenes, she starts to wonder if she is psychic. Tom Kennedy, as the the driver, Gahagan, may seem annoying at first, but once you get used to him, he is funny and likeable.

The Torchy Blane movies were based on the MacBride and Kennedy stories by Frederick Nebel. Glenda Farrell had played a reporter named Florence Dempsey in "Mystery of the Wax Museum" (which was later remade as "House of Wax", starring Vincent Price).

A few years later, Warner Brothers was wanting to make some movies out of the "McBride and Kennedy" stories, and remembered Glenda Farrell. They took out the hard-drinking male reporter Kennedy, replaced him with Torchy Blane, added a romance between her and Steve McBride, and casted Glenda Farrell as Torchy. Later on, they replaced Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane with Lola Lane and Paul Kelly for one movie, and the result was disastrous. Paul Kelly was all right (though not as good as Barton MacLane), but Lola Lane made an awful Torchy Blane. Audiences didn't like the movie, so they brought Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane back for several more movies. Eventually, they replaced them again, this time with Jane Wyman and Alan Jenkins. Jane Wyman gave it her all, but she wasn't cut out for the part. Her performance comes across as forced. It's obvious that she's trying to act like Glenda Farrell, and just can't. She also looked way too wide-eyed and innocent to be playing a hard-boiled ace reporter like Torchy Blane. Audiences didn't like that one, either, and the studio couldn't get Farrell and MacLane back for the next movie, so they didn't make any more. There are seven Glenda Farrell/Barton MacLane movies, one with Lola Lane, and one with Jane Wyman. I usually just skip the Lane and Wyman ones.

Torchy Blane was also the inspiration for Lois Lane. Jerry Siegel was a fan of Torchy Blane, and based Lois Lane on Glenda Farrell's portrayal, but named her after Lola Lane. He once wrote a letter saying:

"Thank you for saying "Happy Birthday" to Superman [SHOW BUSINESS, March 14]. Joe Shuster and I, the co-creators of Superman appreciate it. My wife Joanne was Joe's original art model for Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane back in the 1930s. Our heroine was, of course, a working girl whose priority was grabbing scoops. What inspired me in the creation was Glenda Farrell, the movie star who portrayed Torchy Blane, a gutsy, beautiful headline-hunting reporter, in a series of exciting motion pictures. Because the name of the actress Lola Lane (who also played Torchy) appealed to me, I called my character Lois Lane. Strangely, the characterization of Lois is amazingly like the real-life personality of my lovely wife.
Jerry Siegel
Los Angeles"

All I can add is that the Torchy Blane movies are some of the best of the 1930s B-movies.

EDIT: I also recommend the movie "Prison Break" also starring Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. It's a much more dark and serious movie, but very good. A bit of trivia: In the Torchy Blane movies, Glenda Farrell always calls Barton MacLane "Skipper. In "Prison Break", it's switched around. Barton MacLane calls Glenda Farrell "Skipper.

If you love the tough talking, wise cracking female newspaper reporter types of '30's B movies; don't miss Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane.No one does it better! With Barton MacLane as her long suffering police detective boy friend;watching these two fine actors work together is a joy. Fortunately they star in 7 of the 9 episodes presented in this set. A blonde,curly haired Jane Wyman trys her best in Torchy Blane- Playing with Dynamite, but there just isn't the 'heart' in her character that came so naturally to Farrell. The duo of Lola Lane and Paul Kelly in Torchy Blane in Panama, are likewise less than endearing. Plots are interchangeable, with plenty of comedic 'shtick' thrown in...Have Fun!

Warner Bros. Pictures presents "TORCHY BLANE COMPLETE MOVIE COLLECTION:ARCHIVE COLLECTION" (1936/1939) (542 min/B&W) -- Starring Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy, Lola Lane, Paul Kelly & Jane Wyman

Directed by Frank McDonald, William Clemens, William Beaudine, Ray McCarey & Noel M. Smith
(Above are some of the Directors for all 9 films)

A series of pulp magazine stories by Frederick Nebel called Kennedy of the Free Press surprisingly became the basis for an excellent Warner Bothers movie series detailing the adventures of Torchy Blane. Torchy was "a gutsy, beautiful headline-hunting reporter" who matched wits with Police Lieutenant Steve McBride - the latter never seeming to get it right as Torchy usually ended up solving the case right in front of him - not so good, considering the pair are engaged to be married.

The inspired casting of zippy leading light Glenda Farrell as Torchy, former movie heavy Barton MacLane as McBride and comic actor Tom Kennedy as Detective Gahagan, brought great energy to this polished WB movie series.

There were 9 films in the series but, interestingly, Farrell & MacLane after appearing in the first 3 entries were dropped from the 4th (Torchy Blane in Panama), being replaced by Lola Lane & Paul Kelly. But Farrell & MacLane were back for numbers 5 through 8 of the series. The final film of the series (Torchy Blane ... Playing with Dynamite) starred a young Jane Wyman (in one of her early lead roles) and the erstwhile Allen Jenkins. Tom Kennedy appeared as Detective Gahagan in all 9 films of the series.

Another relevant note about the series is that in 1988, Jerry Siegel co-creator of Superman affirmed that his inspiration for the character of Lois Lane came from Glenda Farrell's portrayal of Torchy Blane whilst the name of Lois Lane came from Lola Lane, the actress who played Torchy in the 4th film of the series: Torchy in Panama.

BIOS:
1. Glenda Farrell
Date of Birth: 30 June 1904 - Enid, Oklahoma
Date of Death: 1 May 1971 -New York City, New York

2. Barton MacLane
Date of Birth: 25 December 1902 - Columbia, South Carolina
Date of Death: 1 January 1969 - Santa Monica, California

3. Tom Kennedy
Date of Birth: 15 July 1885 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 6 October 1965 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 542 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (04/06/2010)

I wasn't familiar with Glenda Farrell, and never thought of Barton McClane as a love interest but it works. The one with Lola Lane and the one with Jane Wyman are less enjoyable because there's a chemistry between the real Torchy and the real Skipper that can't be ignored.

This series is a real antidote to the substandard movies du jour. At this price, it was well worth the investment and I know the movies will be watched many times.

I think, if Glenda tried, she could speak just a little faster and break the sound barrier.

The other reviewers do a very good job assessing this set, so I won't repeat but hope to add a couple of things. The discs are from the Warner Bros. Archive collection, I believe that means they're burned upon demand. So, you might also want to check out their site to see if you can do better on the price. It also means you get WB quality, which I find to be quite good on these things. Finally, it means there are no special features. The movies run about 60 minutes each originally intended as a second feature for your Saturday afternoon at the movies. In my mind, the 1930's movies generally have a style very different from 1940's movies. This set definitely falls directly into that 1930's style. So, if you're into that, it's a great buy. I'm more of a 1940's style guy, so they probably won't get pulled out quite so often, but I'm pleased to have them.