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James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Rita Hayworth, Jack Carson, Alan Hale ... see more see more... , George Tobias , Una O'Connor , George Reeves , Lucille Fairbanks , Edward McNamara , Helen Lynd , Herbert Heywood , Herbert Anderson , Paul Barrett , Wade Boteler , Lucia Carroll , Eddy Chandler , Jack Daley , Abe Dinovitch , Pat Flaherty , James Flavin , Roy Gordon , Harrison Greene , Creighton Hale , Carl Harbaugh , Russell Hicks , Max Hoffman Jr. , George Humbert , Frank Mayo , Frank Melton , Jack Mower , William Newell , Frank Orth , Bob Perry , Susan Peters , Paul Phillips , Addison Richards , Harry Seymour , John Sheehan , David Thursby , Dorothy Vaughan , Dick Wessel , Richard Clayton , Ann Edmonds , Peter Ashley , George Campeau , Peggy Diggins , Tim Ryan

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 dent... read more read more...ist 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

Flixster Users

75% liked it

562 ratings

Critics

88% liked it

8 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Raoul Walsh

Release Date: January 1, 1941

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Stats: 46 reviews

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Rita Hayworth, James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland
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Flixster Reviews (46)

  • jjnxn
    April 17, 2010
    jjnxn
    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.
  • bottcorecords1
    December 4, 2009
    bottcorecords1
    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.... read more 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.
  • jujubee7
    December 9, 2007
    jujubee7
    Oh how I love this film! Biff Grimes played by Cagney is so charmiing in a rough kind of way. Don't miss this one!

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Critic Reviews

Michael E. Grost
January 31, 2010
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

Appealing comedy with a historical background. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
April 1, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Rita Hayworth is the eye candy who sweetens the plot as the alluring strawberry blonde. Full Review

Steve Crum
October 25, 2004
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

Grand, old fashioned romantic comedy a la Warners and Cagney.

Ken Hanke
June 16, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Raucous comedy-drama with more hits than misses.

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Don Druker
January 1, 2000
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 25, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Carol Cling
February 20, 2004
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

Frank Swietek
February 12, 2004
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion

No review available.

Nell Minow
December 11, 2003
Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

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