Blondes at Work (1938)

This is the one that ended the Torchy Blane series for me. It had already gotten ridiculous, but this one is awful. A man who is so stupid he would probably flunk kindergarten is kept on the payroll as a cop? A reporter who lies and cheats and subverts justice to get a scoop? A police detective who lets the reporter get away with it because he is stupid and because he wants to marry her? Give me a break. This is not comedy, it is just dumb. The only good part of this particular movie was the judge putting the reporter in jail. I will never watch another Torchy Blane movie.

Frank Shannon as Captain McTavish feels that Barton MacLane is giving too much information to gal pal Torchy Blane so he's issued orders cutting her off from scoops. Plus it doesn't look bad if he can't solve his own cases. So Torchy is cut off.If Shannon thinks that will stop Glenda Farrell, does he have another think coming. Farrell not only keeps scooping the cops without a bit of help from her boyfriend MacLane, she makes monkeys out of the whole police department. That includes thick as a brick Tom Geraghty and young rookie patrolman John Ridgely. And quite a few more.As it happens she and Ridgely are the last to see a department store owner alive as he gets into a taxi. Although Farrell is resourceful she comes mighty close to obstruction of justice in her quest for the ultimate scoop.Blondes At Work is a fair enough entry in the Torchy Blane series. The stories aren't much, but I just love the chemistry between Farrell and MacLane. Marry that girl quick Lt. McBride or pin a badge on her.

Blondes at Work (1938) *** (out of 4) Fun fourth entry to the series has Torchy Blane (Gelnda Farrell) finding news ways to get sources even when her fiancé Lt. McBride (Barton MacLane) has made it clear he won't be giving her any scoops. She gets on a hot murder case and is able to track down the suspect but things don't go as planned. BLONDES AT WORK is another fine film in the series and I'm sure fans are really going to enjoy it even though Blane is actually somewhat a villain here. The film basically has the police trying to keep the case quiet so that they can locate the killer but Torchy, obviously just thinking of her stories, manages to keep messing up the case. I don't think even fans will agree with the way she gets her news here and the ending, which I won't ruin, is actually quite fitting. As with the previous film, this one here benefits from a pretty good story that has a couple nice twists and of course two nice leads to carry us through it. Farrell is certainly at the top of her game here as she perfectly works her comic timing. MacLane is also good in his supporting bit but it's Tom Kennedy who steals the film as the dimwit who wants to be a poet. Rosella Towne is also good in her role. The film runs a fast-paced 63-minutes and contains enough entertainment to keeps fans interesting. Bette Davis fans will probably recognize this story as it borrows quite heavily from FRONT PAGE WOMAN.

After increased pressure from Steve's superior, he and Torchy decide to part ways for a while, professionally speaking: each one will go on doing his job without the other one's help. When a department store owner is found stabbed to death, Steve is doubly puzzled: who killed him, and how does Torchy still manage to get all those inside scoops about the case? Not as fresh as the first two entries, but better than "The Adventurous Blonde", "Blondes At Work" is exceptionally slow-moving (it certainly feels longer than an hour), and not much of a mystery either, but it does have some standout moments of Torchy outwitting her opposition, and an ending that's both unexpected and sweet. ** out of 4.