The Strawberry Blonde (1941) on Netflix
In 1890s New York City, dentist Biff Grimes loves Virginia Brush, a strawberry blonde. His friend Hugo Barnstead courts her as well, and their friendship becomes a rivalry.
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- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb7.2/104,751 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
On a Sunday with no work, dentist Biff Grimes receives a visit from Hugo Barnstead, an old partner and rival. Biff's mind goes back to 1890s New York City, where he falls in love with Virginia Brush, a strawberry blonde from society. Hugo, the more enterprising of the two, wins her affections. Virginia's best friend is Amy Lind. Hugo also gets Biff involved in his business dealings, and Hugo appears to have taken the life Biff wanted.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Strawberry Blonde (1941)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Ann Sheridan, the studio's "Oomph Girl", was originally set for Virginia Brush but refused the part during a contract dispute; after Brenda Marshall was tested, director Raoul Walsh pushed for Rita Hayworth, an actress he had seen in several Columbia pictures.
- With James Cagney still stalling, producer Hal B. Wallis considered the emerging John Garfield for Biff Grimes, and Harry Warner cabled his brother Jack from New York offering Cagney 10% of the gross before he began to budge.
- Jack Warner ordered production head Hal B. Wallis to sit through the 1933 original, telling him: "It will be hard to stay through the entire running of the picture, but do this so you will know what not to do."
- James Cagney didn't want to play scenes opposite the much taller Jack Carson, preferring Brian Donlevy or the shorter-still Lloyd Nolan, but Nolan cost $2,000 a week against Carson's $750, so Carson was cast as Hugo Barnstead anyway.
- Producer Hal B. Wallis clashed with director Raoul Walsh, complaining that Walsh was shooting too close on the actors and that the close-ups obscured the period backgrounds and dulled the nostalgia.
- Screenwriter Julius Epstein and his brother moved the story from the play's midwestern setting to New York City, convinced the Cooper film had lost money because it was too bucolic and set in a little country town.
- Makeup man Perc Westmore found Rita Hayworth's head too large and her hair too thick for a wig, so her hair was dyed for the title role, her first appearance as a redhead, and the film is the only time audiences heard her real singing voice.
