Blu-ray Review The Strawberry Blonde Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

A romantic comedy-drama of some charm but little substance, Raoul Walsh’s The Strawberry Blonde offers a first-rate cast and some lilting turn-of-the-20th century tunes in its flashback story of the road not taken.



The Strawberry Blonde (1941)



Released: 22 Feb 1941
Rated: Passed
Runtime: 99 min




Director: Raoul Walsh
Genre: Comedy, Romance



Cast: James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Rita Hayworth
Writer(s): Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, James Hagan



Plot: Quick-tempered yet likable Biff Grimes falls for the beautiful Virginia Brush, but he is not the only young man in the neighborhood who is smitten with her.



IMDB rating: 7.2
MetaScore: 86





Disc Information



Studio: Warner Brothers
Distributed By: Warner...

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[Andrew Budgell]

Thanks for another great review, Matt! I caught a sneak peek of the new Strawberry Blonde remaster last month on TCM and it looks absolutely gorgeous. I'm sure it sounds cliché, but it was truly like seeing the film for the first time.

 

[Rob W]

I saw this at the TCM Classic Film Festival last month after the service at Johnny Rocket's made me too late to catch Cool Hand Luke at the Chinese.

I hated this movie. Cagney's character was such an obnoxious jerk it was impossible to believe Olivia DeHavilland would fall in love with him except that the script required it.

Of course, I also hate cloying small-town Americana for the most part so it had one strike going against it going in. But I love Jack Carson and this was one of his films that I had never seen, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Hope I haven't ruffled any feathers with my extreme reaction...

But the Bugs Bunny cartoon before the feature was a rare delight to see on the big screen. (They ran this as a "Warner Night At The Movies" presentation.)

 

[Robert Crawford]

I saw this at the TCM Classic Film Festival last month after the service at Johnny Rocket's made me too late to catch Cool Hand Luke at the Chinese.

I hated this movie. Cagney's character was such an obnoxious jerk it was impossible to believe Olivia DeHavilland would fall in love with him except that the script required it.

Of course, I also hate cloying small-town Americana for the most part so it had one strike going against it going in. But I love Jack Carson and this was one of his films that I had never seen, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Hope I haven't ruffled any feathers with my extreme reaction...

But the Bugs Bunny cartoon before the feature was a rare delight to see on the big screen. (They ran this as a "Warner Night At The Movies" presentation.)

You’re welcome to your opinion.

 

[Robin9]

I hated this movie. Cagney's character was such an obnoxious jerk it was impossible to believe Olivia DeHavilland would fall in love with him except that the script required it.

That's a failing of innumerable movies and one that annoys me more and more as I get older.

 

[Robert Crawford]

That's a failing of innumerable movies and one that annoys me more and more as I get older.

I'm the opposite as I get older, I'm more tolerant of imperfections in movies and even people.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I got my Blu-ray today from Amazon and one thing I noticed is that the front cover has an error. The movie's title is "The Strawberry Blonde". The front cover has "Strawberry Blonde".

Edit: After a little research, I see this title error was made a long time ago when the original movie posters and promotional materials came out.

 

[Mark Mayes]

I'm not immune to this film's charms and Cagney is as cute as a button, but I watch this for de Havilland and easily see a chemistry between her and him.
I watched the disc last night and it sparkled. Thanks for validating my impression of the look of the film in this review.
Beautiful and sweet film.