''Hold That Blonde'' is a 1945 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film directed by

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...

and starring

Eddie Bracken Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken became a Hollywood comedy legend with lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' both from ...

Veronica Lake Constance Frances Marie Ockelman (November 14, 1922 – July 7, 1973), known professionally as Veronica Lake, was an American film, stage, and television actress. Lake was best known for her femme fatale roles in film noirs with Alan Ladd ...

and

Albert Dekker Thomas Albert Ecke Van Dekker (December 20, 1905 – May 5, 1968) was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in ''Dr. Cyclops'', ''The Killers (1946 film), The Killers'' (1946), ''Kiss Me Deadly'', and ''The Wild Bun ...

Plot

Bracken plays a

kleptomaniac Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main ch ...

who unwittingly becomes involved with a gang of jewel thieves, including a beautiful woman, Sally, whom he promptly falls in love with, initially unaware of her true occupation.

Cast

as Ogden Spencer Trulow III *

as Sally Martin *

as Insp Callahan * Frank Fenton as Mr. Phillips * George Zucco as Dr. Paval Storasky *

Donald MacBride Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an ...

as Mr. Kratz *

Lewis Russell Lewis Lord Russell (born George Lewis Lord, September 10, 1889 – November 12, 1961) was an American actor of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s who starred in a number of vaudeville shows, Broadway dramas and Hollywood films, including the Academy ...

as Henry Carteret *

Norma Varden Norma Varden Shackleton (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989), known professionally as Norma Varden, was an English-American actress with a long film career. Life and career Early life Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea captain ...

as Mrs. Carteret *

Willie Best William Best (May 27, 1913 – February 27, 1962), known professionally as Willie Best or Sleep n' Eat, was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African American film actors and comedians to become well kn ...

as Willie *

Jack Norton Jack Norton (born Mortimer John Naughton; September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in more than 180 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a ...

as the drunk *

Lyle Latell Lyle Latell (born Lyle Zeiem; April 9, 1904 – October 24, 1967) was an American character actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Pat Patton in the ''Dick Tracy'' film series. Biography Latell was born Lyle Zeiem on April 1904 in ...

as Tony

Production

The film was originally known as ''Good Intentions''. Officially it is a remake of '' Paths to Paradise'', a 1925 silent comedy starring

Raymond Griffith Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

, inasmuch as both are based on the same play, ''Heart of a Thief'' by Paul Armstrong. However, the storyline was almost entirely reworked, to the extent that the two films have almost nothing in common apart from a few sight gags and a party sequence in which a valuable necklace is the target of the thieves. The movie was originally offered to

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

, then under contract to Paramount. He refused to do it unless he could make one film per year outside Paramount. The studio refused and Hope was put on suspension. The part was given instead to Eddie Bracken. (Hope and Paramount would eventually resolve their differences and sign a new seven-year contract.) Filming started 20 November 1944. The part was a favorite of Lake's because it represented a change of pace for her ("it's a comedy, rather what Carole Lombard used to do") and she liked working with George Marshall, calling him "splendid... he's lots of fun, acts out the scenes himself," she said.

Reception

''Diabolique'' said "this is the sort of movie that should have been great fun but just isn’t; Bracken flails about, Lake is dull and lacking sexiness, and together they lack the chemistry of, say, Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard."

References

External links

* * {{George Marshall 1945 films Films directed by George Marshall American comedy films 1945 comedy films American black-and-white films Paramount Pictures films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films