''Free, Blonde and 21'' is a 1940 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Ricardo Cortez and written by Frances Hyland. The film stars

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

Mary Beth Hughes Mary Elizabeth Hughes (November 13, 1919 Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. . P. 586. – August 27, 1995) was an American film, television, a ...

Joan Davis Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1907 – May 22, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy ''I Married Joan'', Davis had a successful earl ...

Henry Wilcoxon Harry Frederick Wilcoxon (8 September 1905 – 6 March 1984), known as Henry Wilcoxon, was an actor born in Roseau, Dominica, British West Indies, and who was a leading man in many of Cecil B. DeMille's films, also serving as DeMille's associ ...

, Robert Lowery, Alan Baxter and

Kay Aldridge Katharine ("Kay") Gratten Aldridge (July 9, 1917 – January 12, 1995) was an American actress and model, best known for playing feisty and imperiled heroines in black-and-white serials during the 1940s. Life and work Aldridge was born on July ...

. The film was released on March 29, 1940, by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Plot

Jerry Daily and Carol Northrup are residents of a New York City hotel for women. Jerry fakes a suicide out of anger for her married lover spurning her. At the hospital, administrator Dr. Hugh Mayberry takes a liking to Carol, while young surgeon Dr. Steve Greig falls for Jerry. Carol and Hugh hit it off and end up marrying. Jerry, however, two-times Steve with a gangster, Mickey Ryan, who robs and murders a tavern owner and is wounded in the process. Jerry pleads with Steve to operate on Mickey, who dies anyway. After police suspicions point them toward Hugh as an accomplice, Steve confesses that he was the doctor in question. He doesn't inform on Jerry, but the cops trick her into an admission of guilt and take her away.

Cast

as Carol Northrup *

as Jerry Daily *

as Nellie *

as Dr. Hugh Mayberry * Robert Lowery as Dr. Stephen Greig * Alan Baxter as Mickey Ryan *

as Adelaide Sinclair *Helen Ericson as Amy McCall * Chick Chandler as Gus *

Joan Valerie Joan Valerie (born Helen Vlahakis; July 15, 1911 – January 30, 1983) was an American actress, who appeared mainly in B movies in the late 1930s and 1940s. Early years Born in Sparta, Wisconsin, Valerie was the daughter of Michael Vlahakis. ...

as Vickie *

Elyse Knox Elyse Knox (born Elsie M. Kornbrath, December 14, 1917 – February 16, 2012) was an American actress, model, and fashion designer. Early life Knox was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Austrian immigrants Hermine Sophie (née Muc ...

as Marjorie *

Dorothy Dearing Dorothy Dearing (April 17, 1913 – April 19, 1965) was an American actress. She is best known for appearing in ''Up the River'' (1938), ''Free, Blonde and 21'' (1940) and ''The Great Profile'' (1940). She married actor Roland Drew in 1946 ...

as Linda *

Herbert Rawlinson Herbert Banemann Rawlinson (15 November 1885 – 12 July 1953) was an English-born stage, film, radio, and television actor. A leading man during Hollywood's silent film era, Rawlinson transitioned to character roles after the advent of sound f ...

as John Crane *

Kay Linaker Mary Katherine Linaker (July 19, 1913 – April 18, 2008) was an American actress and screenwriter who appeared in many B movies during the 1930s and 1940s, most notably ''Kitty Foyle'' (1940) starring Ginger Rogers. Linaker used her married nam ...

as Mrs. John Crane * Thomas E. Jackson as Inspector Saunders *Richard Lane as Lieutenant Lake *

Frank Coghlan Jr. Frank Coghlan Jr. (March 15, 1916 – September 7, 2009) also known as Junior Coghlan, was an American actor who later became a career officer in the United States Navy and a naval aviator. He appeared in approximately 129 films and televis ...

as Sammy *Jerry Fletcher as Hotel clerk *Edward Cooper as Butler

References

External links

* 1940 films 20th Century Fox films American drama films 1940 drama films American black-and-white films Films scored by Samuel Kaylin Films directed by Ricardo Cortez 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-drama-film-stub