Incendiary Blonde

If you like Betty Hutton, you'll like "Incendiary Blonde," the story of Texas Guinan, made in 1945.

The story of the famous owner of the 300 Club (one of several she owned or co-owned), a speakeasy, at 151 W. 54th Street in New York City, is perfect for Hutton. Texas was a larger than life figure who started out as a chorus girl, appeared in silent films, and became most famous for being hostess of her club, which was patronized by people such as George Gershwin, Pola Negri, Mae West, Jeanne Eagels, Gloria Swanson, John Gilbert, Clara Bow, Gloria Morgan (Gloria Vanderbilt's mother) and many others.

Though constantly being raided by the police, she pulled in a fortune. She died of ulcerative colitis at the age of 49 in Vancouver, while on tour with her show, Too Hot for Paris, though the film doesn't end with her death or go into her tour.

I suspect the film is highly fictionalized, as it leaves out her three husbands, instead concentrating on an affair with Bill Kilgannon (Arturo de Cordova) who was married to a woman in a sanitarium and wasn't free.

Betty Hutton wears a series of gorgeous costumes and is able to use her big belt voice in songs like "Row, Row, Row," "It Had to Be You," and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe." She captures the essence of what Guinan must have been like: a huge personality, brassy, and glamorous.

Others in the cast include Barry Fitzgerald as Tex's father, Mary Philips as her mother (both her parents outlived her, and her mother died at 101), Charlie Ruggles, and Albert Dekker.

The end is a little unsatisfactory and may have been an alternate ending.

All in all, Hutton makes the movie, which is otherwise not much.

Gorgeous Technicolor bio of Texas Guinan is a lot of hooey but offers Betty Hutton a great role, and she's spectacular... one of her very best performances.

The films shows the rise of Guinan, a famous silent film and Broadway star of the teens and 20s, from her rise in a wild west show, through her various careers and through her failed romances. Guinan was famous for her greeting of "Hello, suckers!" and was a major "personality" of her time. Guinan's best-remembered film is Broadway THROUGH A KEYHOLE.

Hutton captures the quirky Guinan perfectly and gets to sing and dance, ride a horse, act in silent films, emote, and look absolutely fabulous. Hutton also gets to wear some spectacular gowns. The sets and costumes are excellent throughout.

Arturo de Cordova co-stars as the love interest. Also Charlie Ruggles, Barry Fitzgerald, Mary Philips, Eduardo Ciannelli, Maurice Rocco (ecellent) as the waiter/pianist, Bill Goodwin as the husband, Bess Flowers, Albert Dekker, Frank Faylen, Jane Jones, etc.

But Hutton is front and center here and you can't take your eyes off her. This film ranks with TH PERILS OF PAULINE, THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK,and ANNIE GET YOUR GUN as among the best Betty Hutton films.

Texas Guinan was so much a symbol of the Roaring Twenties and the Prohibition Era it seems almost poetic that she died just as alcohol became legal again in the USA.

As performer the real Guinan was not as good as Betty Hutton at putting over a song. But Guinan made her reputation as the raucous high living host of one of New York's most well known speakeasy. Everyone who was anyone came to her place for a good time in the Twenties and Texas Guinan knew how to throw a party.

Betty Hutton perfectly captures Guinan's infectious spirit infusing and channeling Guinan into her own infectious style. Of course a lot of fact, most prominently two husbands before the character that Arturo DeCordova plays. Her parents did in fact survive her. Barry Fitzgerald who plays her rascal of a father does his usual scene stealing business. Mary Phillips is on ever so briefly as her mother and according to Wikipedia, Guinan's mother lived to be 101. She was very much alive when Incendiary Blonde was made and I believe the script was purposefully vague about her character.

Betty sings several old standards during the film and they are the highlight. I particularly liked It Had To Be You, Row Row Row, and Ragtime Cowboy Joe, all of those numbers suit her perfectly.

You can see the real Texas Guinan in a couple of films, Queen Of The Nightclubs which was shot in New York and in which George Raft had a prominent bit and also Broadway Through A Keyhole which had Russ Columbo in one of his few films. I think you'll agree if you ever do see those films and they aren't shown often at how well Betty Hutton did with Texas Guinan.

As Texas Guinan used to say "Hello Suckers". But you'll be no sucker if you see Incendiary Blonde.

As splashy entertainment goes, this one is very splashy indeed, wrapped up in an abundance of Technicolor and show biz with costumes and sets that stamp it as a big-budget extravaganza centering on BETTY HUTTON.

While she creates a colorful portrait of Texas Guinan, none of the other characters really stand out, not even BARRY FITZGERALD who is short changed by playing a dim supporting role as her "so Irish" father. ARTURO de CORDOVA is decent enough as the man she falls head over heels in love with, but again, his role is strictly second tier while Hutton has the spotlight. Her musical numbers are all performed with skill and given the full Hutton personality which suits the Texas Guinan character completely.

For Betty Hutton fans, this is certainly one of her better films at Paramount, where she demonstrated a talent for playing wacky dames with a zest for life. She's zestier than ever here, in a colorful role that is a forerunner of things to come--mainly, her Annie in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. She even has some tearfully dramatic moments when the script tries to dig deeper into her personal loves and fears. She handles the varied situations well under George Marshall's direction.

But when it's all over, it's a bit of a disappointment that leads to a downbeat ending.

Betty Hutton is Texas Guinan in this Hollywood bio-pic that is vastly superior to others of its kind due to, number one, Betty Hutton, who always gave her all in everything she did, and number two, its almost reverential treatment and regard to its subject matter, with a very fulfilling ending that leaves the viewer wanting more and letting our imagination reflect on what is ahead for Texas Guinan. If you've never heard of Texas Guinan, then you need to catch this to see for yourself Betty Hutton at her best. She gives this movie the zest and heart that many other bio-pics lack and she is given the role of a lifetime as she lives and loves for one man. This is required Betty Hutton viewing!