Kansas City Princess

The IMDB synopsis describes this movie as "two wisecracking manicurists flee an irate gangster". That's a better precis than I could manage. William Keighley doesn't seem able to do much with a complicated script; only Hugh Herbert (as a millionaire on his way to confront his wayward wife) and Glenda Farrell as the inciting manicurist are very good. Robert Armstrong is ok as the irate gangster, but Joan Blondell is unaccountably rote, trying to make sense of her lines in what should be a high-speed farce.

That's rather a disappointment to me. In just shy of 50 years of film performances, it's rare to see Miss Blondell not be great.

Rosie Sturges (Joan Blondell) and best friend Marie Callahan (Glenda Farrell) are manicurists in Kansas City. Marie does not like Rosie's gangster boyfriend Dynamite Carson (Robert Armstrong). There is a ring, girl scouts, and plenty of situational comedy.

This is a gangster screwball comedy thriller. The situation is convoluted. I was expecting more from the girl scouts. There is potential for greater comedy. The concept suggests some more outrageous fun but it doesn't quite get there.

Two smart dames must take it on the lam when a jealous hoodlum goes out of control.

KANSAS CITY PRINCESS was the sort of ephemeral comic frippery which Warner Brothers Studio produced almost effortlessly during the 1930's. Well made & highly enjoyable, Depression audiences couldn't seem to get enough of these popular, funny photo dramas.

Joan Blondell & Glenda Farrell are perfectly cast as the sassy, fast-talking females who use their wiles to get them all the way to Paris. Unlike their other films, the gals have an even parity here, equally sharing the wisecracks and what little romantics the plot tosses their way.

Robert Armstrong does very well as the somewhat dense petty gangster who precipitates the girls' flight. Hugh Herbert, wacky & whimsical as ever, appears as a hapless millionaire who befriends Blondell & Farrell, making use of them in a hilariously inept plan to catch his faithless wife.

Smaller roles are very nicely filled by T. Roy Barnes & Hobart Cavanaugh as two free spirited aldermen who happily assist the girls when they need it most; and Ivan Lebedeff as the wily Russian doctor who is cuckolding Herbert.

Movie mavens will recognize Arthur Houseman as a inebriate getting a manicure from Blondell; and Lillian Harmer as the formidable Girls of America leader, both unbilled.

While never stars of the first rank, Joan Blondell (1906-1979) & Glenda Farrell (1904-1971) enlivened scores of films at Warner Bros. throughout the 1930's, especially the eight in which they appeared together. Whether playing gold diggers or working girls, reporters or secretaries, these blonde & brassy ladies were very nearly always a match for whatever leading man was lucky enough to share equal billing alongside them. With a wisecrack or a glance, their characters showed they were ready to take on the world - and any man in it. Never as wickedly brazen as Paramount's Mae West, you always had the feeling that, tough as they were, Blondell & Farrell used their toughness to defend vulnerable hearts ready to break over the right guy. While many performances from seven decades ago can look campy or contrived today, these two lovely ladies are still spirited & sassy.

Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell spout zippy dialog as a couple of manicurists moving up in the world in this very silly comedy.

Robert Armstrong is Dynamite, a good-natured tough guy who wants to marry Blondell—who is keen on that idea despite Glenda's outspoken disapproval ("If you was the bearded lady in the circus, you'd still be too good for Dynamite"). All three end up on a boat bound for Paris, where Armstrong meets millionaire Hugh Herbert and quickly declares himself Herbert's bodyguard.

The plot itself makes very little sense but is held together, more or less, by the personalities of the four stars, who seem determined to make it something fun, however thin the story. The dialog is certainly colorful—packed with phrases like "a low down mug" and "That guy getting fresh?"—and generally delivered as rapidly as humanly possible (especially by Blondell and Farrell, certainly a couple of Hollywood's all-time great fast talkers).

Overall, it's not particularly memorable but very easy to take for the hour or so it lasts.

From the first few bars of Leo Forbstein's jaunty, jolly intro music you know what to expect and that's exactly what you get: Joan and Glenda's smart and sassy comedy double act guaranteed to make you smile.

You'll certainly smile but probably not laugh at this one. Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell are both brilliant as are Robert Armstrong and Frank McHugh but this is one of the weaker pictures in the series. It's entertaining enough (in fact, very entertaining) but somehow doesn't feel as funny as it should be. Some critics have blamed the ridiculous story but it's no less believable than those of their other ones. Possibly this wasn't quite as sparky because it was made at the time when the new Production Code regulations were being introduced - it must have been difficult adapting such a racy, raunchy double act to conform with Hollywood's new pseudo-puritanical regime.

It's not a fabulous film, the story is makes no sense, the acting flips between over the top overacting and uninspired just reading by rote but.... I still loved this. It's harmless, good natured fun.