Dangerous Blondes

In the era of double features, DANGEROUS BLONDES most probably served as a pleasant second banana with a B-film budget from Columbia Studios, and a cast that included EVELYN KEYES, ALLYN JOSLYN, JOHN HUBBARD, EDMUND LOWE, ANITA LOUISE with WILLIAM DEMAREST and FRANK CRAVEN as detectives.

It's a fast-paced comedy/mystery with the most unlikely turning out to be the killer but with very little character depth to make solving the puzzle a sensible thing to do. Instead, just sit back and enjoy the shenanigans of minor sleuths Keyes and Joslyn in a Nick and Nora mode as they plunge into discovering what's going on at a fashion studio where a murder takes place.

Naturally, it takes lots of effort on their part and plenty of dangerous situations before they straighten the whole thing out with the cooperation of detective Craven and his sidekick, William Demarest.

It's fun to watch pert EVELYN KEYES and ALLYN JOSLYN as her husband given some amusing situations in a tidy little mystery with the accent on comedy.

Crime writer Allyn Joslyn (Barry) and his wife Evelyn Keyes (Jane) set out to solve the murder of Mary Forbes (Isabel Fleming) at a photographer's studio. The police are also trying to figure things out led by Frank Craven (Inspector Clinton). It's a comedy detective film that also stars William Demarest (Detective Gatlin), so be warned.

Shame it's a comedy. The film's title lends itself to a film-noir storyline. Anyway, whilst there are some funny moments, this is offset by annoying comedy characters that fail to generate any laughs – Demarest being one, and housekeeper Minerva Urecal (Mrs Swanson) being another. The story is slightly complicated and it's all pretty meaningless but Evelyn Keyes stands out and is fun to watch. And the luminous paint is cool.

If you see William Demarest on a cast list, it's a dead cert that the film is one to avoid. He's his usual unfunny self here with exaggerated expressions, unrealistic reactions, obvious and badly executed pratfalls and way too much screen time. This film was doomed.

A lively cast and kinetic pacing keep this otherwise routine little mystery worth watching. It's one of those amateur sleuth films with bumbling cops that were popular at the time, and which the later TV cop series Dragnet (1951-1959) did so much to try to correct. Still, the comedic undertone of the movie is pretty effective, thanks mainly to Demarest, Joslyn, and especially the perky Keyes. The mystery itself is not very involving since the suspects get little screen time or character development. It's just sort of a hat rack to hang the various hijinks on.

The world's slowest elevator is a funny little touch along with its Spanish-American War operator. And for old movie buffs there's a brief appearance by cult figure Ann Savage (Erika), known mainly for her savage role in the cheapo classic Detour (1945). For wartime audiences, I'll bet the movie was a great bit of escape, and for digital era viewers, it still holds a measure of fun if you're not expecting too much.

During the 1940s, Columbia Pictures made mostly B movies--along with a few prestige pictures. Some, like "Dangerous Blondes" aren't exactly feature or B-films because their budgets are just a hair better than a B and because they are much longer than the usual B (which usually clock in at about 60 minutes). But, the film is clearly not a prestige picture, as it features mostly second-tier actors and no big-name actors at all. The closest to this are its stars Eveyln Keyes (who made a few big films) and Allyn Joslyn (a guy who always seemed to play excellent cranky supporting actors).

This movie is much like a Thin Man film, but instead of rich Nick and Nora Charles, you've got the Craigs. Barry Craig is a crime fiction writer and he and his wife Jane prefer solving crimes to writing about them. As for the time in this film, it's far less important than the banter between them. It's filled with humor and I noticed MANY times my wife was laughing along with the film. My usually very picky wife declared that the film was kinda fun--a glowing endorsement, believe me! The dialog is the star, though Keyes and Joslyn sure did their best to make the film a lot of fun...if murder can be fun! Worth seeing and a shame they didn't make more of these films.

By the way, during the radio show, Mr. Craig identified a 'revolver'. Well, I am not an expert on guns, but it clearly was a semi-automatic, not a revolver. Also, the radio show announcer was Don Wilson--who was more famous for his being a regular on "The Jack Benny Program".

Dangerous Blondes is one of the choice nuggets that sits in the Columbia archives waiting for rediscovery. It appeared briefly on television in the fifties and sixties but is not in the current package available to television stations. Pity because it is chock full of wonderful performances, nice musical arrangements, excellent direction and a fun story. It is a comedy murder mystery that tries to prove that a writer of detective novels can be as smart as a real police detective. Evelyn Keyes never looked more beautiful than here as she helps her husband in trying to solve a recent rash of murders.

The comedy in this 81 minute lost classic is as quick and witty as you are likely to see in a film of the period and the joy in finding this treasure again will be music to the ears and eyes of film lovers everywhere.