Traveling Saleslady

Joan Blondell stars as the daughter of a tooth paste baron (Grant Mitchell) who doesn't believe in women in the workplace or in embracing modern advertising. Blondell is bored and wants a job but daddy says NO! So she goes to a competitor with a new idea from a nutty professor (Hugh Herbert) with the proviso that she gets to be the traveling saleslady.

Blondell immediately runs into competition from daddy's crack salesman (William Gargan) and the two spend the rest of the film sparring and falling in love. Glenda Farrell also stars as the head of a drug store chain, also in love with Gargan.

Lots of fun, fast pacing, and many snappy lines make this a top B comedy of the 30s.Very modern in its view of women, big business, etc.

Ruth Donnelly is the mother, Al Shean is the competitor, Bert Roach (very funny) as the male wallflower, Mary Treen is a secretary, and Johnny Arthur is also a secretary.

Good roles for Blondell, Farrell, and Gargan---and all three underused by Warners.

A TRAVELING SALESLADY & a drugstore queen vie for the affection of a handsome toothpaste salesman.

This was the sort of ephemeral comic frippery which the studios 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.

Sassy & sweet, Joan Blondell & Glenda Farrell make perfect romantic rivals. This is really Blondell's picture - Farrell's part gets off to a slow start - but they are great together or apart and make the film zing.

William Gargan gives a good performance as the fellow in the enviable position of being desired by both Blondell & Farrell. Wonderful, wacky Hugh Herbert, as the inventor of cocktail flavored toothpaste, leads a parade of character actors - Grant Mitchell, Al Shean, Ruth Donnelly, Johnny Arthur, Bert Roach, Mary Treen & Harry Holman - who all excel at milking laughs from every line.

Movie mavens will recognize the marvelous Hattie McDaniel, uncredited in a tiny, hilarious, scene.

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 wants a job in the toothpaste firm owned by her father, Grant Mitchell. Hugh Herbert has developed a line of flavors for toothpaste and he wants to sell them to Mitchell. Mitchell is a fuddy-duddy and turns them both down without listening. So Miss Blondell goes to Mitchell's competitor, Al Shean, who is delighted with the idea, agreeing a a penny per tube, a place in the lab for Herbert, and a saleslady job for her. Soon she is tangling with Mitchell's top salesman, William Gargan, and the lady doesn't play fair, especially with her husband, George Barnes, in charge of the camera.

Director Ray Enright keeps the pace up, and added Glenda Farrell as a drugstore-chain owner who dates Gargan, so the words fly as as fast as the situations. Keep an eye out for Ruth Donnelly, Johnny Arthur, Bert Roach..... well, the usual cast of fine character comedians that Warners could draw on in this period.

This movie was ahead of its time. It's all about the power of women. That's something we're very familiar with these days, but they were not quite as familiar with back in the 1930's. But that's okay, it was the 1930's not 2023. So I cut them a little slack. There is no need to cut this movie any slack because it's marvelous.

This is a comedy full of wit and energy. It's extremely well-written and never backs down. The actors never back down either. They play it with all the energy they can muster. All the players are wonderful.

Basically, two toothpaste companies are battling it out. A salesman for one and a saleswoman for the other are also battling it out, face to face. Both of them are extremely ambitious and extremely ruthless. They are also attracted to each other.

The fun never stops in this non-stop fun fest. Feast your eyes and ears on this fabulous comedy from the 1930's, a decade that has never been topped for screwball comedies. This one is a gem.

It's so nice to see Joan Blondell in something a little different from the usual regurgitated trash she was forced to do around this time. This is a great piece of harmless nonsense with a lovely upbeat feel. For a change Joan is playing a successful business woman - not that common in 1935! Although it's a comedy role, she makes her character seem real and almost believable whilst also being totally adorable.

The cameraman on this film was by George Barnes, her soon to be ex-husband which apparently led to quite an uncomfortable set. He would no longer photograph his wife in any immodest scenes. Her sexy curves were now for his eyes only, not to be shared with the likes of us anymore. Long gone are days when we had long, lingering shots of her taking off her stockings. Nevertheless she dazzles in this.

She dazzles with as much sexy fun, happiness and enthusiasm for life that any character can have whilst also coming across as an actual person. Her style of delivery still works just as well today and she's guaranteed to raise a few smiles. Even when she's not being funny, she'll also make you smile just by her lovely, cuddly niceness....even if only shown from the neck up!

It's much better than most of the Blondell-Farrell comedies from the mid thirties. Great fun!