We're in the Money

EARLY Joan Blondell.. LOVE HER in Desk Set, but that was about twenty years after this. She and Glenda Farrell were silly working girls in all those black and whites in the 1930s and 1940s... Ginger and Dixie are process servers, and are trying to get out of such a dangerous business. Their boss has one last assignment for them, and after being offered a huge amount, this will be their last caper, serving the big mob boss who doesn't want to be served. Ginger has a beau Carter, played by Ross Alexander. Sadly, Alexander offed himself a couple years after this film was released. The Hays film code had just started being strictly enforced, and this clearly was not good news for Alexander, as his lifestyle could not be kept quiet, and this clashed with the studio big-shots. Silly, vaudeville man Hugh Herbert is the goofy attorney, and is clearly here for the laughs. Some fun cameos, or almost cameos... a young Lionel Stander (Max.. from Hart to Hart) has several spoken lines. Walter Brennan is a guest at the wedding, and according to IMDb, Mayo Methot's scene was deleted. Also several songs by actor/singer Phil Regan... he had quite the adventures after his acting days, if you look him up on wikipedia. This one is fun, and scurries right along. Story is pretty straight forward, and has some clever lines. I recommend this one. Pretty surprised at the low rating... only a 6.. but of course, only 140 votes so far. Hopefully TCM will show this one more often.

... and if they had it would have likely been much better.

Dixie Tilton (Glenda Farrell) and Ginger Stewart (Joan Blondell) are process servers employed by attorney Homer Bronson (Hugh Herbert). They want to quit, but Bronson has a troublesome client, Claire LeClaire who is suing a rich man for breach of promise. There are four subpoenas involved, and the male servers who have attempted to do the serving have been beaten up. Bronson promises the girls a thousand dollars if they can serve all four, the idea being that a female process server will not be suspected. Ginger is in love with a chauffeur she has been meeting in the park and she only knows his name is Carter. He is, in fact, the object of the breach of promise suit. C. RIchard Courtney. He wears the chauffeur's outfit to throw process servers off the trail. Neither Carter nor Ginger knows who the other is, but since Ginger is going to end up serving him, you just know complications will ensue when the truth comes out about both of them.

As it stands it would have made a good three reel (30 minutes long) short. Or the plot could have been beefed up considerably and it could have been worthy of its 64 minute runtime. Instead it is stuffed with a wrestling match, a nightclub number, and a bunch of badly done overlong chase scenes both in boats and cars with third rate back projection while the actual dialogue and cast interaction is somewhat anemic. I will say this about it - Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell have great chemistry together and make a terrific comedic duo. It's no wonder they were teamed several times as they were a joy to watch.

This is one of the better of all those very similar Blondell and Farrell comedies of the mid thirties. It's not brilliant but some thought and effort have gone into this one and the cast seem to be enjoying themselves - that lets us enjoy watching them. These days those pictures would probably have been made as a tv sit-com - they've got a comforting familiarity about them which makes you want to see them all but they do tend to merge into one.....except MISS PACIFIC FLEET which is truly awful.

This one has quite an interesting twisty plot, a lovely upbeat feel to it and some genuinely funny moments. Joan and Glenda both exude warmth and charm and are instantly likeable. Glenda and of course Joan are both gorgeous so are also instantly watchable. Being made after the infamous production code was enforced however means that Joan Blondell is a little more conservatively dressed than in her earlier films but she's still got the sexiest smile anyone's ever had.

It only lasts just over an hour so it's all quite lively but there is a lot of Hugh Herbert who does seem to repeat the same scene several times. He is funny in small doses but perhaps he's in this just a little too much. That same befuddled character he always plays does tend to wear a bit thin after a while. He's still just about amusing in this very silly, very fun little picture.

All I can say is any Warner film that has ROSS Alexander and PHIL REGAN in supporting roles is already in trouble. Ross has no sparks as a leading man running away from a process server (Joan Blondell) and Regan's high-pitched tenor is hard on the ears. For comic slant we have HUGH HERBERT in another one of his stereotyped roles to gather whatever laughs there are from a motorboat out of control.

Then we have JOAN BLONDELL and GLENDA FARRELL fast talking their way through an "Okay, toots" kind of script and we have more trouble ahead as the two leading ladies blunder their way through one mistake after another in search of good comedic results. The script is no help, with Blondell getting dumped overboard from a yacht several times in a row.

Mercifully, the programmer is only 66 minutes in length, but seems longer than that. Not recommended to anyone but die hard Joan Blondell fans who apparently think she's great in everything, no matter how ridiculous the plotting is or how slim the material.

Two lady process servers will stop at nothing to do their job - but then one falls in love with the man they are stalking...

WE'RE IN THE MONEY 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.

Joan Blondell & Glenda Farrell are perfectly cast as the fearless, fast-talking females who will try anything to serve their subpoenas. Although Joan gets both top billing and the romantic scenes, both gals are as talented & watchable as they are gorgeous.

Ross Alexander plays Blondell's love interest and he does a very nice job. Remembered now chiefly for his appearance in the classic A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1935), this talented young man from Brooklyn was gifted with the good looks & acting skills which should have made him a major Hollywood star. Instead, Alexander ended up in mostly forgettable parts in obscure films. Tragically, Ross Alexander died a suicide in 1937, at the age of only 29.

Hugh Herbert, whimsical & wacky as ever, appears as the girls' boss. Whether driving a stolen car or piloting a speeding motorboat, he is equally hilarious. Behind him comes a rank of character actors - Henry O'Neill, E.E. Clive, Lionel Stander, Hobart Cavanaugh - all equally adept at wringing every smile out of any situation. Sharp-eyed movie mavens should spot an unbilled Walter Brennan as a witness at the wedding.

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.