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Blondie Johnson

  • 1933
  • Passed
  • 1h 7m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
857
YOUR RATING
Joan Blondell in Blondie Johnson (1933)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:53
1 Video
22 Photos
CrimeDrama

The story of a Depression-downtrodden waif who uses her brains instead of her body to rise from tyro con artist to crime boss.The story of a Depression-downtrodden waif who uses her brains instead of her body to rise from tyro con artist to crime boss.The story of a Depression-downtrodden waif who uses her brains instead of her body to rise from tyro con artist to crime boss.

  • Directors
    • Ray Enright
    • Lucien Hubbard
  • Writer
    • Earl Baldwin
  • Stars
    • Joan Blondell
    • Chester Morris
    • Allen Jenkins
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    857
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Ray Enright
      • Lucien Hubbard
    • Writer
      • Earl Baldwin
    • Stars
      • Joan Blondell
      • Chester Morris
      • Allen Jenkins
    • 23User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Blondie Johnson
    Trailer 1:53
    Blondie Johnson

    Photos21

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    Top cast31

    Edit
    Joan Blondell
    Joan Blondell
    • Blondie
    Chester Morris
    Chester Morris
    • Danny
    Allen Jenkins
    Allen Jenkins
    • Louie
    Earle Foxe
    Earle Foxe
    • Scannell
    Claire Dodd
    Claire Dodd
    • Gladys
    Mae Busch
    Mae Busch
    • Mae
    Joseph Cawthorn
    Joseph Cawthorn
    • Manager
    • (as Joe Cawthorn)
    Olin Howland
    Olin Howland
    • Eddie
    Sterling Holloway
    Sterling Holloway
    • Red
    Toshia Mori
    Toshia Mori
    • Lulu
    Arthur Vinton
    Arthur Vinton
    • Max Wagner
    Donald Kirke
    Donald Kirke
    • Joe
    Maurice Black
    Maurice Black
    • Tony
    • (uncredited)
    Naomi Childers
    Naomi Childers
    • Welfare Secretary
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Dow Clark
    Charles Dow Clark
    • Welfare Interviewer
    • (uncredited)
    Helena Phillips Evans
    Helena Phillips Evans
    • Police Matron
    • (uncredited)
    Sam Godfrey
    • Freddie
    • (uncredited)
    Betty Jane Graham
    Betty Jane Graham
    • Child Outside Tenement
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Ray Enright
      • Lucien Hubbard
    • Writer
      • Earl Baldwin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    6.6857
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    Featured reviews

    6blanche-2

    1933 Depression movie

    Joan Blondell is poverty stricken, but determined to survive, in "Blondie Johnson," a 1933 Warner Brothers film also starring Chester Morris, Allen Jenkins, and Sterling Holloway.

    Blondie (Blondell) and her sick mother are not considered hardship cases. They live in the back of a store, Blondie can't find a job, and her mother is in need of care. After being denied funds, she returns home to find that her mother has died in her absence.

    She decides she's waited long enough for something good to happen. She's going to make things happen, but she's going to use her brains, not her body, to do it. The next time we see Blondie, she's all decked out after working in a dance hall. She takes a cab ride and she and the driver (Holloway) work a scam that nets them a tidy sum at the end of the night.

    Unfortunately one of the people they worked it on is Danny Jones (Morris), a racketeer, and he catches her in a Chinese restaurant, which is not exactly the hospital she claimed she was headed to for work. They team up, with Blondie having ambitions toward being a crime boss.

    Good movie with the always delightful Blondell and likable Chester Morris. The end of the film is jarring; it's abrupt and different in tone from the rest of the movie. Still, it's a quick-paced, well acted film.
    7LeonLouisRicci

    Atypical Tough "Gal" Gangster Movie

    Here is a Pre-Code Gangster Movie with, wait for it, a Female Mob Boss. There is an Interracial Couple (Japanese/White), a Low-Cut Peek at Joan Blondell, and some Bullet Blood. That's about it for the Pre-Code Highlights although there is some Bedroom Banter that would Later become Taboo. A Friend asks "Blondie, why don't you give him a tumble?" for Example.

    It's got typical Warner Bros. Snappy Patter and Chester Morris' forever present Dangling Cigarette is Stereotypically "charming". The Script Employs a Clever Con on a Jewelry Store, some Hard-Boiled Inner-Gang Violence and Always has Blondie with the Upper Hand.

    Another Highlight in this Atypical Depression Era Movie is when Blondie gets Frisked by a Cop "Woman", She finds a small caliber pistol Tucked Away very close to a Forbidden Location, that even in a Pre-Coder is Rarely Referenced or given any Attention, and the Scene does not Shy away from the Search as the Dyke like Cop has Her Hands right where they don't Belong.

    Worth a Watch for its Decisively Differentness and the Always Pleasing to the Eye Joan Blondell, where She, not Only Her Character, more than Holds Her Own with Her Tough Guy Companions.
    6museumofdave

    67 Minutes of Zippy Pre-Code Gangster Fun

    Character actress/star Joan Blondell makes the most of Blondie Johnson, appearing first as a down-and-outer fired from her previous job because she wouldn't put out for the boss and then developing as an assertive, sassy, gang leader. She's is determined to get ahead in a man's world, and uses her snappy sense of humor, and both her sensitivity and her sensuality to move to the top and earn the respect of her fellow mobsters--simultaneously shooting for romance with (boring) Chester Morris.

    After the film is over, it really doesn't seem like we've watched a gangster movie, simply because Warner Brothers knew how to be topical by suggestion, and in the period when this film was made, a good deal could be broadly hinted at that was frowned upon in later years: making money the easy way through prostitution, evoking fear in others through protection rackets, and particularly in this film, making a woman boss of the mob. It all looks like great, harmless fun. But after about 1934 and the Production Code, for most actresses it was back to domesticity and the kitchen for almost thirty years!

    It's a zippy 67 minutes with a familiar Warner's cast, including silent star Mae Busch, the ubiquitous comedy relief Allen Jenkins, and as the "other woman," cynical Claire Dodd. Today there's more than enough menace in a gangster film, another brutal murder just around the corner, another bloodbath waiting; if there's any fun to be had, it's happening elsewhere. But once upon a time one could easily sit through an escapist double feature with this, essentially a gangster romp, as a starter, and perhaps an Edward G. Robinson or Cagney film as the longer main feature. Now you can enjoy this whenever you want a little break!
    6bkoganbing

    "You're a fresh dame"

    In this before the Code drama Joan Blondell steps into Barbara Stanwyck territory playing a woman who we see rise to the top of the rackets and is pretty ruthless about it. As the film shows us Blondell had it pretty rough as a kid and now she's going to acquire the only thing that matters in this life, money.

    Along the way she teams up with another racketeer played by Chester Morris on loan from MGM who's also not a squeamish guy, but wants to settle down with Blondell as long as he leads when they dance. Blondell is not about to let anyone else lead in her life.

    I'm surprised this film is not better known if for no other reason than the acclaim that Blondell has received for her performances in those Warner Brothers gangster films. Usually she's just a leading lady for James Cagney etc. but her she's the lead, it's her film and she makes a fine job of it.

    If TCM ever broadcasts this, don't miss it. A must for Joan Blondell fans.
    Sleepy-17

    Snappy script provides a lot of fun

    Even though "Crime Does Not Pay" is the message here, Joan Blondell and Chester Morris play the wisecracks with style. Definitely a feminist slant to a story of a woman crime-boss wannabe who refuses to have sex with her co-workers. Entertaining and involving (I joined the heroine in her desire to save her frontman from the hitmen's bullets), although the ending was a little hard to take. Good stuff from Sterling Holloway as a friendly cab-driver.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film has been preserved by the Library of Congress.
    • Goofs
      When Blondie is talking to Danny at his apartment, she is reclining on the sofa with her legs stretched out straight. But on the next immediate cut when Danny confronts her; she is now sitting up with her legs in a folded position.
    • Quotes

      Danny Jones: Gee I can't eat, I can't sleep. Why I've gone around all day with nobody in my head but you.

      Blondie Johnson: Bet you had a tough time getting your hat over both of us.

      Danny Jones: Well you make me sick. If you was my dame I'd break your neck.

      Blondie Johnson: If I was your dame I'd deserve it.

    • Connections
      Featured in Complicated Women (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Oh! You Beautiful Doll
      (1911) (uncredited)

      Music by Nat Ayer

      Played during the opening credits

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    FAQ13

    • How long is Blondie Johnson?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 25, 1933 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Блонди Джонсон
    • Filming locations
      • Union Station - 50 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, District of Columbia, USA(exterior of train station)
    • Production company
      • First National Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $151,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 7 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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