Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite

Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite (1939)

** (out of 4)

The ninth and final film in the series finds Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane being replaced by Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins. This time out Torchy has herself thrown into jail so that she can get close to a gangster's girlfriend (Sheila Bromley). The plan is for the two to get close and Torchy hopes that the girlfriend will then lead her to the gangster where Lt. McBride and Gahagan (Tom Kennedy) will arrest him. TORCHY BLANE... PLAYING WITH DYNAMITE really isn't all that bad when you consider it's the ninth film in a series but there's still no question that the only ones who need watch it are those who watched the previous eight and just want to say they've seen everything in the series. I think there are some good moments scattered around but even at just 59-minutes there's just not enough going on to keep you fully entertained. I thought both Wyman and Jenkins were good in their roles and I thought their chemistry and back and forth nature made for some entertainment. Bromley was also attractive in her part as is Eddie Marr as the gangster. Kennedy doesn't get as many poems to read but that's okay because it's still nice seeing him appear for his ninth time. The story itself has quite a few plot holes and there are many logical issues but these here shouldn't be taken too serious. After all, this is a "B" picture that was probably made in a week or two.

The ninth and final Torchy Blane movie. This one stars Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins, replacing Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. Tom Kennedy stays on as Gahagan. The plot has Torchy going undercover to prison to get closer to a gangster's girlfriend. Wyman and Jenkins are fun but it's hard not to compare them to Farrell and MacLane, who perfected these roles and had much better chemistry. Ultimately, the individual pieces are greater than the whole here. I can't say I wasn't entertained. A good cast goes a long way. The highlights include Gahagan wrestling, Torchy stopping a prison fight, and characters with colorful names like Denver Eddie.

The trouble with all those Torchy Blane movies were that they were all too similar in plot and style. In other words, if you've seen one, you've seen them all.

Once again, Torchy finds a way to nab a criminal for her policeman pal Steve McBride, with the roles now played by JANE WYMAN and ALLEN JENKINS. Needless to say, they're not a convincing match. Wyman does all of her cutesy tricks that she employed during her early days at Warner Bros., and Jenkins plays a dumb cop in his usual style, for laughs. TOM KENNEDY is still on hand as the bumbling helpmate of the two, this time involved in a wrestling match that spins the film toward its finale.

Fast moving entertainment, it's a B-film that played the second half of a double feature in 1939. Apparently, it didn't catch on as well as the series did with Glenda Farrell in the lead, so it became the last film of the Torchy Blane series.

"Torchy Blane...Playing with Dynamite" is the final Torchy Blane film by Warner Brothers. While the earlier films were very good for B-movies, the studio monkeyed around with the cast--and the original star and co-star (Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane) were replaced twice in the series. This really made little sense, as Farrell and MacLane were both excellent....but the studio thought that the series might do better with Lola Lane and Paul Kelly in the leads. Well, the studio was wrong and they brought back the original cast. But after a couple more films, Farrell changed studios and instead of retiring the series, they tried it one final time with Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins. And, since they only made one film with Wyman and Jenkins, the change obviously didn't sit well with audiences.

The plot to this one is very familiar as well as totally stupid. While in court, Torchy notices Jackie Maguire is there....and she's the girlfriend of a notorious gangster. So, she comes up with an insane idea....to get thrown into jail so she can pal up to Jackie and learn where her wanted boyfriend is hiding. However, her plan to get arrested goes too well and she's sentenced to 11 months in jail....not a few weeks like she assumed. But her insane plan gets even dumber when she plans on escaping with Jackie in order to find Denver Eddie! Can this convoluted plan possibly work? Well, in real life, no....but in an old B-movie....most likely.

Overall, this is only an okay B-movie that could have been better. It's not just the cast that's the problem, but the plot is too familiar and silly to be taken very seriously. A time-passer and not much more.

Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins team up as the reporter/detective pair in their first but also the series final episode. Wyman looks great but simply does not have the wisecracking hard-boiled presence of the annoying Glenda Farrell. Jenkins is fair but Barton MacLane is better.

As in the rest of the series and many other films of this type, the amateur is a necessary component of bringing the criminal to justice. Torchy goes undercover in jail and on the lam in order to meet up with the notorious Denver Eddie. By the end of the movie she is in the arms of fiancé Detective Lieutenant Steve McBride.

Tom Kennedy steals most of the movie by playing a former Navy wrester turned policeman. In reality Tom was a boxer and he carries off his match as Harry the Horse with Bone Crusher (played by Tiny Roebuck in his final on-screen performance) with good comedic style. If you have ever wondered what the protagonists in a wrestling match say to each other while they are otherwise locked into their imposing holds, watch this movie.