Torchy Blane in Panama & Torchy Gets Her Man: Movies about Writing

Once again we turn in Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane to show us how unethical journalism can be . . .

Wait. That’s not Glenda Farrell or Barton MacLane? What goes on here?

Torchy Blane in Panama: Actors Lola Lane and Paul Kelly take on the roles of Torchy and Steve respectively for this one movie. I guess they just weren’t feeling like themselves lately (ba-dum-dum-tsk). I confess, that I find this Steve McBride hotter. I have no idea why the switched out the cast for this one film. But Lola Lane is not as cool as Glenda Farrell (sorry). Gahagan, Steve’s driver, is still played by Tom Kennedy. Torchy is annoyed that Steve won’t let her have scoops anymore after another paper gets a bank robbery story before her. Still, she gives him her theories on the case which he uses to chase the criminal to Panama . . . without her. Torchy literally drops in on the ship by jumping out of a plane. After that she flirts with an entire passenger vessel of the order of Leopards and let’s Steve get jealous. Anything for a story, I guess. I won’t give away the mystery, but I will point out a few things. 1) They stop off in Cuba. Movies from before the Cold War constantly have me believing that middle class people just popped down to Havana for a day to dance and drink. 2) Torchy wears pants and Steve is having none of it. She, of course, continues to wear them and they actually become a plot point. 3) This movie sort of forgets her goal to write a story until the last five minutes.

Torchy Gets her Man: Farrell and MacLane return in this mystery about secret service agents and counterfeit money. Despite what’s stated in the previous film, the pair are still not married and Steve’s boss is still telling him to keep Torchy away from his cases. When Steve stands Torchy up for dinner, she declares that if she can’t have steak then she will get a scoop. Through racetracks, spy rings, and bomb threats, Torchy and Gahagan work a case that Steve doesn’t even realize it going on. They borrow a German Shepherd to help them track the bad guys, however he only speaks German. I’m kind of surprised they had Torchy attempting to speak German in 1938. This movie also has the baddies underestimate Steve and even wonder why a smart woman like Torchy is with him. When Steve figures out the plot, Torchy smugly jokes to the villain, “Isn’t he the dumbest thing”. Once again, this does not have Torchy writing and printing as much as in the other movies. There are a lot of conversation with her editor who she has wrapped around her little finger though.

Adventurous Blonde & Blondes at Work: Movies about Writing

“Can't you lovebirds find something to bill and coo about besides murders and bank robberies?"

Newspaper woman, Torchy (Glenda Farrel) and her homicide detective fiancee Steve McBride (Barton MacLane) continue their adventures in these hour long films from the 1930s. Torchy has “ink in her veins” which is the part of these films I”m going to write about instead of the individual mysteries.

Both of these, which came out one after the other, deals in the ethics of a journalist dating a member of the police force. These old films make it look like reporters did all of the police work. Steve’s boss points out that reporters printing evidence as it’s found can hinder an investigation. I can’t argue with him on that one. Plus, Torchy always gets the scoop and other papers call fowl play.

In fact, the other journalists are so annoyed that in Adventurous Blondes, they try to set up a fake story to humiliate Torchy, however, it turns into a real murder case that she tries to help Steve solve. All of this interrupts their wedding.

In Blondes at Work, Steve’s captain asks why he can’t just marry Torchy and keep her at home. Steve instantly knows that he could never keep her from writing and investigating, however, he stills makes a comment to her about quitting. She just laughs it off. Again, I’m not going to give away the ending. Still, I can’t help but point out how this one ends. Torchy gets arrested for being a nuisance in an active police investigation. While she’s in the “slammer”, Steve gives the final outcome to the mystery to her paper so they can run the headline with her name on it.

Smart Blonde & Fly-Away, Baby: Movies about Writing

These are the first two pair of mystery/adventure films about Torchy Blane (Glenda Farrell), a fast talking lady reporter who is always tagging after her police detective boyfriend, Steve McBride (Barton MacLane) in search of a story. There is a third side character in every film, a cop named Gahagan (Tom Kennedy) who sometimes gets a B plot.

Generally, the stories start with McBride (who Torchy calls Skipper) being annoyed that she’s there. They face various shenanigans, then pause to eat because McBride understands you should never let a woman get hangry. Even though McBride whines that he wants Torchy to be “more of a woman” and to “go write a story about cooking”, each film ends with him relying on her to help him solve the case. This is always followed by the start of another adventure holding up their plans to get married once again. It’s a formula that works so well that it inspired Lois Lane in the Superman comics.

In Smart Blonde, the first film in the series, Torchy doesn’t do a lot writing, mostly a lot of calling to her paper. A businessman is murdered after buying a nightclub which the original owner was reluctant to sell. Since she and McBride have different theories about “who done it”, they follow different investigative routes. That doesn’t stop McBride from double checking Torchy’s suspicions and constantly checking in her with her. Despite all of the banter, they save the day and save alife.

The second film, Fly-Away, Baby (made in the same year, 1937), show more of Torchy’s career as a newswoman. Hey, a Zeppelin! Torchy joins a race around the world, comparing herself to Nellie Bly, saying she wants her newspaper to win. After a murder involving a diamond heist, McBride is convinced the killer was a former jailbird. Meanwhile, Torchy is convinced that murderer is a spoiled nepo baby reporter from a competing paper. She joins in order to get the scoop and prove he’s a killer. In this film, she does more to keep track of clues and make notes that she can use for her articles later.

I won’t give away the endings. Each film is only an hour long. I’ll let you watch them for yourself.