![]() ![]() ![]() Wallis was getting impatient he considered the emerging John Garfield for the role of Biff Grimes. That was a help." Ĭagney still was reluctant. "When we went on the rewrite," Julius said, "we knew it was for Cagney. Put it in New York.'" The Epstein version quickly took shape, aided by the objective of making it a Cagney picture. The brothers and William all concurred that the first thing to do was move things from the play's midwest setting to New York City because "they all knew it so much better." Said Julius: "We thought the reason lost money was it was too bucolic. Wallis had a first draft of a screenplay done by Stephen Morehouse Avery that satisfied no one he called in the Epstein brothers, Julius and Phillip, for another vision-one that might hook Cagney into the project. Wallis knew the trick was to tailor the script as a vehicle for Cagney, who had yet to commit either to the project or even to his brother. Wallis telling him to watch it also: "It will be hard to stay through the entire running of the picture, but do this so you will know what not to do." Warner screened the 1933 film and wrote a memo to his production head Hal B. James Cagney had qualms about it because it would be a remake, and Jack Warner knew it needed "complete retooling." It was a "pet project" of William Cagney, who saw it as a "gift to mother, Carrie Cagney, who would live only a few more years", and Warner recognized the inside track this leverage would give him with his often recalcitrant star. It was "the only real flop of Cooper's stellar and carefully orchestrated career" -and the only Cooper picture ever to lose money. It had started early in 1933 as a successful Broadway play by James Hagan and had been adapted later that year by Paramount as a vehicle for Gary Cooper. and by 1940, he "wanted a nostalgic part-any part-to take him away from the gangsters he was now loathe to play." Ī property on the lot that might fill that bill was One Sunday Afternoon. However, Cagney soon found himself getting slotted into tough guy parts. in the early 1930s, but he had shown his talents at lighter, musical material in films like Footlight Parade (1933) He left the studio in mid-decade, then returned in 1938 with a contract that gave him more control in choosing roles and brought his younger brother William Cagney as assistant producer and informal buffer between himself and studio executives. Ĭagney usually played tough guys at Warner Bros. Walsh had just completed the dark Humphrey Bogart/ Ida Lupino vehicle High Sierra, shot largely on location, and the good notices the film received had Walsh "as fired up as Jack Warner to keep the ball rolling on projects in development and production." The transition between the outdoorsy film noir and the light and sentimental studio-centered Strawberry Blonde "proved no problem" for Walsh. Nan Wynn as Rita Hayworth's singing voice (uncredited) īoth the director of Strawberry Blonde, Raoul Walsh, and its star James Cagney came to the project looking for a change of pace.Jack Mower as Streetcleaner (uncredited).Lucile Fairbanks as Harold's girlfriend.Biff ends up marrying Virginia's less-glamorous best friend, Amy Lind ( Olivia de Havilland), who Biff eventually realizes was the right one for him all along. However, Biff's more enterprising "pal", Hugo, wins Virginia's affections. As Biff considers killing Hugo when he gives him nitrous oxide, the flashback begins.īiff falls in love with strawberry-blonde society girl Virginia Brush ( Rita Hayworth). ![]() Hugo Barnstead ( Jack Carson), an old partner, nemesis and rival makes a desperate appointment to see him. The movie runs as a long flashback in the 1890's in New York City and opening with Biff Grimes ( James Cagney) as an unsuccessful dentist on a Sunday without work. In 1948, Walsh directed a third version of the story, also called One Sunday Afternoon, featuring early 20th-century songs combined with original musical numbers. Unlike that earlier picture, it was a hit. The film was a more lighthearted remake of the 1933 non-musical movie One Sunday Afternoon, directed by Stephen Roberts and starring Gary Cooper. The title is most often listed beginning with the word The (as it appears in the opening credits), but the film's posters and promotional materials called it simply Strawberry Blonde. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1941 for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. Louis, Louie", " Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie", and "Love Me and the World Is Mine". Set in New York City around 1900, it features songs of that era such as " The Band Played On", " Bill Bailey", " Meet Me in St. The Strawberry Blonde is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland, and featuring Rita Hayworth, Alan Hale, Jack Carson, and George Tobias. ![]()
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