The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend
Encyclopedia
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend is a 1949 romantic comedy
Western film starring Betty Grable
and featuring Cesar Romero
and Rudy Vallee
. It was directed by Preston Sturges
and written by him based on a story by Earl Felton.
The film, Sturges' first Technicolor
production, was not well-received at the time it was released, and was generally conceded to be a disaster – even Betty Grable bad-mouthed it – but its reputation has improved somewhat over time, even though it is not considered to be in the same league as the intelligent comedies Sturges made at Paramount Pictures
that he is known for.
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend would turn out to be the last American film that Sturges would work on – although he would receive credit for films that were remakes or adaptations of his earlier movies. Sturges directed only one more film in his life, the 1955 French
comedy Les carnets du Major Thompson (released in the U.S. as The French, They Are a Funny Race
).
) is a saloon singer in the Old West who catches her boyfriend, gambler Blackie Jobero (Cesar Romero
), flirting with another woman and takes a shot at him with the six-shooter she always carries. Unfortunately, she hits a Judge (Porter Hall
) instead, so she and her friend Conchita (Olga San Juan
) take it on the lam. When they get to a tiny hole-in-the-wall town, Freddie and Conchita are mistaken for the new schoolmarm and her Indian maid. They meet the local muckety-mucks, including wealthy Charles Hingelman (Rudy Vallee
), owner of a valuable gold mine, who starts to romance Freddie. When Blackie shows up while tracking Freddie down, complications ensue.
Cast notes:
was concerned about the high cost of doing a film in Technicolor
. While the production was delayed, Sturges made Unfaithfully Yours (1948) as his first film for Fox.
An early draft of the screen play, dated 29 December 1947 indicates that Sturges was considering June Haver
in the role of Freddie, even though Betty Grable had already been announced as starring. In the script, Sturges wrote:
As was usually the case on Sturges' films, the censors at the Hays Office had concerns about the script for The Beautiful Blonde... which had been submitted to them. Joseph Breen
, head of the Production Code, warned Fox that it "contains entirely too much dialogue and action which concerns itself – in a quite blunt and pointed way – with sex." The Office approved a draft script submitted on 23 September 1948.
The Beautiful Blonde... was in production from late September to late November of 1948, with an additional sequence shot in early January of 1949.. It's unclear whether Sturges or another director worked on the January shoot, which was to change the ending of the film at the insistence of Zanuck. The film premiered in Hollywood and New York City
on 27 May 1949 and went into general American release in June. It was marketed with the tagline: She had the biggest Six-Shooters in the West!
The film was budgeted at an estimated $2,260,000 and brought in during its initial American release only about $1,489,000. The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend was released on video in the U.S. on 25 May 1989.
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
Western film starring Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
and featuring Cesar Romero
Cesar Romero
Cesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
and Rudy Vallee
Rudy Vallée
Rudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
. It was directed by Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
and written by him based on a story by Earl Felton.
The film, Sturges' first Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
production, was not well-received at the time it was released, and was generally conceded to be a disaster – even Betty Grable bad-mouthed it – but its reputation has improved somewhat over time, even though it is not considered to be in the same league as the intelligent comedies Sturges made at Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
that he is known for.
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend would turn out to be the last American film that Sturges would work on – although he would receive credit for films that were remakes or adaptations of his earlier movies. Sturges directed only one more film in his life, the 1955 French
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
comedy Les carnets du Major Thompson (released in the U.S. as The French, They Are a Funny Race
The French, They Are a Funny Race
The French, They Are a Funny Race, known in France as Les Carnets du Major Thompson and in the U.K. as The Diary of Major Thompson, is a 1955 comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, based on the novel by Pierre Daninos...
).
Plot
Hot-headed Winifred "Freddie" Jones (Betty GrableBetty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
) is a saloon singer in the Old West who catches her boyfriend, gambler Blackie Jobero (Cesar Romero
Cesar Romero
Cesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
), flirting with another woman and takes a shot at him with the six-shooter she always carries. Unfortunately, she hits a Judge (Porter Hall
Porter Hall
Porter Hall was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s...
) instead, so she and her friend Conchita (Olga San Juan
Olga San Juan
Olga San Juan was an American actress, dancer and comedian, mainly active in films during the 1940s.She was born in Brooklyn, New York to Puerto Rican parents...
) take it on the lam. When they get to a tiny hole-in-the-wall town, Freddie and Conchita are mistaken for the new schoolmarm and her Indian maid. They meet the local muckety-mucks, including wealthy Charles Hingelman (Rudy Vallee
Rudy Vallée
Rudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
), owner of a valuable gold mine, who starts to romance Freddie. When Blackie shows up while tracking Freddie down, complications ensue.
Cast
- Betty GrableBetty GrableElizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
as Winifred "Freddie" Jones - Cesar RomeroCesar RomeroCesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
as Blackie Jobero - Rudy ValleeRudy ValléeRudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
as Charles Hingleman - Olga San JuanOlga San JuanOlga San Juan was an American actress, dancer and comedian, mainly active in films during the 1940s.She was born in Brooklyn, New York to Puerto Rican parents...
as Conchita - Porter HallPorter HallPorter Hall was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s...
as Judge Alfalfa J. O'Toole - Hugh HerbertHugh HerbertHugh Herbert was a motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville, and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches.-Career:...
as Doctor - Al BridgeAl BridgeAl Bridge was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954...
as Sheriff Ambrose - El BrendelEl BrendelEl Brendel was a vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect schtick as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical Just Imagine , produced by Fox Film Corporation...
as Mr. Jorgensen - Sterling HollowaySterling HollowaySterling Price Holloway, Jr. was an American character actor who appeared in 150 films and television programs. He was also a voice actor for The Walt Disney Company...
as Basserman Boy - Dan Jackson as Basserman Boy
- Emory Parnell as Mr. Julius Hingleman
- Pati BehrsPati Behrs-Biography:-Philosophical and/or political views:Pati was an animal rights advocate.She presented Actors and Others with her cherished, 1926 Steinway baby grand piano. Her daughter, Sean Catherine Derek, requested that it be sold to help as many animals in need as...
as Roulette
Cast notes:
- Margaret HamiltonMargaret HamiltonMargaret Hamilton was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz...
has a small uncredited appearance as "Mrs. Elvira O'Toole". She had also appeared in The Sin of Harold DiddlebockThe Sin of Harold DiddlebockThe Sin of Harold Diddlebock is a 1947 comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring the silent film comic icon Harold Lloyd, and featuring Jimmy Conlin, Raymond Walburn, Rudy Vallee, Arline Judge, Edgar Kennedy, Franklin Pangborn and Lionel Stander...
. - Harry MorganHarry MorganHarry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
appears, uncredited, as a hoodlum.
- Sturges "stock company" regulars who appear in this film, their last in a Sturges film, include Al Bridge, Georgia CaineGeorgia CaineGeorgia Caine was an American actress who performed both on Broadway and in over 80 films in her 51 year career.-Early career:...
, Chester ConklinChester ConklinChester Cooper Conklin was an American comedian and actor. He appeared in over 280 films, about half of them in the silent era.-Early life:...
, Harry Hayden, Esther HowardEsther HowardEsther Howard was a film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in over 100 movies in her 23-year film career.-Career:...
, J. Farrell MacDonaldJ. Farrell MacDonaldJoseph Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. MacDonald, who was sometimes billed as "John Farrell Macdonald", "J.F...
, George MelfordGeorge MelfordGeorge H. Melford was an American stage and film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.-Career:...
, Emory Parnell, Torben MeyerTorben MeyerTorben Emil Meyer was a Danish character actor who appeared in over 190 films in a 55-year career.-Early career:...
, Dewey Robinson and Max WagnerMax WagnerMax Wagner was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing in over 300 films in his career, most without receiving screen credit...
. In addition, Porter Hall had appeared in three other Sturges films: Sullivan's TravelsSullivan's TravelsSullivan's Travels is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. It is a satire about a movie director, played by Joel McCrea, who longs to make a socially relevant drama, but eventually learns that comedies are his more valuable contribution to society. The film features...
, The Great MomentThe Great Moment (1944 film)The Great Moment is a 1944 biographical film written and directed by Preston Sturges. Based on the book The Triumph Over Pain by René Fülöp-Miller, it tells the story of Dr. William Thomas Green Morton, a 19th century Boston dentist who discovered the use of ether as an anesthetic...
and The Miracle of Morgan's CreekThe Miracle of Morgan's CreekThe Miracle of Morgan's Creek is a 1944 screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall...
, and one earlier film that Sturges had written but not directed, Hotel HaywireHotel HaywireHotel Haywire is a 1937 comedy film written by Preston Sturges with uncredited rewrites by Lillie Hayward. It was directed by Arthur Archainbaud and stars Leo Carillo, Lynne Overman, Spring Byington, Benny Baker and Colette Lyons.-Plot:...
.
Songs
- "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" - by Lionel NewmanLionel NewmanLionel Newman was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He was the brother of Alfred Newman and Emil Newman, uncle of Randy Newman, David Newman and Thomas Newman, and grandfather of Joey Newman....
and Don George - "Clementine Capers" - by Cyril Mockridge
- "Every Time I Meet You" - by Josef MyrowJosef MyrowJosef Myrow was a Russian-born composer known for his work in film scores in the 1940s and 50s. He was nominated for an Academy Award twice: in 1947 for the song "You Do" from the film Mother Wore Tights and in 1950 for "Wilhelmina" from the film Wabash Avenue...
(music) and Mack GordonMack GordonMack Gordon was an American composer and lyricist of songs for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times, including six consecutive years between 1940 and 1945, and won the award once, for "You'll Never Know"...
(words) - "In the Gloaming" - by Annie Fortesque Harrison and Meta OrredMeta OrredMeta Caroline Orred was an author and poet. She lived most of her life in England, where she produced her literature and poetry.Some of her works include:*Poems...
Production
Earl Felton's original screen story was titled "The Lady from Laredo", and the film had the working titles of "Teacher's Pet" and "The Blonde from Bashful Bend". The film had been scheduled to go into production in September 1947, but was "temporarily shelved" in October because Fox production head Darryl F. ZanuckDarryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
was concerned about the high cost of doing a film in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
. While the production was delayed, Sturges made Unfaithfully Yours (1948) as his first film for Fox.
An early draft of the screen play, dated 29 December 1947 indicates that Sturges was considering June Haver
June Haver
June Haver , was an American film actress. She is most well known as a popular star of 20th Century-Fox musicals in the late 1940s, most notably The Dolly Sisters with Betty Grable and John Payne and also for playing the 1920s Broadway actress Marilyn Miller in Look for the Silver Lining...
in the role of Freddie, even though Betty Grable had already been announced as starring. In the script, Sturges wrote:
It is my habit, when writing a play, to cast the parts as, in my mind, each character makes his first appearance. Occasionally a stranger walks in and I am uneasy about his looks and the sound of his voice, but usually as he pauses in the doorway I recognize an old friend whose talents I admire and about whose fitness for the part I have no doubts.
As was usually the case on Sturges' films, the censors at the Hays Office had concerns about the script for The Beautiful Blonde... which had been submitted to them. Joseph Breen
Joseph Breen
Joseph Breen is an American soap opera actor.He played contract parts on both Guiding Light and Loving before being offered his most front-burner role to date: that of Lisa’s long-lost son, Scott Eldridge, on As the World Turns...
, head of the Production Code, warned Fox that it "contains entirely too much dialogue and action which concerns itself – in a quite blunt and pointed way – with sex." The Office approved a draft script submitted on 23 September 1948.
The Beautiful Blonde... was in production from late September to late November of 1948, with an additional sequence shot in early January of 1949.. It's unclear whether Sturges or another director worked on the January shoot, which was to change the ending of the film at the insistence of Zanuck. The film premiered in Hollywood and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 27 May 1949 and went into general American release in June. It was marketed with the tagline: She had the biggest Six-Shooters in the West!
The film was budgeted at an estimated $2,260,000 and brought in during its initial American release only about $1,489,000. The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend was released on video in the U.S. on 25 May 1989.