STRAWBERRY BLONDE (1941) Directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland, and featuring Rita Hayworth, Alan Hale, Jack Carson and George Tobias. Cagney had earned his stripes with Warner Bros. and wanted to get away from playing tough guys.,He had talent at lighter material and left the studio in mid-decade, then returned in 1938 with a new contract that gave him more control in choosing roles and brought his younger brother William Cagney onboard as assistant producer and informal buffer between himself and studio top brass. He wanted a nostalgic part—any part—to take him away from the gangsters he was tired of playing. Jack Warner suggested a major reworking of a Paramount 1933 film, ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON, he called in the Epstein brothers, Julius and Phillip, for a new screenplay—one that might hook Cagney into the project. The Epstein version quickly took shape, aided by the objective of making it a Cagney picture. When we went on the rewrite, Julius said, we knew it was for Cagney. That was a help. Ann Sheridan was originally cast as the strawberry Blonde but became involved in an acrimonious salary dispute with Warner Brothers. The studio tested Brenda Marshall but decided to borrow Rita Hayworth from Columbia, whose career had not yet taken off, however this film became a big boost to her career. Jack L. Warner liked her work so much that he immediately signed her again in another romantic comedy, AFFECTIONATELY YOURS (1941). Olivia de Havilland, still fighting with Warners came across the script on a desk and told them she wanted the part. However, they were surprised as the part seemed so small. but she saw its potential and what she would bring to the character. She said, I loved working with Raoul. He seemed to understand perfectly the characters we were playing, and to understand, too, the actor approach to them. It was a happy, harmonious set, a happy picture to make. It became a favorite film to both deHavilland and Cagney.. Cagneys mother was visiting him in California for the very first time from NYC. So she being on the set seeing him work made him especially proud. Cagney was always one to bring something to his characters. The line he used several times in the film, Thats the kind of hairpin I am was actually something his mother always said. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1941 for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture and features songs such as The Band Played On, Bill Bailey, Meet Me in St. Louis, Louie, Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie, and Love Me and the World Is Mine. Director Walsh reworked the film again in 1948 as the original title ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON, but this time, a musical in Technicolor. This reworking held up on its own and was also quite good with Dennis Morgan.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 06:13:55 +0000
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