The Strawberry Blonde

Biff Grimes has been in prison, took a dentistry diploma late in life and opened a small practice in the neighbourhood. One evening the old friend who ruined his life turns up at the door needing a tooth pulled. The film then goes back and tells the story of that friendship, of two women, and of one wrong choice. James Cagney plays not a gangster here but a scrapper with good intentions. Olivia de Havilland and Rita Hayworth take the two women, and the irony sits exactly there: he wants the wrong one and only recognises the right one years later. Raoul Walsh adapted it from the play One Sunday Afternoon, and filmed the same story again some years later. Its flaws are thick period nostalgia, a predictable plot and a revenge idea resolved far too easily. Who it is for: viewers who like classic Hollywood comedy drama. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a sharp story.