Don't Bet on Blondes
Director: Robert Florey
Year: 1935
Rating: 6.0
This is a fairly amusing small film that has as its best asset a nice cast
around it. Warren William is one of my favorites from that period whether
it is as Perry Mason, Philo Vance or the Lone Wolf or a myriad of other roles.
He wasn't quite A material but a very solid B player - sort of a John Barrymore
type. The blonde in the film is Claire Dodd who I keep running into recently
- she was Della Street in William's Perry Mason films. Beyond these two you
get the usual great set of character actors all in their bit parts and Guy
Kibbe in a larger part. Errol Flynn - who was also in one of the Perry Mason
films as a corpse - has a small but charming role as one of the suitors.
It is hard to imagine or understand how he went from this role to such a
major one in his next film - Captain Blood - he must have had photos on somebody.
The film plays out pretty much as you expect it to - William as Odds Owen,
the top bookie in NYC, decides to go into a different kind of gambling -
insurance - but the crazy type - like if the wife has twins he has to pay
off or if a man's daughter gets married in the next 3 years he owes $50,000.
Back in 1935 $50,000 was big money. Still is. Complications, confusions and
love emerges.
