The Adventurous Blonde (Warner Bros.) (1937)

PUBLICITY FOR oor = Waar lie “s _BLANE Cd oe Se ee ee (Advance) ROMANTIC ROLES? NO, THANKS—SAYS BARTON MacLANE An actor who likes action with his drama is Barton MacLane, Warner Bros. featured player now appearing with Glenda Farrell in the third of the popular “Torchy” Blane series—“Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde.” It comes to the Strand Theatre next week. Afraid of women, MacLane prefers to work in pictures with animals, or where rugged outdoor stuff is involved, rather than play romantic interludes with glamorous ladies of the cinema. Typed as a “heavy” in his early parts on the screen, he is becoming increasingly popular in his role of Detective-Lieutenant Steve McBride, in love with Torchy Blane, the girl reporter, in the series of comedydramas involving the pair. Nothing mushy or _loveydovey enters their screen romance, and while the “Adventurous Blonde” story is chiefly concerned with his courtship of Torchy, the ramifications of a mysterious murder enters the plot, keeping McBride busy solving the crime and Torchy hustling to report the news. MacLane’s ideas on parts he likes to play are varied. He prefers the role of Cliff Ballenger that he played in “The Bengal Tiger” rather than his John Canty in “The Prince and the Pauper,” which won him the Blue Ribbon award as the best performance of the month. Another part which appealed to the MacLane action requirements was the “heavy” in “God’s Country And The Woman” where chopping down big trees entered into his scheme of acting. (Advance ) GLENDA FARRELL'S PAINLESS PARTIES FUN FOR EVERYONE How to get a full day’s rest on Sunday after a week of hard work and at the same time play the perfect hostess to a house full of visiting friends is a problem that has been solved neatly by Glenda Farrell, the movie comedienne. Every Sunday it is open house at the Monterey home of Glenda who is currently appearing in -Warner Bros.’ exciting newspaper story, ‘“‘Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde,’’? which opens next Friday at the Strand Theatre. From early morning until late at night car after car pulls up at her charming place in the San Fernando Valley to disgorge the elite of Hollywood. First they pay their respects to their hostess—whom they will find in her boudoir, comfortably ensconced in bed and wearing the frilliest bed jacket imaginable, chatting gaily with a room full of gay, irrepressible souls. And when Glenda feels like going to sleep she goes to sleep and nobody criticises that. The. mere fact that the hostess has retired doesn’t ruin the party for it may continue long after she has journeyed to slumberland. Perhaps it could happen only in Hollywood—but it’s a sensible scheme for entertaining that might well be copied elsewhere. But—you have to be the perfect hostess to get away with it and Glenda Farrell is just that. Barton MacLane is her lead ing man in “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde.” Mat 202—30c FIRST LADY OF THE FOURTH ESTATE—Glenda Farrell is back again in another of her adventures as a sob sister. This time it’s “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde,” now at the Strand. ACTOR SPEEDS IN ODD RACES Barton MacLane, leading man with Glenda Farrell in the Warner Bros. comedy-drama, “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde,” which comes to the Strand Theatre next week, has invented a new sort of race. He drives his speedy homing-pigeons several hundred miles into northern California, then releases them and tries to beat them home in his car. Sometimes the actor wins, sometimes the birds. They fly on an average between 50 and 55 miles an hour. Glenda Wants More Serious Film Roles Glenda Farrell is another comedienne who would rather play heavy dramatic parts in preference to the comedy roles. Glenda, who has just recently returned from England, where she made a picture, hasn’t gone hi-hat by any means. Now back at the Warner Bros. studio in the title role of the wise-cracking blonde terror girl reporter in “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde,” the latest of this popular adventure series, she is just the same gal. When asked what she considered a “stand-out” part she had played in pictures, she replied: “The part I liked the best was as Marie, the wife of Paul Muni in ‘I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang.’ I’d like to play that type of part again—it had real dramatic meat.” Glenda will be seen in “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde,” next week at the Strand. Hopper One Of Many Six-Footers On Lot William Hopper, young featured player in “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde,” the Warner Bros. comedy drama that comes to the Strand Theatre next week with Glenda Farrell, is the second tallest player on his studio lot. Bill stands 6 feet 3 inches. Above him is only Willard Parker, who is 6 feet 4. Below him are Wayne Morris and Dick Foran, each 6 feet 2%, and Errol Flynn and George Brent, 6 feet 1%, among a dozen ordinary 6-footers. REAL SETTINGS IN NEW COMEDY Accuracy of settings for “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde,” the Warner Bros. comedy-drama that comes to the Strand Theatre next week, was assured by the studio’s art department before the picture was started. Some of the scenes are laid in a newspaper office, where Glenda Farrell, the leading woman, works as a reporter. This setting was copied exactly from Hollywood’s leading afternoon daily. Other scenes are at a district police station, and these were modeled exactly after Hollywood’s own station. In these surroundings Barton MacLane, leading man of the film, does a lot of his acting. Newspaper folk who previewed the film spoke highly of its fidelity to life. Stars Worth Knowing (Lead Story) Glenda Is ‘Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde’ “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde,” the Warner Bros. comedy-drama that comes to the Strand Theatre next week, is the third in the series of “Torchy Blane” newspaper-mystery-comedy dramas, featuring Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. Glenda plays a girl reporter, Barton a rather ponderous detective-lieutenant. The first in the series was “Smart Blonde” and the second “Flyaway Baby.” All were guided in the making by Warner Bros.’ youngest director, Frank McDonald. Miss Farrell, following her return a few months ago from an extended tour of Europe, immediately resumed playing her wise-cracking American role of “Torchy.” While in England, she appeared in the British-made picture, “Have You Come For Me?” produced at Warner Bros. studios at Teddington-on-theThames. Being a natural mimic, she had affected an English accent while there, and on her return, amused the company with her use of English expressions. As “Torchy,” however, she spoiled quite a few scenes by unconsciously lapsing into her English affectation, and was only cured when Barton MacLane would mimic her in return. A reunion of old-time vaudevillians, a silver wedding jubilee, and Glenda Farrell’s birth day, all took place and were celebrated during the production of “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde.” Charley Foy, Bobby Watson, Al Herman and Harry Seymour, formerly teamed together during the old days of vaudeville, were reunited for the first time since their act disbanded, fifteen years ago. Tom Kennedy, former prizefighter and contender for the heavyweight championship, with his wife, the former musical comedy actress, Fanny Marshall, who the then “Handsome Tom” met on the night he defeated Bombadier Wells of England at the old Madison Square Garden in 1911, celebrated 25 years of married life and were given a silver wedding jubilee party on the set by the company. On her birthday, Miss Farrell was surprised to find her dressing room artistically decorated a la Christmas style, with a huge birthday cake, candles alight, and many gifts from the players and technicians, piled high on her dressing table. Virginia Brissac, in whose theatrical stock company in San Diego Glenda Farrell made her debut on the stage, appears in a small part in the picture which features her former protege. “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde” is said to be an exciting drama of newspaper and police work, punctuated with a great number of laughs. BRUNETTE HAIR FOR GOOD LUCK Changing her hair from blonde to brunette has proved the happy solution to Natalie Moorhead’s screen career. Something had to be done about it. With plenty of idle time on her hands, and her blonde hair seemingly no longer in demand, she allowed her tresses to return to their natural brunette shade. Now, after three years, a more vivacious and attractive Natalie Moorhead, as a brunette, is staging a comeback in the paradoxically-titled Warner Bros. picture, “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde.” GLENDA FARRELL is her real name and she was born in Enid, Oklahoma. She is the only child of an Irish father and a German mother. mained the same. success on the screen. company. She was educated in a convent. earliest ambition was to go on the stage, and during her convent days this ambition reAt the present moment her ambition is to stay in Hollywood and be a big Made her stage debut as Little Eva in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” and upon leaving school she went into a stock Declares she has spent most of her life in a trunk. Made her screen debut as Olga in “Little Caesar’ when she was vacationing Her in Hollywood. Does not prefer the screen to the stage, but likes both immensely. gave up either she thinks she would like to Trouble is, she has never met a millionaire marry a millionaire. Glenda Farrell Mat 101—15c If she she liked well enough. She likes to buy all of her clothes in New York, declaring the shops get their inspiration from Paris. Is currently starred in “Torchy Blane, The Adventurous Blonde,” coming to the Strand next week. BARTON MacLANE was born in Columbia, South Carolina, December 25, 1902. He is of Scotch-Irish descent. Must have moved North at some time or other, as next we find him going to Nathaniel White Grammar School in Cromwell, In his school days he played football, basketball, and he is one of those film heroes who ran a 100 yards for a touchdown when he played on the Wesleyan Varsity. But all this time, it was his secret ambition to be an actor. Began playing in stock in Atlanta, then BrookPlayed in “The Trial of Mary Dugan,” “Gods of Lightening,” “Subway Express,” “Rendezvous,” “The Yellow Jack,” and others. Eventually one of those lyn, Newark, and Hartford. Conn. every-peering Warner scouts saw him and he was given his first role as the heavy-handed villain in “Black Fury,” supporting Paul Muni. Barton MacLane Mat 103—15c Country of origin U. S. A. Copyright 1937 Vitagraph, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright is waived to magazines and newspapers. (Advance) GLENDA ONLY GIRL NOT 100 FRAGILE © FOR Mr. MacLANE Other men may think Glenda Farrell, the movie star, is a disquieting female—but not Barton MacLane, the big he-man of the films. Glenda is one of the few women Barton doesn’t think disquieting. But not exactly in the sense most men _ would consider Glenda _ disquieting. Barton is afraid of women. He’s afraid of Glenda, too, but not to the degree that he isn’t fairly comfortable around her. “Women,” said Barton, groping for words, “are so fragile.” Not that Barton can’t express himself. He has written two stage plays, quite a few vaudeville and short radio sketches, and lately—of all things, for such a huge and husky hardboiled bruiser!—some published poems! He has difficulty, however, expressing himself on the subject of women. He was having difficulty doing so one recent day on the set of the latest picture of the “Torchy” series—“Adventurous Blonde,” in which as usual he and Glenda are paired. “When I look at a woman in that seared sort of way, with a frown on my mush, as they’ve characterized me in these stories, don’t credit me with acting,” he continued. “I feel seared. Or not scared exactly, but awkward and on the defensive. Even with Glenda. “But she’s the best of the lot to act with because she doesn’t seem so fragile or strange as the rest. When I say fragile I mean mentally, psychologically, as well as physically. I’m a regular bull-calf around the dames — all arms, legs and shoulders—and hands and feet. I’m the boy who was bashful in the presence of women and girls as a kid—only unlike most boys I haven’t outgrown the feeling. I’m afraid if I say something, I’ll offend them. Page Three