By the time "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" was out, Betty Grable was the number one box-office draw in the U.S, and the same went for Preston Sturges as a director. However, both were a little down on their luck at the time: Grable just had a gigantic flop with the previous year's "That Lady in Ermine", and
Sturges' career was in a major decline after "Sin of Harold Dicklebock". Both of these figures are very important to the movie business, so I'm guessing when this one was a major flop, movie producers everywhere were scratching their heads. Though I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, it's very easy to see why this was so catastrophic. People loved Betty in sweet, cutesy musicals, and seeing her morph into a tough-talking, gun-totting dame was too much. With Preston, it was probably more because of the critics, because had they not said anything, this could have been a little more well-received. No, this is not as witty as "Sullivan's Travels", or any of his other films for that matter, and even though this humor might be a little less smart, I still found myself laughing a lot. I'm a huge fan of his, and this one did not disappoint a bit, in fact, it exceeded my expectations! Gags, physical comedy, and gun battles make this movie extremely fun, plus the Technicolor makes it a treat to watch. I felt he really made the most of it, and it makes she shocked it took so long for people to see that this movie is a gem. This could possibly be Grable's best film next to "How to Marry a Millionaire". She gives an awesome performance or even her best (something unusual) and made me laugh all the time. She has great comedic timing and adds so much flair to her role, likewise to co-star Olga San Juan. "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" is way too underrated, and watch it cause now it's available!
August 18, 2011
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