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Cast

James Cagney
as Biff Grimes

Olivia de Havilland
as Amy Lind

Rita Hayworth
as Virginia Brush

Jack Carson
as Hugo Barnstead

Alan Hale
as Old Man Grimes

George Tobias
as Nick Pappalas

Una O'Connor
as Mrs. Mulcahey

George Reeves
as Harold

Lucille Fairbanks
as Harold's Girl Friend

Edward McNamara
as Big Joe

Herbert Heywood
as Toby

Helen Lynd
as Josephine

Peter Ashley
as Young man

Roy Gordon
as Bank president

Tim Ryan
as Street Cleaner/Foreman

Eddy Chandler
as Street Cleaner

Jack Mower
as Street Cleaner

John Sheehan
as Street Cleaner

David Thursby
as Street Cleaner

Addison Richards
as Official

Frank Mayo
as Policeman

Max Hoffman Jr.
as Policeman

Pat Flaherty
as Policeman

Peggy Diggins
as Girl

Susan Peters
as Girl

Ann Edmonds
as Girl

Margaret Carthew
as Girl

Jack Daley
as Bartender

Bob Perry
as Hangers-On

Harrison Greene
as Hangers-On

Dick Wessel
as Man

William Newell
as Man

Frank Melton
as Man

Harry Seymour
as Man

Dorothy Vaughan
as Woman

Richard Clayton
as Dandy

Herbert Anderson
as Boy

Frank Orth
as Baxter

James Flavin
as Boat Inspector

George Campeau
as Sailor

Abe Dinovitch
as Singer

Paul Phillips
as Fellow

George Humbert
as Guiseppi

Creighton Hale
as Secretary

Carl Harbaugh
as Workman

Lucia Carroll
as Nurse

Paul Barrett

Russell Hicks
as Treadway

Wade Boteler
as Warden

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Critic Reviews for The Strawberry Blonde

Audience Reviews for The Strawberry Blonde

• Jan 01, 2018

  Let's start with the star power - it's set to max here, with James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, and Rita Hayworth all in this movie, which is set in the gay 1890's. Hey, it was a time when street lamps were powered by gas, leeches were helpful for swelling after fisticuffs, and spaghetti was an exotic food! There is plenty of silliness in this movie, including the scene where everyone is baffled over how to eat spaghetti, and some of that may make you groan. It's also kind of crazy to think that Olivia de Havilland would be viewed as the booby prize, even to Hayward - I mean, talk about a plot hole. I loved how her character was a 'free thinker' - questioning marriage ("an institution started by the cavemen and endorsed by florists and jewelers"), hinting at free love, and believing in women's rights. Think of Natalie Wood's role 24 years later in 'The Great Race'. Unfortunately here it's softened somewhat by her own back-tracking and Cagney's admonishments that he won't have her smoking a cigarette, but she is intriguing and a little feisty nonetheless. The cast is excellent, including Jack Carson, who plays his oily and manipulative character well. It's a bit of a kitchen sink, with physical comedy, romance, and some musical numbers, including "The Band Played On" and "Meet Me in St. Louis". I would have given it a slightly lower rating, but loved the scenes of betrayal and love towards the end, which really made the movie for me. Perhaps that's just the kind of hairpin I am.
  Antonius B Super Reviewer
• Apr 17, 2010

  Winning comedy drama that started Rita Hayworth's ascent to stardom. Olivia and Jimmy are well matched and Jack Carson is at his slick oily best. Good direction and fine supporting cast.
  jay n Super Reviewer
• Dec 04, 2009

  James Cagney? Olivia de Havilland? Rita Hayworth? What more do you want, spontaneous barbershop quartets? Yes. How about the dad of "the Skipper" from Gilligan's Island engaging in olde timey fisticuffs with guys wearing handlebar mustaches? Okay, you'll find that here too. Cagney plays a hot-headed dentist named Biff (who his foreign friend calls "Beef") who's married to the knockout Olivia de Havilland, but all he can think about is the one that got away (Hayworth). It's not just that she got away, but that she ran off with a booming-voiced showoff and all around jerk (played by the well-enunciated Jack Carson). When the creep unknowingly makes an appointment with his old pal dentist for some emergency tooth ache pulling, Biff plots a revenge that may include murder, and sets up the flashbacks which will tell his life story and the wrongs done to him over the years by this man. Set in the early 1900s, the film makes comical use of all the customs and beliefs that were popular at the time: from women's suffrage to the aforementioned barbershop quartets and handlebar mustaches (even George Reeves, the man who would become Superman, gets in on the handlebar mustache thing). Let's face it, you just can't make a period piece without using certain signature elements. You wouldn't make a movie set in the 1960s without including hippies, you wouldn't make a 50s film without beatniks, and you certainly couldn't make a film set in the 90s without referencing grunge (well, obviously you could do all these things, but for some reason most mainstream filmmakers choose not to). Things from the past often times just look silly to people in the present. Cagney does a good job being "Cagney" in this role, but overall the film is a little shallow. It is none the less an easily enjoyable, if overall lightweight film.
  Devon B Super Reviewer

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