She is simply amazing in this picture...
Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous (she always is), but her comedic talent really shines here. Her timing, voice, face work perfectly.
Brava, Rita.
And what a waste of talent!
(Not this film, her career in general; she was severly underused and still is underrated.)
Rita is very good in The Strawberry Blonde. I don't believe she made many comedies, but her timing is really good here.
I wouldn't go as far as to say Rita's career was a waste. There are plenty of good movies and performances in her filmography. At a certain point, Rita could have done more dramatic roles (especially after The Lady From Shanghai). Unfortunately, Columbia wanted her in lighter roles showcasing her beauty a bit more than her talent. She's underrated, I definitely agree with you there.
Ava Gardner, I feel, was even more underused. I'm not sure the studios knew what type of roles to put her in. When one looks at The Killers, Mogambo, The Barefoot Contessa, On the Beach, The Night of the Iguana, Seven Days in May, and others, we see a very talented actress. Unfortunately, a lot of the glamour girls of the 40s and 50s like Ava and Rita don't get enough credit for their acting chops. They were much better than given credit for.
"Sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand."
I am glad you appreciate her, especially her timing (which we all know is the secret of good comedy). Even today, many people only see her beauty and (some) her kind persona, her appealing softness; as far as can see, few really stop to consider her acting talent.
And I think you are right about Ava, too.
Amazingly enough, I never thought about it (although I did consider her to be a good actress).
Am definitely in agreement about Hayworth and Gardner, as being under appreciated and under utlized.
I would also add Monroe to that list, as I think that she was a far better actress than most people give her credit for.
I'm so glad that you mentioned what a great comedic timing Rita had in this wonderful film which had a superb cast in general!
I simply love how Rita says for example:
"Please Amy, just tonight try to be a woman not a pamphlet!"
"Who cares if we ever get to vote!"
She got Virginia Brush's superficial carelessness and naivity just right and develops convincingly into the disillusioned and cynical wife of Jack Carson at the end of the movie.
It's too bad, that Harry Cohn wouldn't loan her out again after she made My Gal Sal (1942) for 20th Century Fox. It's actually a shame that she hardly ever got to work with good scripts or great directors at Columbia.
I'm sure that if she had been given better material, her acting talent would be much more acknowledged.
I so would have loved to see her in more comedies!
Though I'm grateful for the glimpses of her humour we got in The Strawberry Blonde.
She got Virginia Brush's superficial carelessness and naivity just right and develops convincingly into the disillusioned and cynical wife of Jack Carson at the end of the movie.
I also like when she says "spag-getti" and "A cousin... all the way from Scranton?" I don't know why, but the emphasis she put on "cousin" and "Scranton" makes me laugh.
Cagney and De Havilland have some great ones too,
Amy: "What are we here for if not to be trifled with?"
Amy: "My mother was one of the original bloomer girls."
Biff: "Eh, they had bats in the belfry!"
Biff: Your mother a bloomer girl, and you a nicotine fiend!
Jack Carson's a favorite of mine, it's kind of a shame he got the short end of the stick here as a heel.
I have been in love with Rita for years and i am a huge Cagney fan. But i've never gotten around to seeing this picture until today...and i LOVED it!! As been said before, everyone was spot on with their parts. All three main were top notch. Rita was fantastically funny! She's so good when she plays sinfully coy.
Cagney was at his best as usual. I love after Rita kisses him when the lights go out, but assumes his wife did it. When she say's it was't her, he says wryly "Well, it wasn't Giuseppi!" LOL!
Great movie.
She was superb in this--so full of life and light, so vivacious. Something happened to her later on, after the Aly Khan and Dick Haymes marriages. All the light seemed to go out. Perhaps it was early onset of Alzheimer's or her drinking or just the trauma of those years. She would still give a few more good performances, but so subdued.
The Rita of the 1940s was just delicious.