Who Was Torchy Blane?

I had to do some research, because I am not that well read on literature of the 1930s.  Torchy Blane (1937 - 1939) had a short movie life, just nine films in three years.  She should be remembered.  All actors and actresses in B-Movies should.

Torchy was a strong woman who worked as a reporter.  She was close friends (as close as you could get in the Hays Code days) with police detective Steve McBride (also 1937 - 1939).  The pair would get involved with one crime or another, and Torchy always seemed to solve it before her beau.  Talk about a role model for young women.

The movies were made by Warner Brothers and First National Films, and they were all about an hour long, making them true B-Movies.  They would be shown along with a feature and a cartoon or newsreel, back in the day.  Quite a value for your admission fee, but we were still in the depression and this type of entertainment helped everyone feel better.  (You may also get a piece of "depression glass" at the theater as a thank you gift.  I have a nice set of depression glass ice cream cups!)

Back to Torchy.  The first three films were all in 1937 and starred Glenda Farrell (1904 - 1971) and Barton MacLane (1902 - 1969) as Torchy and Steve.  They were, Smart Blonde, Fly Away Baby, and Adventurous Blonde.  I guess Torchy was a blonde.

In Smart Blonde we see Jane Wyman (1917 - 2007) in a bit part.  Wyman played Torchy in the very last film in the series.  We also find the ever popular Tom Kennedy (1885 - 1965) as another cop, and he is the only actor to appear in all nine Torchy films.

Most of the cast are people you find in other B-Movies, and are not household names today.  I suspect that is the case for the entire series.  But if you can find these films, watch the small parts.  You will find gems like Fred "Snowflake" Toones (1906 - 1962) who has 213 titles listed on IMDb, including The Gold Diggers of 1937 (released in 1936) starring Dick Powell (1904 - 1963) and Joan Blondell (1906 - 1979), and Way Out West (1937) starring Laurel and Hardy.  I would like to see his film, Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge (1937) with Gene Autry (1907 - 1998) and Smiley Burnette (1911 - 1967).

In Fly Away Baby, Torchy goes around the world to get her story.  Along the way she meets some great Bit Actors including Gordon Oliver (1910 - 1995).  Oliver appeared in Jezebel and Blondie (both in 1938), and has 45 titles on his list.  She also meets Lane Chandler (1899 - 1972) who has 376 roles in his career.

Adventurous Blonde was next with rival newspapers staging a fake murder that turns out to be real.  Guess who solves the crime?  Look for Anne Nagel (1915 - 1966) who was in a total of 86 roles in her career.  She was in My Little Chickadee (1940), Blondie's Holiday (1947), and Mighty Joe Young (1949), among her other work.

More Torchy tomorrow.