Torchy Blane

File:Glenda Farrell in Smart Blonde trailer cropped.jpg

Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane in Smart Blonde (1937).

Torchy Blane is a fictional female reporter who appeared in a series of light "B" films during the late 1930s, which were mixtures of mystery, action, adventure and fun.

Character

During the pre-World War II period, 'newspaper reporter' was one of the few roles in American cinema that positively portrayed women as intelligent, competent, self-reliant, and career-oriented -- virtually equal to men. Of these role models, "Torchy Blane," was perhaps the best-known. The typical plot of movies featuring the character have the resilient, very-fast-talking Torchy solving a crime (the central element of the film's plot) before her less-than-perceptive lover -- the loud-mouthed police detective, Steve McBride -- can.

Torchy was loosely based on the male character, "Kennedy," in the MacBride and Kennedy stories by Louis Frederick Nebel; although, Torchy was more compatible with the Hays code, than a faithful on-screen adaptation of the drunkard Kennedy would have been.

Farrell had played a fast-talking reporter in an earlier Warners film, Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), and it's likely her portrayal in that chiller led to her casting as Torchy; certainly, the characterizations are almost identical--though admittedly both roles fit neatly into Farrell's well-established persona of the brash, wise-cracking "dame."

Portrayals

In all but two of the films featuring the character, "Torchy Blane" was played by Glenda Farrell; Steve McBride, by Barton MacLane. Lola Lane played Torchy in Torchy Blane in Panama with Paul Kelly as McBride.

In the final film of the series, Torchy Plays with Dynamite, Jane Wyman (who, coincidentally, had played a bit part in the series' first film,) played Torchy, and Allen Jenkins was Lt. Steve McBride. A leftover Torchy Blane script was adapted into Private Detective, also starring Jane Wyman.

The only actor appearing in all nine Torchy Blane films was Tom Kennedy as Gahagan, McBride's slow-witted cop sidekick given to bursts of poetry.

Influence

Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel cited Glenda Farrell's portrayal of Torchy Blane as his inspiration for the personality of the character Lois Lane, and the name of actress Lola Lane (who also played Torchy Blane) as his inspiration for Lois' name. Joanne Siegel, Siegel's wife and the original model for Lois Lane, also cited Farrell's portrayal of Torchy Blane as Siegel's inspiration for Lois Lane.

Films

The character of Torchy Blane appeared in the following Warner Brothers and First National films:

Released	Film title	Run time	Starring as
			Torchy Blane	Steve McBride	Gahagan
1937	Smart Blonde	59 min	Glenda Farrell	Barton MacLane	Tom Kennedy
	Fly-Away Baby	60 min
	The Adventurous Blonde	61 min
1938	Blondes at Work	63 min
	Torchy Blane in Panama	59 min	Lola Lane	Paul Kelly
	Torchy Gets Her Man	63 min	Glenda Farrell	Barton MacLane
1939	Torchy Blane in Chinatown	58 min
	Torchy Runs for Mayor	60 min
	Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite	59 min	Jane Wyman	Allen Jenkins

As of 2009, Turner Classic Movies have made a number of original trailers freely available online at their web site.

A DVD box set of all nine features has been released by Warner Archive.

External links

• Smart Blonde (1937) at IMDb
• Fly-Away Baby (1937) at IMDb
• The Adventurous Blonde (1937) at IMDb
• Blondes at Work (1938) at IMDb
• Torchy Blane in Panama (1938) at IMDb
• Torchy Gets Her Man (1938) at IMDb
• Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939) at IMDb
• Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939) at IMDb
• Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite (1939) at IMDb
• Thrilling detective