Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite (1939) User Reviews (15)

Speeding Gets Torchy A Scoop

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 1 November 2007]

For the final entry of this series, Torchy Blane, girl reporter on a quaint metropolitan New York newspaper gets herself pinched speeding to file a story. Turns out to be a lucky break because she gets tossed into jail with Sheila Bromley, girlfriend of notorious bank robber Eddie Marr.

The original stars of the series, Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane as NYPD Detective Steve McBride were replaced by Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins. This may have been the only time in screen history that Allen Jenkins got the girl. They were fine in the parts, but the public didn't accept them and the series was discontinued.

Along though for the final ride was Tom Kennedy who was McBride's cop sidekick as he was for the rest of the series. Kennedy was a former boxer who was also a former wrestler. Familiarity with the squared circle plays an important part in what was a most interesting climax to the film.

Torchy Plays With Dynamite was something I'm sure entertained many people on the double bill who might have come to see one of Warner Brothers big budget attractions like Dodge City in 1939. It's fast paced and amusing and no one I'm sure walked out.

Lightweight finish to the "Torchy Blane" series

[gridoon2024 · 5/10 · 19 November 2011]

Perky, bright and very beautiful 22-year-old Jane Wyman takes over the role of Torchy Blane from Glenda Farrell for the last film in this series, with little to no negative impact. She may not have the toughness of Glenda, but she does have the spirit. I also found no problem with Allen Jenkins replacing Barton MacLane as Steve - he does have the kind of face that seems more suitable for comedy than for action, but he handles his one quick action scene well. The notorious bank robber and his girlfriend are well-cast, and of course Tom Kennedy is back as Gahagan; this time he ends up in a pro-wrestling ring against an old rival! The film is amiable entertainment, but the ending feels extremely rushed-through. ** out of 4.

Alternate leads look good as spunky reporter and police detective fiancé

[csteidler · 7/10 · 18 April 2013]

In court for a traffic ticket, reporter Torchy Blane encounters a shoplifter sentenced to nine months in jail—and later spots said shoplifter in a photo with much sought bank robber Denver Eddie. Torchy loses no time in having herself thrown into jail, befriending the moll, and planning an escape that—she hopes—will lead her to Denver Eddie himself and a great big scoop.

Jane Wyman is a brisk and chipper Torchy Blane, bubbling with self-confidence and bright ideas in this fun final picture in the Torchy Blane series. Wyman also talks fast—though not as fast as Glenda Farrell, who played Torchy in most of the series' previous entries. Wyman's Torchy is perhaps a bit sweeter than Glenda's and not quite as hard-nosed.

Wyman is aided greatly by Allen Jenkins as Lieutenant Steve McBride—annoyed, as always, by his fiancée's superior detecting skills as well as her willingness to poke criticism at his department's failures. Jenkins brings a touch of good humor to the role, at least in comparison with Barton McLane, who was the series' regular Lt. McBride…. It's a sour but not really bitter Stevie who complains that Torchy's latest column makes "a hero out of this Denver Eddie punk after we do everything but go through the public schools looking for him."

Tom Kennedy is as much fun as ever as Gahagan, police chauffeur and assistant. This time around we learn that Gahagan was once wrestling champ of the Navy—and has the belt buckle to prove it. He is, of course, pressed into service in the wrestling ring, billed (reluctantly) as "Harry the Horse" and allowed to show off his moves.

Other highlights include Torchy's crime spree—setting off fire alarms all over town in order to get herself locked up. There's also a wonderful "gritty prison picture" sequence that lasts all of about two minutes, in which Torchy and the shoplifter cross paths, form a bond, and plan their breakout; it's brief, but it sure has all the earmarks of a Warner Brothers crime drama for that one (fun but rather incongruous) scene.

The stars work well together; a decent plot, some fair dialog and a little action all add up to a very enjoyable little comedy-mystery.

Glenda Farrell is missed, but the last Torchy film turns out just fine

[rick_7 · 11 March 2011]

Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite is the final entry in Warner's popular B-movie run of the late 1930s. Blane was the inspiration for Superman's Lois Lane, the name partly drawn from Lola Lane, who played the character in one outing. Glenda Farrell was the only true Blane, though, appearing in seven of the nine entries and getting it supremely, effortlessly right each time. Absent here, Farrell is obviously missed, but Jane Wyman does an unexpectedly strong job of deputising, and Allen Jenkins is very good as her cop boyfriend, replacing Barton McLane. Absent-minded desk sergeant George Guhl is also elsewhere (literally this time), but ever-present Tom Kennedy is back for more as Gahagan, the soft detective with a yen for composing verse. The key for the series was really the performances. The first Blane film, Smart Blonde, benefited from snappy, clever dialogue, but generally the scripts were rushed, meaning the plots were full of holes and the patter erratic. Here, the story is better than usual, with Blane getting slung in jail to befriend gangster's moll Sheila Bromley, though her tactic of getting there - raising 11 false fire alarms - is slightly questionable, and her supposed rivalry with the police evaporates after about 10 minutes. Still, it's tense and enjoyable, with an abrupt ending that works quite well.

Harry the Horse, Denver Eddie, and Steve the Flathead

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 29 May 2017]

The ninth and final Torchy Blane movie. This one stars Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins, replacing Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. Tom Kennedy stays on as Gahagan. The plot has Torchy going undercover to prison to get closer to a gangster's girlfriend. Wyman and Jenkins are fun but it's hard not to compare them to Farrell and MacLane, who perfected these roles and had much better chemistry. Ultimately, the individual pieces are greater than the whole here. I can't say I wasn't entertained. A good cast goes a long way. The highlights include Gahagan wrestling, Torchy stopping a prison fight, and characters with colorful names like Denver Eddie.

Torchy's last headline!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 11 May 2018]

All told, Torchy Runs for Mayor would have made a brilliant close to the series. But it was not to be, for Warner Bros already had another in the works, Torchy Plays with Dynamite (1939). This one was also titled Torchy Bame...Playing wth Dynamite.

This time, Jane Wyman, who essayed a minor role as a hat-check girl in in the Torchy's "Smart Blonde" entry, played the lead - opposite Allen Jenkins as Steve McBride!

The mind boggles. Jenkins often played cops. Inept, stumblebum, custard-pie cops. True, on a few occasions he did venture into a rare straight role - notably in The Case of the Howling Dog (1934) in which his Sergeant Holcomb emerges as a particularly vicious and vindictive adversary for Perry Mason - but Torchy...Dynamite marks his only excursion as the hero lead.

Actually, despite his plug-ugly face, Jenkins comes over surprisingly well. But audiences refused to accept his transformation. Not even a crisp script and Noel Smith's pacy direction could rescue this movie from what was perceived by both critics and moviegoers as ridiculous miscasting. Torchy Blane had penned her last headline.

The last of the Torchy Blane series

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 21 April 2009]

(There are Spoilers) Both Jane Wyman and Allen Jerkins replace Glenda Ferrell & Barton MacLane as newspaper women Torchy Blane and her boyfriend Det, now promoted to police lieutenant,Steve McBride in this Torchy Blane series finale.

Torchy as usual gets herself into hot water in getting herself arrested, by setting off 11 false fire alarms, so she can be close to the fugitive hoodlum Denver Eddie's, Eddie Marr, shoplifting girlfriend Jackie McGuire, Sheila Bromley, and find out where he's hold up. Later breaking out of womens prison both Torchy & Jackie end up in San Francisco where Jackie is to meet her boyfriend when he finally resurfaces. As this is all happening both Torchy's boyfriend police Let. McBride and his partner, the Irish poet who don't know it, Gahagan (Tom Kennedy) keep a tail on her until Denver Eddie who despite being wanted in 48 states and Mexico, with his photo in every post office in both countries, is completely unidentifiable just by wearing a pair of shades or sun glasses!

Denver Eddie's hoods who end up kidnapping Let. McBride, who was posing as one of them, end up getting wasted by not keeping a close eye on McBride or having him handcuffed. As for McBride's partner Gahagan who's using the cover of wrestler "Harry the Horse", to fool Denver Eddie and his boys, he ends up in the ring with his former wrestling rival back in the Navy "The Bone Crusher", Tiny Roebuck.

***SPOILER*** As things turn out Gahagan, or "Harry the Horse", puts an end to Denver Eddie's life of crime by Eddie being at the arena, together with Jackie & Torchy Blane, to watch the match between him and the "Bone Crusher". Even though it wasn't part of the act, between Gahagan & the "Bone Crusher",in the wrestling ring Gahagan's totally unexpected and spectacular flying exit, courtesy of the "Bone Crusher", put an end to Denver Eddie's life on the lamb.

Flying a little low, aren't ya?

[boscofl · 6/10 · 16 June 2020]

The ninth and final Torchy Blane feature ends the series with a whimper instead of a bang despite "dynamite" in the title. With Glenda Farrell having departed Warner Brothers the title role was awarded to 22 year old Jane Wyman who comes full circle following a small role in the very first Torchy feature in 1937. Meanwhile Allen Jenkins steps into Barton MacLane's wingtips to portray Steve McBride. While the new leads aren't bad they fail to pump fresh blood into a rapidly decaying series. The film is best enjoyed on its own rather than part of the entire Torchy Blane milieu.

The movie starts out promisingly enough with a montage of robberies conducted by the notorious and elusive Denver Eddie. In an effort to catch him Torchy gets herself thrown into the jug to cozy up to his moll, Jackie McGuire (Sheila Bromley), hoping she'll tip the hoodlum's whereabouts. They stage the lamest prison break in the history of cinema and disappear to San Francisco to hook up with him as Steve and Gahagan follow in clandestine pursuit. The story takes a detour with a wrestling subplot but gets on back on track when they all convene at the sports arena for the climax.

Director Noel Smith was handed a cliched script full of familiar situations and enough plot holes to strain spaghetti. He does his best to maintain a brisk pace but the narrative gets irretrievably stuck in the mud around the 25 minute mark and goes nowhere. This coincides with Torchy herself being sidelined while Steve and Gahagan gobble up most of the screen time. The lazy finale once again features the heroine trapped in a volatile situation requiring a rescue from her eternal fiancé. There are some highlights, such as a surprisingly intense prison fight between Jackie, Torchy, another inmate, and a pair of spectacularly long scissors and a very clever scene in a book shop where Torchy and Steve exchange information while purportedly discussing a book. The audience also gets a fascinating tour of the Warner Brothers backlot as the characters walk & drive around what is ostensibly San Francisco. Unfortunately these interesting moments cannot compensate for the overall mediocrity.

Jane Wyman makes a strong initial impression as the fast talking, energetic Torchy but her performance gets derailed after she escapes from prison and loses center stage to Jenkins & Kennedy. Miss Wyman is very likable as Torchy and brings the enthusiasm but lacks the sardonic wit and hard edges that Glenda Farrell brought to the role. Plus, at 22, she is much too young for the character. Continuity is further disregarded when her first name is revealed to be Helen after being established as Theresa in previous films.

Allen Jenkins sheds his usual dumbbell persona to portray Steve but it is impossible to accept him & the beautiful (and much younger) Jane Wyman as a couple. However Steve is very crafty in this interpretation and demonstrates an uncanny ability to think on his feet which comes in handy on several occasions. While he pales in comparison to Barton MacLane Jenkins does a good enough job and is an asset to any film.

Enacting Gahagan once again Tom Kennedy is given more backstory to work with and is heavily involved in the story. We learn that his first name is Jerry and he used to wrestle in the Navy (and in a fabulous stroke of coincidence just happens to be wearing his championship belt to San Francisco under his suit coat). He also introduces some new schtick into his arsenal of buffoonery: banging his head into the doorframe of taxi cabs. With this appearance Kennedy has the honor of being the only actor to appear in all 9 Torchy Blane films.

Many familiar faces from the Torchy Blane milieu are reduced to bits. Frank Shannon barely makes an appearance as McTavish while George Guhl is replaced by John Sheehan and renamed "O'Toole". Joe Cunningham is back as Maxie and provides the information that puts Torchy on the trail of Jackie. John Ridgely pops up as a reporter that blows Torchy's cover at the wrestling match. Finally, John Harron reappears as a motorcycle cop who pinches Torchy for speeding.

Sheila Bromley heads the supporting cast as Jackie Maguire and bears a striking resemblance to Bette Davis in this picture. She does what she can with her perfunctory role. Equally bland is Eddie Marr as Denver Eddie; he conveys minimal menace or cleverness as the notorious bank thief. Worth mentioning is Tiny Roebuck as the Titanic wrestler Bone Crusher who's actually pretty funny while filling up the frame with his enormous stature.

The aforementioned grand finale at a sports arena is a wrestling match between Gahagan and the Bone Crusher; as comical sporting events in movies go this one is fair although not the exciting set piece it's supposed to be. The flow of action is compromised by the intercutting of Steve's predicament as he is taken for a ride by Eddie's goons. The movie ends on a particularly abrupt note even for a B picture which is jarring and sad end to a popular franchise. Torchy Blane established the standard for intrepid heroines who could compete with men on equal footing and deserved a better sendoff than is provided here. Torchy . . Playing With Dynamite is a breezy programmer that should have been so much more.

The Only Entry That Makes Real Sense

[Handlinghandel · 5/10 · 13 July 2004]

I love Glenda Farrell. She is always fun, and she's fun in this series. But the plots are thrown rogether so quickly they frequently make no sense.

Lola Lane was a ghastly substitute in the Panama outing.

In this one, Jane Wyman and Alan Jenkins seem an unlikely couple, to say the very least. However, it has a linear plot that makes good sense and is both exciting and funny (when it wants to be.)

Jane Wyman: such a strange career. She is heartbreaking in "The Yearling" and deserves her Oscar for "Johnny Belinda." And she was a charming light comic before and even these two.

Then she got ultra-serious and made those schmaltzy women's pictures. Douglas Sirk? OK. Fine craftsman. But most of Wyman's output after the early 1950s is a disappointment, though it kept her in the public eye and surely made a good deal of money.

Watch Harry the Horse Wrestle Bone Crusher

[Jim Tritten · 4/10 · 3 July 2004]

Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins team up as the reporter/detective pair in their first but also the series final episode. Wyman looks great but simply does not have the wisecracking hard-boiled presence of the annoying Glenda Farrell. Jenkins is fair but Barton MacLane is better.

As in the rest of the series and many other films of this type, the amateur is a necessary component of bringing the criminal to justice. Torchy goes undercover in jail and on the lam in order to meet up with the notorious Denver Eddie. By the end of the movie she is in the arms of fiancé Detective Lieutenant Steve McBride.

Tom Kennedy steals most of the movie by playing a former Navy wrester turned policeman. In reality Tom was a boxer and he carries off his match as Harry the Horse with Bone Crusher (played by Tiny Roebuck in his final on-screen performance) with good comedic style. If you have ever wondered what the protagonists in a wrestling match say to each other while they are otherwise locked into their imposing holds, watch this movie.

It's the characters more than the plot, man!

[pronker · 8/10 · 5 January 2017]

Since Glenda and Barton went on to other things, their roles were played by Jane and Allen to great effect. It's the character work that makes the series shine, with Tom Kennedy and so many familiar faces all doing their thing for The Cause. It was likely the Cause Of Supporting Oneself, but who cares? Fast talking and sprightly handling of tough guy dialogue gets me every time and since Torchy Blane is a series dependent on each of those factors, it's not a bad thing to be entertained for about an hour while we viewers try our darndest to follow the plot.

Tom and Allen share a room and I guess a double bed with the same sitch deployed by Jane and the gal she's befriended, Sheila Bromley, all in the hopes of capturing Sheila's boyfriend on the lam when they finally rendezvous. He's got a dilly of a disguise to throw off the cops: sunglasses. Add to the mix a fun professional wrestling ending, and you've got the premise of this entertaining entry in the series. It was the last one. As someone here wrote, Allen "gets the girl" for one of the few times in his decades-long career and is endearingly bashful as Jane hugs his neck and kisses his cheek at the ending. "Nix," he says.

Final Torchy Blane finds Jane Wyman replacing Glenda Farrell...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 14 April 2009]

The trouble with all those Torchy Blane movies were that they were all too similar in plot and style. In other words, if you've seen one, you've seen them all.

Once again, Torchy finds a way to nab a criminal for her policeman pal Steve McBride, with the roles now played by JANE WYMAN and ALLEN JENKINS. Needless to say, they're not a convincing match. Wyman does all of her cutesy tricks that she employed during her early days at Warner Bros., and Jenkins plays a dumb cop in his usual style, for laughs. TOM KENNEDY is still on hand as the bumbling helpmate of the two, this time involved in a wrestling match that spins the film toward its finale.

Fast moving entertainment, it's a B-film that played the second half of a double feature in 1939. Apparently, it didn't catch on as well as the series did with Glenda Farrell in the lead, so it became the last film of the Torchy Blane series.

The Finale

[Michael_Elliott · 16 May 2013]

Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite (1939)

** (out of 4)

The ninth and final film in the series finds Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane being replaced by Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins. This time out Torchy has herself thrown into jail so that she can get close to a gangster's girlfriend (Sheila Bromley). The plan is for the two to get close and Torchy hopes that the girlfriend will then lead her to the gangster where Lt. McBride and Gahagan (Tom Kennedy) will arrest him. TORCHY BLANE... PLAYING WITH DYNAMITE really isn't all that bad when you consider it's the ninth film in a series but there's still no question that the only ones who need watch it are those who watched the previous eight and just want to say they've seen everything in the series. I think there are some good moments scattered around but even at just 59-minutes there's just not enough going on to keep you fully entertained. I thought both Wyman and Jenkins were good in their roles and I thought their chemistry and back and forth nature made for some entertainment. Bromley was also attractive in her part as is Eddie Marr as the gangster. Kennedy doesn't get as many poems to read but that's okay because it's still nice seeing him appear for his ninth time. The story itself has quite a few plot holes and there are many logical issues but these here shouldn't be taken too serious. After all, this is a "B" picture that was probably made in a week or two.

A time passer and a weak final installment.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 28 June 2021]

"Torchy Blane...Playing with Dynamite" is the final Torchy Blane film by Warner Brothers. While the earlier films were very good for B-movies, the studio monkeyed around with the cast--and the original star and co-star (Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane) were replaced twice in the series. This really made little sense, as Farrell and MacLane were both excellent....but the studio thought that the series might do better with Lola Lane and Paul Kelly in the leads. Well, the studio was wrong and they brought back the original cast. But after a couple more films, Farrell changed studios and instead of retiring the series, they tried it one final time with Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins. And, since they only made one film with Wyman and Jenkins, the change obviously didn't sit well with audiences.

The plot to this one is very familiar as well as totally stupid. While in court, Torchy notices Jackie Maguire is there....and she's the girlfriend of a notorious gangster. So, she comes up with an insane idea....to get thrown into jail so she can pal up to Jackie and learn where her wanted boyfriend is hiding. However, her plan to get arrested goes too well and she's sentenced to 11 months in jail....not a few weeks like she assumed. But her insane plan gets even dumber when she plans on escaping with Jackie in order to find Denver Eddie! Can this convoluted plan possibly work? Well, in real life, no....but in an old B-movie....most likely.

Overall, this is only an okay B-movie that could have been better. It's not just the cast that's the problem, but the plot is too familiar and silly to be taken very seriously. A time-passer and not much more.

Torchy Blane: Jailbird

[hogwrassler · 8/10 · 11 December 2021]

I just watched this one on TCM. Torchy gets herself tossed in jail so that she can cozy up to Jackie McGuire, girlfriend of the notorious gangster Denver Eddie. Torchy and Jackie break out of jail and go on the lam, finally linking up with Eddie and his two goons. Steve McBride and Gahagan are close behind. We learn that Gahagan is a former wrestling champion from the navy. The climax is a wrestling match between Gahagan, AKA Harry the Horse, and The Bone Crusher, his old wrestling nemesis from the navy.

Jane Wyman takes over the Torchy role in this final film of the series. Glenda Farrell had left the studio. Allen Jenkins is Steve McBride. He was much better suited to comedy. Pretty but hard looking Sheila Bromley is very good as Jackie.

This is an OK entry as the series swan song. It's fast paced and the script is clever. The action scenes, especially the wrestling match, are well done. Tom Kennedy had been a professional wrestler and boxer before becoming an actor so he was very well suited to the ring sequences. TBPWD is only 59 minutes long but is an OK way to spend a lazy Saturday morning.