Review

Any pairing of Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell is a wonder to behold, even when the plot is a bit too contrived and there’s not enough screen time to make all the loose threads coming together believable. Blondell and Farrell play manicurists Rosie (Blondell) and Marie (Farrell) who are also roommates. Rosie’s boyfriend is a tough guy gangster named Dynamite Carson (Robert Armstrong). Marie doesn’t like him at all, so she talks Rosie into going to dinner with a customer who, unbeknownst to them, is an associate of Dynamite’s.

He finds out, of course, and vows revenge, so the girls hightail it out of town by posing as members of a girl’s group that looks like the Girl Scouts. They then finagle their way into the good graces of two businessmen who they swindle into paying for their tickets to Paris and clothes for the journey too. Hijinks ensue, especially after Dynamite catches up with them. It’s all very low stakes despite the threat of murder (which isn’t believable at all — Robert Armstrong’s Dynamite looks more likely to flip you off in traffic than actually initiate a physical altercation), so you’re not going to be on the edge of your seat or anything.

All in all, I enjoyed it. When I see those two on screen, I know I’m going to be entertained and that’s all that matters to me.

Kansas City Princess is streaming on Watch TCM through April 26th and is also available to own on DVD through the Warner Archive Collection. 

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