} Crítica Retrô: Uma Loira com Açúcar / The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

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Saturday, July 2, 2016

Uma Loira com Açúcar / The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

Hoje todos os olhares e homenagens estão voltados para ela. Não são todas as talentosas lendas de Hollywood que chegam aos 100 anos, mas Olivia de Havilland conseguiu, e no meio do caminho ainda ganhou dois Oscars e lutou pelos direitos dos atores.
Today, all the eyes and tributes are for her. Not all talented Hollywood legends live to be 100, but Olivia de Havilland made it, and also won two Oscars and fought for actors’ rights.
O filme escolhido, “Uma loira com açúcar”, tem James Cagney no papel principal e Olivia como segunda mais importante nos créditos. Já é difícil superar Cagney em tela, e Olivia tem uma rival ainda mais perigosa: Rita Hayworth, com uma personagem exuberante que atrai todos os olhares para si, deixando a personagem de Olivia em segundo plano. Mas às vezes (ou talvez quase sempre?) escolher a moça menos cobiçada compensa.
The film I chose, “The Strawberry Blonde”, has James Cagney in the lead and Olivia as second billed. It is already difficult to shine more than Cagney in a film, and Olivia has a much more dangerous rival: Rita Hayworth, playing an exuberant character that attracts all the attention to her, leaving Olivia behind. But sometimes (or maybe almost all the time?) it is rewarding to choose the less sought-after girl.
Virginia Brush (Hayworth) é uma mulher comum da Era Vitoriana. Sua amiga Amy Lind (Olivia) é a mulher batalhadora e inconformada que amamos: trabalha como enfermeira, é sufragista e luta pela igualdade entre os sexos. Não tem vergonha de flertar e detesta qualquer hipocrisia disfarçada de bons modos.
Virginia Brush is a regular Edwardian woman. Her friend Amy Lind (Olivia) is the strong and independent kind of woman we love: she works as a nurse, is a suffragette and fights for gender equality. She is not ashamed to flirt and hates any kind of hypocrisy that can pass as good manners.
Virginia é a moça dos sonhos de todos os homens. Amy é a moça que causa escândalo na sociedade do começo do século XX: independente, com ideias modernas, fuma, flerta e sabe que as mulheres gostam de sentir prazer tanto quanto os homens. Ela assusta Biff (Cagney), mas ao final mostra como é de verdade o encanta (e me decepciona um pouco).
Virginia is the girl all men dream of. Amy is the girl that causes scandal in the turn-of-the-century society: she is independent, has modern ideas, smokes, flirts and knows that women like to have pleasure as much as men. She scares Biff (Cagney), but in the end she shows how she really is and he is charmed (and I felt a little deceived).
Mas Virginia é uma moça caprichosa, que gosta de coisas e atrações caras. E Biff é um pobre aprendiz de dentista, que além do mais vive se metendo em brigas, algo que ele herdou do pai. E Virginia decide se casar com o velho amigo de Biff, Hugo Barnstead (Jack Carson). Hugo é empreendedor, mas não é honesto, e acaba envolvendo Biff em um esquema ilegal.
But Virginia is a frivolous woman who likes expensive gifts and dates. And Biff is a poor guy studying to be a dentist, who also is always getting into fights, just like his father. And Virginia decides to marry Biff’s old friend, Hugo Barnstead (Jack Carson). Hugo is an entrepreneur, but he’s not honest, and gets Biff involved in an illegal scheme.
Isso tudo descrito acima é contado em flashback, quando Biff está prestes a reencontrar Hugo após cinco anos na prisão. O que mais esperar de Raoul Walsh? Como ator, seu mais importante papel foi o de John Wilkes Booth, o assassino do presidente Lincoln, em “O Nascimento de uma Nação” (1915). Como diretor, seu mais famoso trabalho também é ao lado de James Cagney: “Fúria Sanguinária” (1949).
Everything narrated above is told in flashback, when Biff is about to meet Hugo again, after spending five years in prison. What else could be expected from Raoul Walsh? As an actor, his most important role was the one of John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed President Lincoln, in “The Birth of a Nation” (1915). As a director, his most famous work is also with James Cagney: “White Heat” (1949).
Uma Loira com Açúcar” é o remake de “A Mulher Preferida” (1933), em que Gary Cooper interpreta Biff, Fay Wray é Virginia e a pouco conhecida Frances Fuller fica com o papel de Amy. O remake ganhou um novo nome em homenagem à mãe de Cagney, que visitou o set um dia e se lembrou de uma ocasião relacionada à música principal, “(Casey would waltz with a strawberry blonde) And the band playedon!”. Raoul Walsh dirigiu também o segundo remake do filme, em 1948.
The Strawberry Blonde” is the remake of “One Sunday Afternoon” (1933), in which Gary Cooper plays Biff, Fay Wray is Virginia and little-known Frances Fuller plays the role of Amy. The remake got a new name in a tribute to Cagney’s mother when she, a strawberry blonde herself, visited the set one day and remembered one occasion in her youth linked to the theme song, “(Casey would waltz with a strawberry blonde) And the band played on!”. Raoul Walsh also directed the second remake of the film, in 1948.
É um papel bom, mas nem tanto, para Cagney. É um papel que alçou Hayworth ao estrelato, e nos proporcionou ouvir brevemente sua verdadeira voz ao cantar. É um papel um pouco ingrato para Olivia, mas com ótimos momentos cômicos. O filme, no geral, serve como uma fábula ou um ode à nostalgia, divertindo muito e ensinando pouco.
It is a good role, yet not ideal, for Cagney. It is a role that made Rita Hayworth to be noticed, and made possible for us to hear her real singing voice briefly. It is an ungrateful role for Olivia, but with great comic moments. The film, after all, works as a fable or an ode to nostalgy, entertaining a lot and teaching very little.
This is my contribution to the Olivia de Havilland Centenary blogathon, hosted by Crystal and Laura at In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and Phyllis Loves Classic Movies. Hooray for Livvie! 

12 comments:

  1. When I was a teenager I would dream of hosting my own classic movie TV show and the first movie I would screen would be "The Strawberry Blonde". I love the nostalgia feel and the cast. Cagney said that Olivia was the perfect leading lady for the story.

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  2. This is one of my favourite Cagney films and Olivia de Havilland is wonderful in it - I love the contradictions in her character and especially the early scenes where she has a sense of mischief. Thanks for the great piece!

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  3. não conhecia. beijos, pedrita

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  4. I liked this one so much better than the 2nd remake with Dennis Morgan. I still need to see the original. I love Olivia's wink and am glad you included it!!

    Thanks for contributing to this blogathon! I enjoyed reading your post as usual :)

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  5. Hi Lé. I enjoyed your review of The Strawberry Blonde. I have not seen it for a long time, but I remember Olivia De Havailland's part better than Rita Hayworth's. More my type, I guess.

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  6. Whoa! I didn't realize this was the first of TWO remakes!

    I love the story about how this film got its title. What a lovely thing for a movie-star son to do for his mother!

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  7. Thanks so much for joining in on the blogathon with such a great post Le. I must admit that I haven't seen this film for ages, but I've just ordered it on DVD. Can't wait to watch it after reading your post.

    I also invite you to read my article for the blogathon

    https://crystalkalyana.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/happy-100th-birthday-olivia-de-havilland/

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  8. This is one of my favorite films with Olivia, and I enjoyed your write-up on it. Especially loved reading about how the title came to be, that's a neat connection with James Cagney's mother!

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  9. Olivia de Havilland's character is my favorite in that film! So wonderful! The wink and her suffragette stand. I was a little disappointed that side of her character was downplayed in the latter half of the film, but she plays it so delightfully. Gotta see this one again! I really enjoyed your celebration of this film (and learning about how it got it's title). Thanks!

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  10. This was a film that I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy, but I really loved it. You captured so many of the delightful elements about it, and I agree it that the contrast between the two women was marked. Cagney is slowly turning into a favorite of mine...maybe not an ideal role for him, but he did manage it well.

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  11. I enjoyed your post very much as I haven't seen Strawberry Blonde in a long time. It's interesting That Olivia de havilland chose to play the part, but she played it well as usual. Thank you for selecting this film for the tribute to her.

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  12. Watched the Cooper version last week and loved it!!

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