''Incendiary Blonde'' is a 1945 American musical drama film biography of 1920s nightclub star

Texas Guinan Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan (January 12, 1884 – November 5, 1933) was an American actress, producer, and entrepreneur. Born in Texas to Irish immigrant parents, Guinan decided at an early age to become an entertainer. After becoming a s ...

. Filmed in

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

by director

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...

and loosely based on a true story, the picture stars actress

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 12, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appea ...

as Guinan. The film's title is a play on

incendiary bomb Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiarie ...

s being used in World War II. The score was written by

Robert Emmett Dolan Robert Emmett Dolan (August 3, 1908 - September 26, 1972) was a Broadway conductor, composer, and arranger beginning in the 1920s. He moved on to radio in the 1930s and then went to Hollywood in the early 1940s as a musical director for Paramo ...

, and was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for "Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture."

Plot

tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...

named Mary Louise "Texas" Guinan lands a job with a Wild West show after proving she can ride a bucking bronco. The rodeo's new owner is Romero "Bill" Kilgannon, who doubles Texas's pay after the attention she gets from saving a toddler's life from a runaway wagon at a show. Tim Callahan comes along, looking for a job as the show's press agent by promising not to tell what he has found out, that Texas's "heroism" was a staged act, with a midget pretending to be the endangered child. Texas sends money home to her impoverished family. Tim falls in love with her, but she prefers Bill, unaware that he is legally bound to an institutionalized wife. Tim ends up marrying Texas and promoting her new career on stage in New York. Bill tries making movies in Hollywood, but things go badly. A gangster acquaintance, Joe Cadden, takes control of Nick the Greek's nightclub in New York and ends up making Texas his headliner there. Her fame grows, but a feud develops between Cadden and two other racketeers, the Vettori brothers, that leads to bloodshed and threats against Texas and Tim. Bill saves her life, but is arrested and sentenced to jail. His own wife passes away, making him free to marry again, but Texas has discovered that she has an inoperable condition, and that she will die before Bill can get out of prison.

Cast

Cast notes *This was the final film for character actor

Bud Jamison William Edward "Bud" Jamison (February 15, 1894 – September 30, 1944)Okuda, Ted, and Edward Watz. 1999. The Columbia Comedy Shorts: Two-reel Hollywood Film Comedies 1933–1958'. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. . was an American film actor. ...

. Jamison, best known for his work with slapstick comedy team

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

(''

Disorder in the Court ''Disorder in the Court'' is a 1936 short film, short subject directed by Jack White (film producer), Preston Black starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 15th entry in the ...

''), died suddenly in September 1944. Jamison played the Head bartender, however, he did not receive credit for his work.

Production

The film was announced in 1942 and was originally to have co-starred Hutton and

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in ...

Songs

Ragtime Cowboy Joe "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is a popular western swing song. The lyrics were written by Grant Clarke and the music was composed by Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams. It was copyrighted and published in 1912 by F.A. Mills. Artists The song has been ...

" – music by Lewis F. Muir and

Maurice Abrahams Maurice Abrahams (March 18, 1883 – April 13, 1931) was an American songwriter and music publisher, who was successful in the early years of the 20th century. Biography Abrahams was born in Odessa, Russian Empire, and emigrated to the US as a c ...

, lyrics by

Grant Clarke Grant Clarke (May 14, 1891, Akron, Ohio – May 16, 1931, California) was an American songwriter. Clarke moved to New York City early in his career, where he worked as an actor and a staff writer for comedians. He began working on Tin Pan Alley, ...

What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For? "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" is a song written by Joseph McCarthy, Howard Johnson and James V. Monaco in 1916 for the Broadway production ''Follow Me'', in which it was performed by Henry Lewis. Early recordings Lewis' versi ...

" – music and lyrics by

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

, Howard Johnson and

James V. Monaco James Vincent Monaco (January 13, 1885 – October 16, 1945) was an Italian-born American composer of popular music. Life and career Monaco was born in Formia, Italy. His family emigrated to the United States when he was six, and he grew u ...

*" It Had to Be You" – music by

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jon ...

, lyrics by

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (G ...

Oh By Jingo! "Oh By Jingo!" (also "Oh By Jingo! Oh By Gee You're The Only Girl For Me"), is a 1919 in music, 1919 novelty song by Albert Von Tilzer with lyrics by Lew Brown. The song was featured in the Broadway theatre, Broadway show "Linger Longer Letty", a ...

" – music by

Albert Von Tilzer Albert Von Tilzer (born Albert Gumm, March 29, 1878 – October 1, 1956) was an American songwriter, the younger brother of fellow songwriter Harry Von Tilzer. He wrote the music to many hit songs, including, most notably, " Take Me Out to the B ...

, lyrics by

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, espec ...

*"Row, Row, Row" – music by

, lyrics by

William Jerome William Jerome Flannery (September 30, 1865 – June 25, 1932) was an American songwriter, born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, of Irish immigrant parents: Mary Donnellan and Patrick Flannery. He collaborated with numerous well-known composer ...

Darktown Strutters' Ball "Darktown Strutters' Ball" is a popular song by Shelton Brooks, published in 1917. The song has been recorded many times and is considered a popular and jazz standard. There are many variations of the title, including "At the Darktown Strutters' ...

" – music and lyrics by

Shelton Brooks Shelton Brooks (May 4, 1886September 6, 1975) was a Canadian-born American composer and performer of popular music and jazz. He was known for his ragtime and vaudeville style, and wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th cent ...

, performed by

Maurice Rocco Maurice Rocco (born Maurice John Rockhold; June 26, 1915 – March 24, 1976) was an American pianist, singer, and composer known for playing boogie-woogie piano and his disdain for using a piano bench. He was a top nightclub and theater draw in th ...

*"Ida" – music and lyrics by

Eddie Leonard Eddie Leonard (October 17, 1870 – July 28, 1941), born Lemuel Gordon Toney, was a vaudevillian and a man considered the greatest American minstrel of his day, at a time when minstrel shows were an acceptable and popular mainstream entertainm ...

*Source:

References

External links

* * * {{George Marshall 1945 films 1945 drama films 1940s biographical drama films 1940s musical drama films American biographical drama films American musical drama films Biographical films about entertainers Films directed by George Marshall Films scored by John Leipold Films scored by Robert Emmett Dolan Films set in the 1900s Films set in the 1910s Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Musical drama films based on actual events Paramount Pictures films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language biographical drama films English-language musical drama films