Hold That Blonde (1945)

76 mins | Comedy | 23 November 1945

Director:

George Marshall

Producer:

Paul Jones

Cinematographer:

Daniel L. Fapp

Editor:

LeRoy Stone

Production Designers:

Hans Dreier, Walter Tyler

Production Company:

Paramount Pictures, Inc.
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HISTORY

The working title for this film was Good Intentions. The Opening narration is accompanied by shots of the New York skyline at night, the front of a suburban mansion, and inside it, "Sally Martin" peeking out from behind a curtain. In the film, after falling in love with Sally, "Ogden" writes new lyrics to the 1944 hit song "Swinging on a Star" from Going My Way (see above). Due to a press error, the DV and HR reviews erroneously credit actor Victor Moore with music, although Werner Heymann is credited on the screen. Paul Armstrong's play was also the basis of the 1925 Paramount film Paths to Paradise, directed by Clarence Badger and starring Betty Compson and Raymond Griffith (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1921-30; F2.4171). ...

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The working title for this film was Good Intentions. The Opening narration is accompanied by shots of the New York skyline at night, the front of a suburban mansion, and inside it, "Sally Martin" peeking out from behind a curtain. In the film, after falling in love with Sally, "Ogden" writes new lyrics to the 1944 hit song "Swinging on a Star" from Going My Way (see above). Due to a press error, the DV and HR reviews erroneously credit actor Victor Moore with music, although Werner Heymann is credited on the screen. Paul Armstrong's play was also the basis of the 1925 Paramount film Paths to Paradise, directed by Clarence Badger and starring Betty Compson and Raymond Griffith (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1921-30; F2.4171).

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
6 Oct 1945
---
Daily Variety
5 Oct 1945
p. 3
Film Daily
18 Oct 1945
p. 7
Hollywood Reporter
24 Nov 1944
p. 16
Hollywood Reporter
12 Jan 1945
p. 16
Hollywood Reporter
5 Oct 1945
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
10 Oct 1945
p. 6
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
6 Jan 1945
p. 2259
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
13 Oct 1945
p. 2679
New York Times
8 Nov 1945
p. 17
Variety
14 Nov 1945
p. 12
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Joseph Youngerman
Asst dir
PRODUCER
Prod
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir of photog
2d cam
ART DIRECTORS
Art dir
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
SET DECORATOR
Set dec
COSTUMES
Cost
MUSIC
Werner Heymann
Mus score
SOUND
Gene Merritt
Sd rec
Sd rec
Philip G. Wisdom
Mus mixer
VISUAL EFFECTS
Spec photog eff
process photog
Devereux Jennings
Spec eff asst
Spec eff asst
Spec eff asst
MAKEUP
Makeup supv
SOURCES
LITERARY
Based on the play Heart of a Thief by Paul Armstrong (New York, 5 Oct 1914).
LITERARY SOURCE AUTHOR
MUSIC
"Swinging on a Star," music by James Van Heusen.
DETAILS
Alternate Title:
Good Intentions
Release Date:
23 November 1945
Premiere Information:
New York opening: 7 Nov 1945; Los Angeles opening: 15 Nov 1945
Production Date:
late Nov 1944--mid Jan 1945
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Paramount Pictures, Inc.
18 October 1945
LP13687
Physical Properties:
Sound
Western Electric Recording
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
76
Length(in feet):
6,964
Country:
United States
PCA No:
10776
Passed by NBR:
Yes
SYNOPSIS

Kind-hearted pickpocket Ogden Spencer Trulow III, whose grandfather founded the New York Security and Trust Bank, repeatedly steals from the bank during unconscious lapses that begin with a twitching ear, but always dutifully returns what he has stolen. Psychoanalyst Pavel Sorasky diagnoses him as a kleptomaniac and tells him that, as he has only been stealing since his fiancée left him, finding a girl friend is his only cure. Soon Ogden bumps into a strange woman on the street; his ear twitches uncontrollably and he steals her compact, which contains the combination to a safe. Later, the woman holds him up at gunpoint in his apartment and demands the compact, but is interrupted by police detective Callahan, who has been tailing her. The woman's name is Sally Martin, and when she pretends to be married to Ogden in order to avoid Callahan, Ogden decides that she is the woman who will cure him. Tired of always having to return what Odgen steals, his valet, Willie Shelley, rips out a newspaper picture of the priceless Romanoff necklace, which will be displayed the upcoming weekend by Henry Carteret during a party at his Long Island home. Sally sees the picture and assumes Ogden aims to steal the necklace. She has been ordered by her boss, Phillips, to steal the necklace during the party by posing as the Carteret maid. After numerous unsuccessful attempts by Phillips' henchmen, Victor and Slash, to kidnap and kill Ogden to keep him from interfering, the pickpocket gets himself into the party in order to keep Sally from stealing the jewels by stealing them himself. Sally, meanwhile, confesses that she ...

More Less

Kind-hearted pickpocket Ogden Spencer Trulow III, whose grandfather founded the New York Security and Trust Bank, repeatedly steals from the bank during unconscious lapses that begin with a twitching ear, but always dutifully returns what he has stolen. Psychoanalyst Pavel Sorasky diagnoses him as a kleptomaniac and tells him that, as he has only been stealing since his fiancée left him, finding a girl friend is his only cure. Soon Ogden bumps into a strange woman on the street; his ear twitches uncontrollably and he steals her compact, which contains the combination to a safe. Later, the woman holds him up at gunpoint in his apartment and demands the compact, but is interrupted by police detective Callahan, who has been tailing her. The woman's name is Sally Martin, and when she pretends to be married to Ogden in order to avoid Callahan, Ogden decides that she is the woman who will cure him. Tired of always having to return what Odgen steals, his valet, Willie Shelley, rips out a newspaper picture of the priceless Romanoff necklace, which will be displayed the upcoming weekend by Henry Carteret during a party at his Long Island home. Sally sees the picture and assumes Ogden aims to steal the necklace. She has been ordered by her boss, Phillips, to steal the necklace during the party by posing as the Carteret maid. After numerous unsuccessful attempts by Phillips' henchmen, Victor and Slash, to kidnap and kill Ogden to keep him from interfering, the pickpocket gets himself into the party in order to keep Sally from stealing the jewels by stealing them himself. Sally, meanwhile, confesses that she has never stolen anything in her life, but is being forced to steal by Phillips, who is holding evidence against her. At the party, Ogden performs a magic trick in which he switches Sally's imitation Romanoff necklace with the real one and then smashes Sally's, causing her to have him thrown out of the party. When Ogden is held up by Slash, however, Sally helps him escape, then knocks him out for his own good. Carteret, it turns out, hired Phillips to steal the necklace for insurance fraud. After the party guests have left, Sally occupies the insurance detectives who have come to guard the necklace so that Phillips can steal it. Willie and Ogden enter the house first, however, and when Victor and Slash unlock the safe, Ogden grabs the safe jewel box in the dark. Sally tells him to get rid of it because she loves him, and he returns it to Carteret. Callahan arrests Carteret but allows the lovers to go, stating that there is nothing wrong with either of them that a marriage ceremony will not cure. They kiss, and Sally's ear twitches.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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