Bad Blonde (AKA The Flanagan Boy) is a B-movie that earns that distinction. It has a threadbare plot that checks off all the genre clichés without finding a way to do any of it in a unique way. Watching it is an exercise in frustration because it not only has little to say but it takes way too long to say it. Consequently, it becomes a test of your patience and perseverance just to reach the ending. Rarely do I find a movie that pushes me to want to walk out, but this was one of those.
The Brits called this film The Flanagan Boy, putting the emphasis on Johnny Flanagan (Tony Wright), a young man who makes a name for himself when he jumps into the ring at a carnival to challenge a professional fighter. When Johnny wins, he catches the attention of Giuseppe Vecchi (Frederick Valk), an influential promoter. Giuseppe is married to Lorna (Barbara Payton), an attractive blonde who doesn’t seem all that interested in her husband in any way. This proves prophetic when she later seduces Johnny, then convinces him to murder her husband. Giuseppe takes Johnny in, pushing him into the limelight, though Johnny seems distracted and ill-prepared for fighting in the big leagues.
The only real draw for this film is Barbara Payton, the Bad Blonde from the American title. She was an actress whose exploits in the real world were far more shocking than anything she ever did on screen. Her career was fleeting, lasting less than fifteen years with large gaps at times between films. She was a heavy drinker and partier whose life fell apart because of her vices, her five marriages, and her many questionable choices. Seeing her here is like getting a glimpse into the unhappy woman that she was in real life. While I cannot recommend this film on its own merits, it is worth looking at just for a glimpse of this unhappy actress who would burn herself out before she ever reached 40. There is precious little else to this film worth sitting through. 1953 - 81 minutes
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