SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The fact that this was the last film Errol Flynn made before he became a mega-star is reason enough to watch this movie. Just after completing "Don't Bet on Blondes", he starred in "Captain Blood"-- one of the biggest hits he ever made and which led to one of the fasted rises to stardom in Hollywood history.Apart from the Flynn angle (and he's only a relatively minor character), the film is still worth seeing--though I'll admit that the plot is incredibly weird and just plain wacky! Warren William stars as 'Odds' Owen, a professional gambler and bookmaker. However, he's tired of taking bets on horse races...especially since races can and are rigged. So he decides to try something similar but a surer thing...insurance! He plans on insuring bizarro things much like Lloyds of London was famous for at the time (such as insuring that actor Ben Turpin's eyes remain crossed)...especially since the odds of ever having to pay off are slim.One of the crazy policies he takes is NOT one that is so easy...and Odds shouldn't take it but he did. A goofball author (Guy Kibbee) announces he wants a policy AGAINST his daughter marrying during the next three years! But to make sure that Odds doesn't have to pay off, he sets out to interfere with the young lady's love life! In one case, a poor sap (Flynn) is set-up to make it appear as if he's some sort of gangster and eventually Odds decides the best thing to do is just date her himself! What's next? See the film.Why does this silly plot manage to work? Warren William! He was a wonderful actor and although mostly forgotten today, he was wonderful and often made ordinary films amazing films. While he's not the sleazy jerk he often played so well in earlier films due to the new Production Code, he IS enjoyable to watch...and is still a bit of a jerk...and he played jerks so very well.

The Warner Brothers really should have been warned by the script office when this was submitted and approved for production that it really had a major stinker on its hands. Smooth-talking Warren William gives his usual touch of class to a screenplay with nothing but clever words while Guy Kibbee is eccentric as usual as a retired Southern colonel. Williams is a con-artist gambling bookie giving out bets on such odd occurrences as how many babies a pregnant woman will have, with the leading one a bet that he can keep Kibbee's daughter (Broadway actress Claire Dodd) from getting married. Really, there's nothing more than that except a couple of amusing moments (one featuring a really young Errol Flynn as Dodd's date who keeps getting interrupted by Williams' men as part of his sabotage) and that leads to an almost entirely forgettable film. Maude Eburne is fun in a small part as a Southern woman who can scream "Henry!" as if it was entire group of people coming out of her mouth. Basically, this is the dumbest blonde joke ever written where the roots are shallow in the skull of stupidity.

"Don't Bet on Blondes" is a short Warners comedy from 1935 starring Warren William, Claire Dodd, Guy Kibbee, William Gargan, and Errol Flynn in an early appearance.William is a bookie who decides to go legitimate and become an insurance man, but a special kind of one. He's going to take high risk cases, and some of them are real doozies: whether a man will have twins, whether someone will lose her voice, etc.One case concerns a southern man (Kibbee) who is supported by his daughter. He's writing a book proving that the south won the Civil War and he doesn't want his daughter to marry before he finishes it. It's a high risk because she's a gorgeous showgirl (Dodd) and she's practically engaged already.William steps in as a distraction. You can guess the rest.Warren William was all but forgotten before TCM; now he's very familiar to viewers and there's a new appreciation for his work. In silents, he played dark, villainous characters; in sound he could be a con man, a detective, or Perry Mason. He had a wheezing laugh and his line readings often indicated wonderful humor. It's interesting that this type of leading man -- the Barrymore-type profile, the mustache -- went out of style.This is a fast film, briskly directed, and enjoyable.

Don't Bet on Blondes (1935) ** (out of 4) Robert Florey (Murders in the Rue Morgue) directed this comedy about a bookie (Warren William) who decides to go straight by becoming an insurance man who sells claims to freaks. William is good as usual and there's a young Errol Flynn in his second role but director Florey does very little with the material and things get really dry before we even hit the 30-minute mark. There are very few laughs to be found and all the romantic side story are pretty boring and don't lead to any real excitement.