Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Marva
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
JohnHowardReid
A hiccup in the Torchy Blane series, "Torchy Blane in Panama" (1938), dropped the Farrell-MacLane combo in favor of Lola Lane and Paul Kelly. Despite an ingeniously fast-paced script and admirably deft direction by William Clemens, this entry was not popular with audiences who clamored for the restoration of Farrell and MacLane.Never one to disappoint the picture-going public, producer Bryan Foy rushed his original stars, Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane, into "Torchy Gets Her Man" (1938). On this excursion, Torchy uncovers the brains behind a counterfeiting racket. Another tightly-written script, another great assembly of top-notch character players, plus -- would you believe? -- a really outstanding music score. Glenda Farrell so enjoyed Getting Her Man with director Bill Beaudine (who encouraged her to set a new record in speedy dialogue delivery), she specifically asked producer Bryan Foy to assign him to "Torchy Blane in Chinatown" (1939). Three or four critics actually regard this entry as the best in the series. Certainly the support line-up headed by Henry O'Neill, Patric Knowles and James Stephenson surpassed even the highest standards of the other entries.Stephenson, who was on the verge of major stardom after his riveting performance in "The Letter" (1940), died in 1941 just as he was about to reach the top. A stage-trained actor with a magnetic personality, rugged yet soulful features and an expressive voice of unique timbre and resonance, Stephenson never gave a less than compelling performance in his life. "Torchy Gets Her Man" was certainly no exception.
bkoganbing
One of the best of the Torchy Blane series is one that really puts her in the most danger in Torchy Gets Her Man. That title does not mean that Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane finally wed. In fact the title is a misnomer in that the object of her story nearly gets Torchy with Geohagan thrown in for good measure.This is one bold as brass crook, a notorious counterfeiter played by Willard Robertson who impersonates a Secret Service man of all things. He's got a scam to use the racetrack to spread his phony bills and he's using the cops as shields because they think he's part of a sting.Torchy using the ever gullible Geohagan played by Tom Kennedy catches on, but they're both taken captive by the gang who plans to do them in. How she gets out is for you to see.Once again Tom Kennedy as lovable, but thick as an adobe brick Sergeant Geohagan steals the film. How he ever passed the civil service for the police is beyond me. And Barton MacLane turns out to be handy to have around.
gridoon2018
Like others here have observed, the "Torchy Blane" series by this point was moving further away from the mystery genre and more towards the crime-adventure genre. In fact, the one good twist of the plot is not only revealed to the audience halfway through, but Torchy herself never figures it out until it is revealed to her as well. Torchy is still smart, but no longer the smartest person, or should I say smartest living being, in the film; Glenda Farrell is still a winning lead, but the dog (a German Shepherd) steals the show. Overall, I would say that this series seems to be running out of steam. I did like Gahagan's racetrack-betting system, though. ** out of 4.
sol
***SPOILERS**** Gabby and unflinching woman news reporter Torchy Blane, Glenda Farrell, ends up breaking up a counterfeit ring by ending up being taken hostage by it. Torchy get a bit ticked off when her fiancée police Det. Steve McBride, Barton MacLane, keeps her in the dark about the counterfeit ring that he and G-Man Charles Gilbert, Willard Robertson, are tracking down headed by the mysterious master counterfeiter $100 "Dollar Bill" Bailey.Bailey plans to pass off, or launder, as much as $300,000.00 in counterfeit $100.00 bills at the Hollywood Race Track together with a number of his hoods posing as horse betters. It's when Det. McBride's friend and chauffeur Gahagan, Tom Kennedy, is given a forced-after screwing things up-two week vacation he ends up at Hollywood Park with a foolproof system, involving higher mathematics, that he uses to almost break the track. This all draws attention to him by not only the counterfeiters and race-track officials but by Torchy, who's at the track tracking down her fiancée Det. McBride, as well.With Torchy and a confused, in being involved in her birdbrain actions, Gahangen ending up getting caught by the counterfeit ring and held hostage Det. McBride gets his rented, from a local pet store, bloodhound-like sniffing German Shepard Bitzer. It's Blitzer who, unlike Torchy & Gahagan, escaped the clutches of the counterfeit gang to lead Det. McBride together with a squad of police and G-Man Gilbert to the gang's hiding place. It's there where their keeping both Torchy & Gahagan tied up with a nitroglycerin bomb, that's to blow the place to smatterings, set to go off at any moment. It's then that we get to find out just who Mr. Big, $100 "Dollar Bill" Bailey, really is by him being forced, by Det. McBride, to be at the place just as it was about to blow! And with him being there and not wanting to end up as dead as both Torchy & Gahagan, as well as the cops who raided the place, he's forced not only to reveal is true identity but where the bomb is and when it's about to detonate!Typical Torchy Blane flick with Torchy getting things done her way against the advice of her, at first, fumbling boyfriend Det. McBride. In the end it was Det. McBride who by tricking $100 "Dollar Bill" Bailey into exposing himself, in him knowing that Torchy loves stake dinners, ended up rescuing Torchy and his bumbling driver, known to his friends as the Irish Police Poet, Gahagan. But Det. McBride didn't solve the case of the $100.00 counterfeit bills all by himself he needed both Torchy and the courageous and scent sniffing German Shepard Blitzer, the real hero of the movie, to help him do it!
