Very few filmmakers made as much of an impact on comedy as Preston Sturges, whose invaluable contributions to cinema have made him one of the most endearing figures in Hollywood history, with his efforts as both a writer and director setting the foundation for the concept of a comedic auteur and not many artists can count the likes of Billy Wilder and Ernst Lubitsch as not only peers but devotees of their work. His career as a filmmaker was short, lasting less than two decades, but the films he made during this time were some of the greatest in the history of the genre. Many tend to view his final works as being less brilliant, and while it is true they don’t quite reach the impossibly high standards of the likes of Sullivan’s Travels and The Lady Eve, they still have a lot of value, even if they aren’t always as consistent or daring. His penultimate film was The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, in which Sturges leaps into the past once again, telling the story of a rambunctious saloon singer and gunslinger who tries to take a shot at her philandering boyfriend, only to accidentally hit (and partially injure) the local judge, which leads her to make a quick getaway, knowing the consequences that will follow her should he decide to stay. However, even when settling in a small town in the middle of nowhere, she finds that her past is not too far behind, leading to a series of hilarious moments that are as irreverent as they are outrageously entertaining. Not the epitome of Sturges’ brilliance by any means, but still a film that carries with it a genuine sense of entertaining chaos that makes it extremely endearing to those who can get on its wavelength, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (which is one of the great titles from this era, and it is almost worth the price of admission to hear that hilarious theme song that uses the catchy title as its foundation) is just as fun as it seems to be on the surface, with the bitingly funny narrative being wonderfully encapsulated in every frame, making it a much better film than many would assume based on the reputation it has developed over the years.

The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend was marketed as the very first film Sturges made in Technicolor, all of his previous work being in black-and-white, which was never too much of an impediment, since there was always something magical about his compositions. Clearly designed less as an opportunity for the director’s peculiar talents, and more to adhere to the incredibly popular sub-genre of Western comedy that was at its peak during this period, the film is a colourful and extravagant spectacle that focuses on becoming a pastiche of a genre in which Sturges had not previously worked as a director, but still understood based on his years of experience in Hollywood. The Western genre at the time was viewed as extremely simple, and it was only a few years later that we started to see more complex works overtaking these more traditional stories. Seemingly given free-reign to do whatever he felt appropriate, granted it was within reason and met all the necessary criteria, Sturges took advantage of the endless possibilities by crafting a film that both pays tribute to the Western genre, as well as often mocking some of its more obvious flaws, such as the broad leaps of logic and tendency for everything to be neatly resolved by the end. Even the surface-level premise, while very simple, is outrageous in how it was constructed, with Sturges abandoning all sense of rational storytelling and instead pursuing something far wackier and more off-the-wall than just about anything else he had done in the past, which proved to be quite a departure for a director who always grounded his work in a place defined by realism and authenticity, rather than populating the story with too many implausibilities. Some have grown to view The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend as one of the director’s more experimental works, following on from equally peculiar endeavours such as The Sin of Harold Diddlebock and Unfaithfully Yours, both very inventive films that show Sturges stepping away from more traditional filmmaking and instead embracing something slightly more off-kilter and daring, while still maintaining the overall tone and structure of the genre as a whole.

There isn’t a moment where the intentions of The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend are not made abundantly clear, which was namely the fact that this film was designed to be a starring vehicle for its leading actor, the wonderful and entertaining Betty Grable, who was at the peak of her stardom at this point, and thus many films were formed to showcase her skills, whether it was as an actor, comedian or singer, all of which are put on show throughout this film. One has to wonder why it was Sturges who was commissioned to write and direct this film since he very rarely was interested in making films that were based around a particular actor and their persona – his best works were usually those that were either more ensemble-based, such as Hail the Conquering Hero or TITLE, or focused on specific actors in a way that pushed them to do radically different work, rather than just depending on their well-cultivated screen persona, which we saw in films like Sullivan’s Travels and The Palm Beach Story, which were built on the presence of certain actors, but far from defined by it. However, this is merely trivial, since we are so extremely taken by Grable from the first time she appears on screen, and she immediately grabs our attention and holds it for the entire duration of the film. She was one of the most eccentric and entertaining stars of her generation, and The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend proved to be one of her most endearing showcases. She’s joined by a terrific supporting cast – Cesar Romero is as charismatic as ever as the closest the film has to a villain, while Sturges regular Rudy Vallee is the heart of the film, as is Olga San Juan, both of whom play the scene-stealing comedic relief that may not be the most complex or well-developed characters, but are responsible for some of the funniest and most tender moments in this film. There is even an uncredited appearance from the iconic Margaret Hamilton, who only appears in a single scene, but is unquestionably hilarious. It was likely, not intentional, but the supporting cast does gradually steal the film away from Grable, who is still as magnetic as ever when she appears on screen, showcasing her wide range of skills and proving that they quite simply don’t make movie stars like they used to.

However, while the overall perception of The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend is that it is misunderstood and was subjected to criticisms that were far too harsh at the time, it is also important to note that this is far from Sturges’ best film. Several aspects are missing from this film. Most of the disdain and disappointment levelled at this film comes from the fact that, despite its overall structure, the spark of his earlier work is simply missing. This is a very funny film, but it often seems to be straining slightly too much to get a laugh in certain instances – there are several hilarious moments, but they exist on a much more diminished scale, only inciting genuine laughter on a few occasions, rather than being the cavalcade of jokes that are delivered at a rapid pace and where absolutely every punchline was successful. There just seems to be a lack of edge in The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, which is bizarre considering most filmmakers would grow more revolutionary over time, rather than regressing into being slightly more narratively conservative. We can easily accredit these elements to the fact that this film was not aiming to be anything more than a showcase for its star, and thus always needed to prioritize her above anything else, so it isn’t indicative of Sturges losing his edge or becoming less brilliant, but rather being forced to adapt his style to something much smaller and more restrictive to his usually off-the-wall storytelling approach. The film does unfortunately lack a clear point of view, and a lot of it can feel quite meandering since there doesn’t seem to be any genuinely high stakes or sense of suspense that would otherwise make this such an intriguing piece of cinema. It’s not at all enough to remove the merits that come about as a result of this film, it just becomes slightly less impressive after a while, an unfortunate but understandable development in an otherwise decent story.

Perhaps the best way to view The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend is less as a coherent story, and more as a revue, one that combines comedy, western, musical and romance into one delightful bundle, delivering it to us in a rapid-fire comedy that runs a paltry 77 minutes, which prevents it from overstaying its welcome or becoming too overly familiar. Sturges always knew when to end his films, since there are few experiences worse than a comedy that is stretched over too long of a running time, and where the novelty eventually wears off. It is certainly not perfect in any way, but this is still a very entertaining film with strong ideas and a good sense of humour, which is perfectly captured by the tremendous cast, all of whom deliver wonderful performances that are wildly entertaining and always memorable, even when the film may not know how to use all of them properly by it being designed as a vehicle for Grable more than anyone else. It’s difficult to not be entranced by this film – the bright colours and delightfully gaudy set design remind us of those gauche, over-the-top western films where nothing much happens and the plot is deeply predictable, and while this can be frustrating for anyone who prefers realism (something that Sturges never considered as part of his artistic inventory), those who enjoy more peculiar and eccentric works will be unquestionably enthralled by The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, a film that is not particularly complex, but still has tremendous ideas, a good sense of humour and just enough madcap energy to push us through some of its more bizarre sequences, resulting in an endlessly enjoyable film and one that proves yet again how Sturges is one of the most influential and important filmmakers and comedic minds of his generation.