csteidler Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell spout zippy dialog as a couple of manicurists moving up in the world in this very silly comedy.Robert Armstrong is Dynamite, a good-natured tough guy who wants to marry Blondell—who is keen on that idea despite Glenda's outspoken disapproval ("If you was the bearded lady in the circus, you'd still be too good for Dynamite"). All three end up on a boat bound for Paris, where Armstrong meets millionaire Hugh Herbert and quickly declares himself Herbert's bodyguard.The plot itself makes very little sense but is held together, more or less, by the personalities of the four stars, who seem determined to make it something fun, however thin the story. The dialog is certainly colorful—packed with phrases like "a low down mug" and "That guy getting fresh?"—and generally delivered as rapidly as humanly possible (especially by Blondell and Farrell, certainly a couple of Hollywood's all-time great fast talkers).Overall, it's not particularly memorable but very easy to take for the hour or so it lasts.

MartinHafer "Kansas City Princess" is a film that sure looks as if the script was not even close to being finished when the movie was shot. So much of it seemed vague and incomplete that I just can't recommend it no matter how much I enjoyed the actors.Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell are two hucksters who manage to get themselves onto a cruise ship despite having no money. Through conniving and lying, they manage to ingratiate themselves to a dippy rich guy (Hugh Herbert). Additionally, Blondell's boyfriend (Robert Armstrong) also manages to get hired by this dippy rich guy. What happens next just seems random and silly...which it was.I like Joan Blondell films. She played a great dame and Farrell was also quite good. The problem is that they had no script to work with and I kept waiting for the story to materialize...which it never did! Overall, enjoyable but severely lacking when it comes to story.

Ron Oliver Two smart dames must take it on the lam when a jealous hoodlum goes out of control.KANSAS CITY PRINCESS was the sort of ephemeral comic frippery which Warner Brothers Studio produced almost effortlessly during the 1930's. Well made & highly enjoyable, Depression audiences couldn't seem to get enough of these popular, funny photo dramas.Joan Blondell & Glenda Farrell are perfectly cast as the sassy, fast-talking females who use their wiles to get them all the way to Paris. Unlike their other films, the gals have an even parity here, equally sharing the wisecracks and what little romantics the plot tosses their way.Robert Armstrong does very well as the somewhat dense petty gangster who precipitates the girls' flight. Hugh Herbert, wacky & whimsical as ever, appears as a hapless millionaire who befriends Blondell & Farrell, making use of them in a hilariously inept plan to catch his faithless wife.Smaller roles are very nicely filled by T. Roy Barnes & Hobart Cavanaugh as two free spirited aldermen who happily assist the girls when they need it most; and Ivan Lebedeff as the wily Russian doctor who is cuckolding Herbert.Movie mavens will recognize Arthur Houseman as a inebriate getting a manicure from Blondell; and Lillian Harmer as the formidable Girls of America leader, both unbilled.While never stars of the first rank, Joan Blondell (1906-1979) & Glenda Farrell (1904-1971) enlivened scores of films at Warner Bros. throughout the 1930's, especially the eight in which they appeared together. Whether playing gold diggers or working girls, reporters or secretaries, these blonde & brassy ladies were very nearly always a match for whatever leading man was lucky enough to share equal billing alongside them. With a wisecrack or a glance, their characters showed they were ready to take on the world - and any man in it. Never as wickedly brazen as Paramount's Mae West, you always had the feeling that, tough as they were, Blondell & Farrell used their toughness to defend vulnerable hearts ready to break over the right guy. While many performances from seven decades ago can look campy or contrived today, these two lovely ladies are still spirited & sassy.

Arthur Hausner Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell play fast-talking, wise-cracking blondes, roles they often had because they did it so well. They wind up trying to escape from small-time hood Robert Armstrong, who believes Blondell gave her engagement ring to Gordon Westcott, who actually stole it from her. The chase is on when Westcott meets Armstrong and shows the ring to him. He steals it back again, but is furious enough to wring Blondell's neck if he catches up with her. The fun in the first part is all in the chase, with the girls staying one step ahead of Armstrong, first by donning scout uniforms to get on their convention train, and then by jumping into a cab already occupied by two aldermen going to Paris by ship. Armstrong flew to New York to get there ahead of the train and followed the cab, with all three boarding the ship. Before you know it, they are on their way to Paris, but broke. The girls use their wiles to get passage money, and Armstrong uses his gun to force millionaire Hugh Herbert to hire him as a bodyguard. Farrell is more the gold digger of the two, and when she hears a millionaire is on board, they pose as French manicurists to get into his room, where Armstrong is waiting, but more pacified. At this point, the focus of the film changes, much to its detriment. The three hatch a plan to get Herbert's wife, Renee Whitney, to stop fooling around with Ivan Lebedeff in Paris and come back to Herbert. The idea is to trap Lebedeff in a room with one of the girls, so that Whitney can see how unfaithful he is to her. It didn't quite work out that way, with Herbert in for a big surprise.The first half of the film was genuinely funny, with lots of quips and one-liners, including Farrell reminding Blondell that girls these days need three things - money, jack, and dough. The second half was more tedious than funny, and except, perhaps, for the surprise ending, was a waste of time.