Blondell Quotes

I don't know what the secret to longevity as an actress is. It's more than talent and beauty. Maybe it's the audience seeing itself in you. ~ Joan Blondell

[Joan Blondell] biographer, Matthew Kennedy, quotes her as admitting, "If I had taken myself more seriously . . . if I had fought for better roles as, say, Bette Davis did . . . I think I might have been a damned good dramatic actress. But it was just my way; I don't think I ever had the security of feeling confident in myself, really, ever. I used to think, 'I'm just lucky to be here! ~ Eve Golden

It's a testament to [Joan Blondell]'s talent that she is so fondly remembered even though so few of her films were even adequate. Her Warners cohorts were given classics while Joan remained the reliable backup in unremarkable films badly needing her gifts. ~ Eve Golden

IF YOU DON'T FEED YOUR MIND WITH SUCCESS. IT WILL ROT WITH MEDIOCRITY! ~ BLONDEL SEUMO

The Depression was at its peak in 1933, and so was Blondell. She exemplified the average woman of that dismal period. Audiences could relate to her honesty, her drive, and her humor and strength in the face of adversity. She came across as one of them - a down-to-earth gift she never lost. "I related to the shopgirls and chorus girls, just ordinary gals who were hoping. I would get endless fan mail from girls saying, 'That is exactly what I would have done, if I'd been in your shoes, you did exactly the right thing.' So I figured that was my popularity, relating to the girls. ~ Ray Hagen

Joan [Blondell] had always kept it real, always kept her priorities straight. "I wasn't that ambitious. I enjoyed a home life more than a theatrical career. I just took what they gave me, because I wanted to get home quickly." Joan, said one writer, personified everyone's "good friend," on- and off-camera. "Of all the stars I have interviewed," wrote Charles Higham, "I have liked Joan Blondell the best. She is unique in my experience in being an actress who is devoid of ego, self-congratulation and self-pity, and would not dream of quoting a favorable review of herself. She is down-to-earth and human and real. This is almost unheard of in Saran-wrapped Hollywood." Her accessibility, straightforwardness and her quick-with-a-comeback attitude was her appeal, and it never diminished as she got older. ~ Ray Hagen

We worked so hard," [Joan Blondell] said, "and hardly ever had a day off ... Saturday was a working day and we usually worked right into Sunday morning." Joan's good nature may have worked against her in the long run. While fellow Warner Brothers workers Bette Davis, James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland and Humphrey Bogart fought like lions for better roles and more creative input, Joan took things in stride, at least through the early 1930s. "I just sailed through things, took the scripts I was given, did what I was told. I couldn't afford to go on suspension - my family needed what I could make. ~ Eve Golden