Don't Bet on Blondes (1935) User Reviews

Warren William as a bookie turned insurance man

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 21 February 2015]

"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.

Snappy Warren William Comedy

[elpep49 · 7/10 · 22 June 2002]

has bookie William going legit and becoming a high-risk insurer a la Lloyds of London. He and his gang insure all sorts of hair-brained things, such as whether a man (Hobart Cavanaugh) will have twins, whether a husband-caller (Maude Eburne) will lose her voice, etc. But William gets involved in another scheme involving the marriage of a showgirl (Claire Dodd) and the nutty book her father (Guy Kibbee) wants to write. Warners comedy has the usual snappy dialog and the underrated and sadly forgotten Warren William takes great advantage of every line. He had a wonderful, leering kind of comic delivery that made him one of a kind. Mary Treen, Vince Barnet, Herman Bing and, Erool Flynn, in his first substantial part in an American movie, help make this one fun.

A totally whacked out plot...but still quite enjoyable AND a chance to see Errol Flynn just before he became BIG!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 4 May 2016]

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.

Damon Runyon Types Turn Respectable

[boblipton · 6/10 · 13 April 2022]

Bookmaker Warren William refuses to pay off when Clay Clement's doped horse wins; he has the doctor's report. Tired of the rackets, William turns legit, recasting himself as an insurance agent. When his new-found respectability gets leading actress Claire Dodd interested in him, Clement sees an opportunity for revenge: he has Miss Dodd's father, Guy Kibbee, a phoney-baloney scholar who's supposed to be writing a southern-fried history of the Civil War take out a $50,000 policy against her getting married... with William carrying the risk.

Will true love -- or as true as it gets in faux-Damon Runyon territory conquer, or will the fifty grand carry the day? There are lots of fine character actors with monikers like "Brains" and "Numbers" and Errol Flynn gets a promotion from appearing as a corpse on a slab.

Delightfully funny (short) movie starring the stylish Warren William

[jacobs-greenwood · 7/10 · 18 December 2016]

Directed by Robert Florey, with story and screenplay by Isabel Dawn and Boyce DeGaw, this short (less than an hour) comedy starring Warren William is a lot of fun, a delightful little movie with rich characterizations which should entertain most, especially those fans of the stylish actor. Though you probably won't find yourself laughing out loud, you should enjoy spotting several familiar faces throughout this film (including a cameo by Errol Flynn, in one of his first pictures).

'Odds' Owen (William) is the best known bookie in town (New York?), setting the odds and taking bets from sports gamblers of nearly every sport at his thriving business offices. His staff includes: Numbers (William Gargan - They Knew What They Wanted (1940)), who calculates the odds using statistics, etc.; Doc (Spencer Charters), who examines horses at the track; Steve (Eddie Shubert), a detective for Odds; and Brains (Vince Barnett), who's a gopher ("go for this, go for that") for the other things Odds may need, or need done. The recognizable Mary Treen plays his office secretary. When a man comes in and places a $2,500 bet on a 20-1 horse, Numbers has Steve follow him and then tells Odds. Odds calls Brains & Doc at the track, for more information, and then listens on the radio as the long-shot comes in (wins the race). Odds then asks Doc to check to see if the horse had been doped. When he finds out that it was, Odds takes the certified results to the person Steve found out made the bet, T. Everett Markham (Clay Clement), the horse's owner and a successful lawyer downtown. Odds gives Markham the choice of taking the results or his $50,000 in winnings and Markham chooses the incriminating evidence. Odds gives Markham his $2,500 back and makes it clear that Markham should sell his stables, or else. Later, Markham tells his Broadway star actress girlfriend, Marilyn Young (Claire Dodd), that he's left the horse racing business because it's infiltrated with gangsters.

Though happy with himself for coming out on top, Odds tells his staff that they are getting out of the gambling business and going into the insurance business. He tells them that it's pretty much the same business after all and that, since there is no equivalent to Lloyds of London in the U.S., they will write unique policies and collect premiums for "freak" occurrences. One of their first clients is Philbert Slemp (Hobart Cavanaugh), a homely little man who wants to insure that his wife doesn't have twins, even though they run in the family. Against his staff's advice, Odds takes the bet anyway, based on the man's lack of sex appeal. Another bet he takes is from Mousy Slade (Jack Norton), who manages "husband caller" (you have to see this, to believe it - evidentally it was, or still is, something that's done at state fairs) Little Ellen Purdy (Maude Eburne), and wants to insure his client against losing her voice. Though Numbers is against it, Brains convinces him that it's what Odds wants.

One day, when Markham is visiting Marilyn, he learns that she's engaged to Dwight Boardman (Walter Byron), who arrives professing he is suffering from some ailment and that his doctor has advised him not to catch a chill; he's wearing his coat and scarf indoors. Markham, who has been reading about Odds's new success in the papers, gets an idea. So, he visits Marilyn's father, Colonel Jefferson Davis Youngblood (Guy Kibbee), who's trying to write a book about how the South really won the Civil War. After reminding the Colonel that Boardman is a Yankee, Markham tells Marilyn's father that, if she marries Boardman and quits the stage, he'll lose his income from her. Therefore, he convinces the Colonel to take out a policy which pays $50,000 if his daughter gets married, so that he'll have enough to complete his book if she does. Of course, Markham intends to marry Marilyn himself, to get even with Odds. Again, against the advice of Numbers, Odds takes the Colonel's bet for $100 week over the policy's term, 3 years. When Numbers shows Odds that the paper says Marilyn is practically engaged to Boardman, he and his staff, Doc really, conspire to convince the hypochondriac Boardman that marriage could be fatal, and that he should spend the next 3 years abroad. Odds has Steve monitor Marilyn's dating habits, and he & his staff establish a three (strikes and you're out) date rule - anyone who dates her more than 3 times is "eliminated". The first to invoke this course of action is David Van Dusen (Errol Flynn), who is made to appear to be a gangster during his fourth date with Marilyn.

When Marilyn recognizes Odds at the "demise" of her second suitor, they begin dating. Though he has really fallen for Marilyn, Odds tells his staff that he is "keeping her out of circulation". When Marilyn visits him at his (now) insurance offices, she sees her father come in to make a payment on his policy. Later, after getting the Colonel drunk on mint juleps, she learns about the policy and thinks Odds is just protecting his investment. She decides to ensure that he falls in love with her in order to break his heart.

I've given away a good portion of this short movie's plot, given its length, so I think I'll stop here. Of course, Markham will enter into the picture again and you might have figured out where things are going anyway.

Decent

[Michael_Elliott · 27 February 2008]

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.

Bet on Flynn, instead

[schappe1 · 6/10 · 27 September 2020]

This is chapter 2 in my journey through Errol Flynn's career. Since 'In the Wake of the Bounty' (1933), he'd spent a year and a half in England, some of it with the Northampton Repertory Company, where he really learned to act, and seeking employment in London West End and in the film studios. He made a now lost film, 'Murder at Monte Carlo' (1935) and got the call to come to Warner Brothers in America. His first role there was as a corpse in a morgue in a Perry Mason movie, (there were several in the 30's, many of them starring Warren William as Mason, as this one does), 'The Case of the Curious Bride' (1935). Errol appears in flashbacks as a long-thought-dead first husband who wants to be paid to go away and does - the hard way with his wife being blamed for it. Flynn would get revenge of a sort by running Raymond Burr through in a swordfight in 'The Adventures of Don Juan' (1949). I haven't bene able to find a complete version of this film, just a trailer and one scene on You-Tube. Flynn appears in neither.

This was another Warren William vehicle in which Flynn appeared for 5 minutes as a suitor for a woman William has fallen in love with. William manages by a ploy to take him out of the running as a potential husband. William a mostly forgotten but deft actor with great presence, is a gambler who decided that setting up an insurance agency for things nobody else would ever insure is about the same thing. He's asked to ensure that a pretty and successful young actress will not marry until her father, who is dependent on the allowance she gives him until he finishes a book he is writing. William signs him up for a $50,000 policy and arranges through his Runyonesque associates to eliminate potential suitors in semi-comic fashion. Flynn is one of them and sheepishly looks on as William's henchmen come up to a table where he's sitting with the young lady and express their friendship with him, also handing him an envelope full of money and a gun wrapped in a newspaper. Unfortunately, Errol isn't given any lines of note and his appearance in this film lasts about 5 minutes.

But the picture, which only lasts 58 minutes but has a fast pace, is reasonably entertaining. But it's very minor thing compared to what was to come. The bit parts were over.

1930s WB should have made more production code era films like these...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 23 September 2023]

... especially with Warren William, since this really played well off of his playful slickness. Too many times after the production code came in, WB substituted unfunny inanity, fast talking, and motion for the sake of action to replace the bawdy comedy of the production code years, and their movies suffered for that.

"Odds" Owen (Warren William) is a bookie running a very large bookmaking establishment. One day some anonymous fellow comes in and places a 2500 dollar bet on a horse that never wins. The odds are 20 to 1. Numbers (William Gargan) is immediately suspicious, informs Owen, and they put a tail on the guy who made the bet. It turns out the money that made the bet is actually owned by Wall Street banker Everett Markham (Clay Clement). The horse does win. Immediately after the race an Owens associate - the woods are full of Owens associates, it's part of what makes the film - gets a sample of saliva from the horse and he turns out to have been doped. Owens presents Markham with the evidence and refuses to pay off the bet.

Owens says that the bookmaking game isn't fun anymore with fraudsters like Markham involved and decides to leave that profession and go into the insurance game since the two professions are similar, or at least operate on similar principles. So, Owens founds a company that insures the oddball kinds of things that Lloyds of London does. Meanwhile Markham has vowed revenge on Owens for exposing him as a fraud. Funny and odd complications ensue.

This follows the tried-and-true WB formula of having William be the urbane and distinguished leader of a ragtag band of Runyonesque associates trying to be on the level for a change. The unique insurance niche this group is trying to fill is an opportunity for all kinds of odd clients and situations including a champion husband caller who needs her voice insured, a man who wants to be insured against twins, and the case that is at the center of the plot - a crackpot author (Guy Kibbee) who wants to insure his actress daughter (Claire Dodd) against marriage for three years so that he has time to finish his book on how the South really won the Civil War. This is because his daughter gives him an allowance to live off of that would end if she married and left the stage.

Unlike most WB second feature comedies of the time, this does not have a wild finish, but it is satisfying. Running at just under an hour it does not outstay its welcome. If you like Warren William you'll like this one, and perhaps if WB had put Warren William in more high caliber comedies such as this he would have not wandered over to MGM in 1937.

If you know who Warren William was, you might just about enjoy this.

[1930s_Time_Machine · 3/10 · 12 April 2024]

Clive Hirschhorn describes this as 'pathetic' in the Warner Brothers Story. That's maybe a little unfair. For it to be pathetic implies it evokes feelings of pathos in the viewer whereas this evokes about as much feeling as looking at beige wallpaper. But it's Warren William doing what he always does so I watched it anyway - it was OK.

This picture highlights the problem with the old studio system. Today when a film-maker decides to make a movie he or she employs a writer and gathers a cast together, in the 1930s, movies weren't conceived like that, they were just product a film factory made. Warners and the other majors had a salaried standing army of writers, film-makers and actors all contracted to work 9 to 5 on whatever tasks their bosses gave them. Like the other majors, Warners owned a lot of cinemas and they all had an insatiable appetite for reels of celluloid to keep them alive. The quality of that food-stock didn't matter too much provided it encouraged their customers to sit in the comfortable heated picture houses rather than in their depression riddled garrets.

This is exactly the output of a studio just colouring in the rolls of celluloid with something the punters will look at. It feels like whichever actors weren't doing anything on one particular Tuesday got sent over to stage 7 with the instruction just to be in that picture until Friday then you're on stage 5 making the viking picture. Director Robert Florey was clearly not looking busy enough either as he was made to direct this - he made some reasonable movies but he was no superstar - especially when just making something so bland and unimaginative as this. The actors corralled in here were the fabulous, although somewhat predictable Warren William and some other people. Guy Kibbee is reasonably personable but the big problem is that the leading female is Claire Dodd who is just not cut out for lead and seems unable to generate any chemistry with Warren William or indeed with any of her suitors (including that young Australian bloke). The whole thing is just flat and lifeless.......but if you like this sort of rubbish like I do, it's tolerable.

If for no reason you can logically explain, you like watching pre-code or even mid 1930s movies - particularly those from Warner Brothers so they're not too polished, not too long, definitely not too sentimental or mushy, not too up themselves like some of those snooty Paramount films, then you will probably enjoy this although you'll be aware watching it that it's pretty terrible. As a comedy it is not funny and as a romance, it doesn't even try to do that. It's just a moderately fun hour of 1930s Americana.

It has everything going for it but a story!

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 20 March 2015]

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.

Mr. William's Comedy Capers

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 12 December 2003]

DON'T BET ON BLONDES is the lesson New York City's most eccentric insurance broker learns the hard way.

Fast-moving & fun, this is another example of the comedy crime picture that Warner Brothers was so expert at producing. Casts & plots could be shuffled almost endlessly, with very predictable results. While this assembly line approach created few classics, audience enjoyment could usually be assured.

Suave and sophisticated, Warren William dominates this enjoyable little film with his debonair manner and slightly sardonic sense of humor. Playing a topnotch bookie who seamlessly switches to the more legal insurance racket, William is never less than absolutely in command of his performance. His pursuit of lovely Claire Dodd, even though she's the subject of his client's offbeat policy, illustrates his character's single-minded determination to get exactly what he wants. Whether in comedy or drama, Warren William was a most enjoyable actor to watch and it is a shame that he is almost forgotten now.

A sturdy cast of costars gives fine support to William. Cuddly Guy Kibbee plays a Kentucky colonel desperate to retain his daughter's largess. Quick-tempered William Gargan is William's numbers expert, while Spencer Charters is his wise old company doctor. Clay Clement is a somewhat larcenous lawyer who has his eyes on Miss Dodd; Walter Byron portrays a prissy hypochondriac actor. Mary Treen is William's no-nonsense secretary; Hobart Cavanaugh plays a little man anxious to ensure his pregnant wife against having twins.

Look fast for Herman Bing as a man with a dog. A young Errol Flynn, looking earnest & eager, plays a potential suitor for Miss Dodd; he would become a major movie star very shortly. Wonderful Maude Eburne steals her scenes as a champion husband caller from Iowa.

Movie mavens will recognize W. C. Fields' longtime accomplice, Tammany Young, as an uncredited betting tout in the open scene.

Rather Tame Warren William

[pronker · 5/10 · 22 April 2016]

I'd like to give it more stars just because of William, but at 60 minutes or thereabouts the thin amount of footage did not warrant it. It's fast enough and the image of furiously betting and calculating clients of bookie William carry along the first part.

It's the romance that slows things down. I don't mind predictability, though. Dodd is pretty enough for anyone's taste and William's dapper persona makes him and her nice looking as a couple. The most memorable scene to me, not the funniest, was the part at the end when Dodd is set to marry unloved suitor #1 rather than William. Did she compromise her self and future happiness by settling simply to have the title 'Mrs.'? It looks that way. The entire huge church attendance stares at the door where Suitor #1 ought to enter and the eager crowd's demeanor and growing look of dismay on Dodd's countenance as she faces being stood up make the scene poignant. Then William enters unexpectedly and weds his dream girl. I liked how he in the first 10 minutes completely bowed out of being a bookie and tried for a more respectable career. Naturally, he was immediately successful. All in all, any Warren William is good Warren William, and I'd not seen this picture before, so I watched it. Meh.

Entertaining Programmer

[dougdoepke · 9 March 2017]

Not quite a Damon Runyon type jest, there is that element among the colorful characters. "Odds" Owen (William) morphs from ordinary bookie into insurance adventurer who'll underwrite any thing if the odds are right. So he insures Col. Youngblood for fifty-g's that his daughter (Dodd) and sole support won't marry for at least three years. Good thing Owen's got a crew of roughnecks to discourage potential suitors. Trouble is he sort of likes the fetching daughter himself.

William handles the central role in a compellingly good-natured fashion. Perhaps the programmer's most engaging part is the premise. That Owen will insure most anything if the odds are favorable leads him to insure things like a father not having twins, and a weary woman having a hog-calling voice for contests. The latter is a real room wrecking hoot. I don't suppose Owens' underwriting is illegal even though standard insurers won't take up the novel risks. Still, I doubt that using thuggish "persuaders" appears in the underwriter's handbook.

Overall, it's typical WB 30's fare— fast moving with colorful characters and well-upholstered women. Otherwise, it's an early Errol Flynn walk-on as a luckless suitor, but little more than an entertaining 60- minute time-passer. Still that's usually enough.

premise don't make sense

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 23 September 2023]

Famous Broadway sports bookmaker Oscar 'Odds' Owen (Warren William) loses $50k to a doped horse owned by Everett Markham (Clay Clement). He forces Markham to pay back his bet and leave horse racing. He decides to go into underwriting unusual insurance policies. Markham's actress friend Marilyn Youngblood (Claire Dodd) is dating rich playboy Dwight Boardman (Walter Byron) and supporting her problematic moronic father Colonel Youngblood (Guy Kibbee). Markham sees a way to get back at Odds. He pushes the Colonel to make a bet on his daughter not marrying in the next three years. Owen's men start harassing Marilyn's boyfriends starting with Dwight and then David Van Dusen (Errol Flynn).

The story is a bit of irreverent fun. Warren William should have more early screen time. I like the inside scoop on the betting world and I want more. While the Colonel spins a fine tall tale, Odds is too smart to fall for the scam. It's too easy for the girl to marry. The whole premise doesn't really make sense. This makes Odds look like a reckless gambler trying to cover his bet.

World's Most Boring Plot

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 2/10 · 16 April 2022]

This is one of those films in the early talkie era that illustrated how far films had fallen since the demise of silent films. Silents were filmed anywhere and everywhere; capturing images was paramount. The early talkies had so much trouble working out sound that movies became stage bound and stiff. Talk, talk, talk, talk. Who cares.

When you combine stiff staging with a plot that centres on something as interminably dull as insurance, you might just have the dullest movie ever made. This isn't exactly The Big Short or Moneyball

It's fitting that this is Errol Flynn's last movie down the bill. Next on his resume was Captain Blood - full of big-budget action, noise and movement. That might be as big a leap in movies as it was when they put him up there in Technicolor for the first time in The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Guy Kibbee's Kentucky Fried hillbilly routine got immediately on my nerves so I started FF'ing until I got to Flynn's part. He appears roughly 33 minutes in as the scene shifts to a golf course. About a minute later he's in a tux at a nightclub with Claire Dodd. He's beautiful and his performance is pitch-perfect. Cool part is seeing him with his own hair instead of the Garbo wig he got stuck with in Captain Blood.

This odds-on-favorite film is sure to entertain

[SimonJack · 8/10 · 18 February 2021]

"Don't Bet on Blondes" is first-rate entertainment all the way. Warren William is in command as the odds-on favorite book-maker of New York, Oscar 'Odds' Owen. He goes by "Odds," and the audience never learns his true name until Claire Dodd's Marilyn Youngblood coaxes it out of him. Even then he has to whisper it in her ear, but she's not about to let it stay a secret for all those who paid good money to see this film. She then comments to him out loud and calls him Oscar.

That's just one of the dozens of little gem scenes and tidbits that this film has. But the leads aren't the only ones to tickle the funny bone. A supporting cast is first-rate and perfectly matched for their respective roles. In Odds Owen's booking joint and then insurance offices, William Gargan is tops as Numbers. He can cite statistics from memory and whip out odds faster than a computer - which, of course, they didn't have in those days. Vince Barnett is very funny as Brains, and Spencer Charters is perfect as Doc. Others also contribute, especially well-known and recognized Guy Kibbee as Col. Jefferson Davis Youngblood.

The plot may be easy to analyze, though there is a twinge of mystery with a distasteful character named Everett Markham, played very well by Clay Clement. But it's a different and quite unusual plot that is a great deal of fun.

And one nice insert is a supporting role for Errol Flynn as David Van Dusen. For this fifth of his films, Flynn still is without his later trademark mustache. He had been in films for four years, but had only one leading role until late in this same year. When he plays Peter Blood in "Captain Blood," that hits theaters in December 1935, Flynn skyrockets to stardom which ends only with his death 24 years later at the age of 50. He suffered a heart attack in 1959.

This film was made smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression. Like so many other films of the time that were set among the wealthy in New York City, it's drenched in high society living. But the humor and light-hearted nature of William's Odds Owen undoubtedly helped lift spirits and create some smiles among audiences during those tough years. Tough years or not, now, this film is still an uplifter and very entertaining. It has a wonderful ending that most viewers will find a winner at any odds.

Here are a couple of favorite lines.

Doc, "To lay down with dogs is to get up with fleas." Odds Owen, "Then the thing to do is stay away from dogs. And, Doc, I think Maybe I will."

Marilyn Youngblood, "I'm marrying Everett because... well, because I want to." Col. Jefferson Davis Youngblood, "I know that, my dear. But sometimes retreat is the better point of valor."