Noirvember Review: Blonde Ice (1948)

by Cameron of The Blonde at the Film

I was delighted when The Film Detective asked me to review one of their new noir titles, and extra pleased when I got to choose Blonde Ice. The movie was based on Whitman Chambers’ 1938 novel Once Too Often, though it took ten years to get to the screen. It’s a B-movie noir (made with a smaller budget and intended to be the second half of a double feature) produced by Martin Mooney Productions. Mooney was a screenwriter and producer who also produced one of the most famous B-movies, Detour (1945).

Fun fact: some of the large studios had production units that cranked out B-movies to accompany their A-films, but there were also studios that only made B-pictures, like Monogram or Republic Pictures. Blonde Ice appears to be the only movie made by “Martin Mooney Productions,” though it wasn’t uncommon for small companies to make just a few B films before folding or re-organizing under a different name.

For a deeper look at this film's history click here to read the entire review - and be sure to head over to our app to catch this crime Film Noir!