Blondes Prefer Bonds: A Strange Little Trip Backwards

Is it worth it?

If you're looking for a tight, logical plot, keep walking. Blondes Prefer Bonds is the kind of movie that feels like it was written on the back of a napkin during a lunch break. It's for the folks who get a kick out of seeing 1920s people trying to play dress-up in even older clothes. If you hate silent comedy that relies on people looking confused in oversized outfits, you’re gonna have a bad time.

Louise Fazenda is doing her best here, bless her. She’s got that specific, wide-eyed look that silent stars had to master to keep the back row of the theater awake. The premise—a makeover leading to time travel—is just an excuse to get everyone into bustles.

The transition into the past happens so fast it almost gives you whiplash. One minute it’s the present, the next they are basically in a museum exhibit. It lacks the grounded feel of something like The Hound of the Baskervilles, but it’s not trying to be a serious drama, either. It’s just fluff.

Odd little moments

• The bustles are truly enormous. They’re distracting in a way that feels intentional, like the costume department had a grudge against the actors.
• There’s a scene where the husband just stares off into space while she’s trying to be romantic. It’s honestly relatable.
• Max Davidson shows up, and you just know things are going to get slightly more chaotic.

I found myself wondering if this script was just a leftover from a different project. Sometimes the dialogue cards feel like they belong to a completely different movie. It’s not as cohesive as The Fate of a Flirt, which manages to hold its silliness together a bit better.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Blondes Prefer Bonds (1931) through its definitive frames.

The pacing is all over the map. Sometimes it drags, then suddenly everyone is running around for no reason. It’s like the editor just cut out the boring bits and forgot to check if the remaining parts actually connected. Who cares, right? It’s 1920s comedy, it doesn't need to be Shakespeare.

I wasn’t sold on the husband’s character at all. He’s just kind of... there. He reacts to his wife’s time-travel makeover with all the excitement of a damp sponge. It’s a bit of a slog to watch her try to win over someone who seems like he’d rather be reading a paper.

Still, there’s a weird sweetness to the whole thing. It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a disposable bit of entertainment. If you like this sort of thing, you'll probably enjoy the costume-heavy confusion. If not, it’s just another relic on the shelf.

I’ve seen better, and I’ve certainly seen worse. Blondes Prefer Bonds is just sort of... there. Like a piece of furniture you don't really use but don't want to throw away either. 🤷‍♂️