I’ll admit that I didn’t get the appeal of Jean Harlow initially. I originally saw her in a portion of the film Bombshell, and thought it dull and her annoying. I couldn’t understand why she was a sex symbol, the Marilyn Monroe of the 30s. It took a lackluster movie in which she was riveting to change my mind.
Red-Headed Woman (1932) is one of those pre-code films in which a loose woman doesn’t pay the penalty for her behavior. Harlow is Lil (also known as Red), a secretary who seduces her married boss, Bill Legendre Jr. (Chester Morris), to make her way up in the world. His wife, Irene (Leila Hyams), is given the tired you-should-have-forgiven-him-instead-of-leaving-him-the-prey-of-that-hussy argument when she divorces him. Usually, this argument infuriates me, but in this case, I had some sympathy for it: Bill is such a sucker that it’s hard not to pity him. How could he succeed in business when he falls so easily for a woman’s wiles? (In today’s corporate world, he’d be bankrupt in a week.)
After the divorce, Lil (Harlow) marries Bill and then trades him in for a richer model, just as she dropped her bootlegger boyfriend at the start of the film to pursue Bill. It’s this single-minded self-interest that makes Lil such a wonderful anti-heroine, and Harlow so good at playing her. The actress is just so hilarious when conveying a conniving mind in action.
The story begins with Lil’s bold plan to go over to Bill’s house in a revealing outfit while his wife is away. She’s pretending to help with his dictation, but obviously planning on sex.
First, she gussies herself up in readiness for her scheme.
Her pal, Sally (Una Merkel), is so convinced the plot will fail that she says she’ll wait outside Bill’s door for Lil; the first sign that Lil’s plans have succeeded is when we see Sally still outside in the dark, uncomfortably rising from her seat.
Lil has many seduction methods at her disposal, all of which she needs, since her boss is in love with his wife. Something about the transparency of her attempts, and lack of any hesitation, cracked me up so much that Harlow had won me just a minute into this routine, long before her Lil got to Bill.
Lil tries some pouting…
Shows a little leg….
Sobs a bit…
Pretends she will take his initial rebuffs in stride…
Feigns a longstanding affection for him, even going so far as to pin a photo of him to her garter (Her words when she was planning this ruse: “Well, it’ll get me more there than it will hanging on the wall”).
Reveals her scheming ways when he’s not looking…
And finally, in just going for the direct approach, gets what she wants:
Throughout the film, Harlow repeats a cycle of the techniques in Lil’s repertoire: baby talk, tears, denials, lies, threats, kisses. The character’s faux sweet veneer is so easily discarded for her brassy, true self; as in other Harlow roles; and it’s so much fun to watch the transition. Who wouldn’t want to see this shift again, and again, and again, especially in much finer films, with better-written parts? (My favorite may be the put-upon fiancée in Libeled Lady—I could watch Harlow marching toward jilter Spencer Tracy in that wedding dress all day long.)
As for the sex symbol status I didn’t understand? Ummm, I don’t know what to say for myself there. It’s about as hard to miss Harlow’s blazing sensuality as this predecessor’s. All you have to do is watch her posing, walking, or smiling for a few minutes, and you understand. There’s a reason Lil is confident she’ll win Bill and every other man she encounters. She just never seems to understand why her irresistibility doesn’t translate into success at the country club, a naiveté Harlow would repeat in other film roles as well–as if other wives would want her anywhere near their husbands.
As for Lil, once she decides Bill, the country club, and the town are too small for her, she moves on to richer grounds, ultimately hooking an old French sugar daddy.
She’s won a trophy for her thoroughbred, is flooded by admirers, and is still holding onto her young lover in full view of her meal ticket at the movie’s close. Of course. How else could this film possibly end?
This is the third in a monthly series of The Moment I Fell for posts…Hope you’ll share some of your favorites!
Leah, I had the same sorry introduction to Jean — I first saw her in “Public Enemy” years and years ago and thought, yeah, she’s gorgeous, but what the heck is all the fuss about? Then I saw her in Platinum Blonde and several other films and it was love at second sight. And third. And fourth…
And ugh, don’t get me started on “Libeled Lady”! The back and forth between her and Spencer Tracy is priceless. And nobody does “put-upon dame” better than Jean.
I wonder how many other people got off on the wrong foot with her — or with classic movies generally — and never gave them a second look… of course that’s a subject close to your heart, based on your blog’s name!!
Warmest wishes,
Janet
Yes, she’s not good in Public Enemy. I had the feeling she got some poor advice on that one. Both of my sisters are in that wrong-foot situation with classic films; I think my mother showed them one too many Hayley Mills movies, and neither of them will believe me when I tell them there was good acting before the late 1960s. Luckily, I happened upon AMC early on and realized I was just seeing the wrong stuff. Still working on them:) It’s so much fun to talk with those who appreciate Jean. Thanks!
Harlow is one of the best, but it’s taken me a while to appreciate her. I came to her through Marilyn (I’m a massive fan!) and I always saw her as an imitation even though I KNEW it was the other way round, and that MM borrowed so much from Harlow.
The film that made me realise the error of my ways was Platinum Blonde, I adored Harlow in it because she was so realistically callous. Always one for the tragic element too, I was captivated by her (and co-star Robert Williams’) early death, and ideas about what could have been.
It took a while for me to appreciate Marilyn too (maybe it’s the bombshell thing). It wasn’t until I saw her in The Prince and the Showgirl that I realized she really had something. A bad film, yes, but she was so alive and charming in it that the others might as well not have been on the screen:) Leah
Grant & Harlow both got cast based on looks, but they were smart & talented enough to have pretty much vertical learning curves. By the end of the ’30”s no one could touch Cary in comedy, ditto Harlow as bombshell – she creates an archetype in Dinner at Eight & steals Libeled Lady right out from under her co-stars. In Wife vs. Secretary she gives a thoughtful, subdued performance that hints at what she might have achieved allowed more time.
It is stunning how quickly the two rose, especially when you think of Harlow’s drab performance in The Public Enemy. She absolutely steals the show in Libeled Lady, and is the only standout I think in Dinner at Eight. I still haven’t seen Wife vs. Secretary but it’s on the list. Thanks for the recommendation. There’s more nuance to her performances than she’s often given credit for, so I’m glad to hear it’s so noticeable there.
I got the attention of Jean Harlow through the movie Harlow starring Carol Baker 1965. I found myself readily wanting to find out who this beautiful sexy woman was! At that time there were no video’s readily to insert and watch, I really wasn’t able to see Jean in action until a decade later. At that time an old movie theater was showing Libel Lady and I was puzzled, this was a sex symbol, a bombshell?! Well, I was disappointed because I was expecting to see a Marilyn Monroe type. I knew all about Jean through books, articles, movie mags, etc… so I jumped on a chance to see Bombshell and it was there that I finally saw a true hot Bombshell & Harlow was I believe her most sensual, beautiful and true to type! My favorite movie of hers is Wife vs Secretary & Three Wise Girls. I love Red Dust and The Girl From Missouri! She’s still my favorite blonde!
I love that she had that slow effect on you. It’s so often that we don’t find someone beautiful because we have some kind of type in mind (that was true for me with Katharine Hepburn’s beauty), and then suddenly, we get it! I still haven’t seen Three Wise Girls and look forward to it! She’s gorgeous and fun and so, so funny. It’s such a joy to watch her.