Harlow -1965-

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Could be retitled Hollywood's Harlot
Jean Harlow was an A picture star for MGM who filmed with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and William Powell. No mention of them in the film. Here, she's just a bitchy B picture star for Majestic Studios, holding her professional virginity from a B cowboy star played by Mike Connors and making her queer husband Paul Berns (Peter Lawford) impotent. The real Jean Harlow had more dignity in her pinky finger than the character Carroll Baker portrays with her usual display of hysterics granted by a trashy script.

Acting and writing bring it up to *4* stars
It was said that this film was rushed out to compete with the Made-For-TV (shot on videotape!) "Harlow" with Carol Lynley, from the same year. Perhaps more thought would have gone into the Baker version: the 1965 music permeating the movie depicting 1935 may have been scrapped in favor of "period" music, the storyline adjusted to fit the "real" story, some of the bludgeoning soliliques removed - though the script is excellent, and I daresay strong enugh to be played on a Broadway stage at the time. What the big-budget version has, most notably is consistently great performances. Carroll Baker is, to me, one of the best actresses on the silver screen, her acting is absolutely astonishing in this film: I strong believe she did an Oscar-worthy job. Red Buttons, as the Agent, also does well; Mike Connors, Leslie Nielson, Angela Lansbury, et. al., are exceptionally expressive for a movie considered now to be on the level of "The Oscar", or other huge productions of the '60s, which went awry artistically. The screenplay, though as I mentioned above, is a bit over the top, especially as it injects 1965 historical observations into a very early period in movies, when movies with spoken dialogue were called "talkies", and there simply were not that many fallen idols to draw upon. There was no development of the theme of a 17 year old beauty, playing bit parts in frantic slapstick two-reelers, suddenly finding herself a (controversial) lead actress in features with sound. Additionally, there is actually very little physical resemblance of Baker to Harlow: Baker is a "Classic" beauty while Harlow is attractive and possessing that "animal magnetism". Also, Baker is not "17" by any stretch - though she's more believable (visually) by the end of the movie, when Jean Harlow was in her mid 20s. Cinematography, sets, are impressive; though chromatics are '60s, not '30s.

Hollywood Classic
Alot of reviews I see are forgetting...This movie is based in 30's Hollywood time period...Yes it is "Hollywood" in parts and maybe the whole movie,but in the 30's, Actors and movies lived out The "Drama Queen" life style, it was almost expected. It was about Glamor,Drama, Scandal,Tabloids,Hidden Life Styles,..Over The Top Acting..False Rumors for Publicity sake...Dont compare it to todays Movie Dramas...Back then Clevage was Sexually Bold!..Today we have Total Nudity,for Gratuitous and movie viewing for selling reasons alone...Dont be so hard on this movie, it was made and Directed to create a speciffic Time Period Of many years Long Gone.

Not the Real Harlow
Jean Harlow was one of the most beloved stars of the 1930s, and her early death at 26 shocked Hollywood. This film is an attempt to cash in on her fame, and is therefore a curiosity to fans, but it is certainly no loving tribute. The film starts out decently enough. Jean Harlow (Carroll Baker) haunts the studios looking for work, and getting very little of it. She wanders onto the set of a western one day at lunchtime, hoping to fall into a meal, and she meets agent Arthur Landau (Red Buttons). Landau is looking for a client to represent, and Harlow seems perfect, so despite having to take quite a few risks, he asks to represent her. Mogul Richard Manley (Leslie Nielson) takes an interest in her and gets her work in slapstick comedies, but drops her when she refuses to become another conquest on his wall. But at least now she has her foot in the door. With her publicity as a wisecracking sex symbol, she becomes a big star, but there is something she is aching for despite her success. After a talk with Mama Jean (Angela Lansbury) about her love life with Latin lover Marino Bello (Raf Vallone), she decides that what she needs is to be seduced. She hopes to find passion with Paul Bern (Peter Lawford), but discovers on their wedding night that he is unable to perform. His suicide leads her to seek solace in any man's bed, and after a night of drinking and sex, Harlow sleeps on the beach. This gives her pnuemonia which causes her untimely death at 26. How wrong can a movie get? Harlow began as a rich girl, with no need for fame, but her mother pushed her to become a star. Once famous, she became everyone's kid sister, the girl who everyone looked out for. She was married before she achieved fame, so she was by no means a virgin when she met Paul Bern. In fact, some people who believe that Bern was impotent claim that she knew about his shortcomings and married him for them to escape being pawed constantly. However, there are serious doubts about the impotence claims; Bern had a common law marriage for years before coming to Hollywood. And the idea that Harlow became sex-starved and that this affliction led to her death is preposterous! She died because of kidney failure due to uremic poisoning, a condition that was hard to detect in the middle 1930s. What is even more shocking is that this film suggests that Harlow's career was waning toward the end of her life, which couldn't be further from the truth. She was still the bright star that she was at the height of her fame, which is why her death rattled the world. It is funny that it was not Harlow's own studio of MGM, but rival Paramount that made this film. Was there some underlying animosity there? Perhaps. What is clear is that someone somewhere involved had little regard for Harlow's memory and wasn't very disturbed by tarnishing her reputation. They also ignored the time period. Baker's hair is of a 1960s style, the music is anachronistic, and the money used is modern. This film is only worthy of seasoned Harlow fans who are just curious.

It has its moments, but...
...this is a movie based on a ficticious biography by one of Harlow's first agents and thus, an inaccurate depiction of Jean's life. If you want the real story on Jean Harlow , I suggest you find two recent biographies written about Harlow within the last 5-6 years; They dispell all the myths and get to the truth. A movie was to be made in 2000 based on one of these books, but it hasn't happened yet. So, in the meantime, enjoy this 1960's escapism movie for the outlandish sets, great wardrobe and lots of soap opera drama...but, don't take it seriously because of its inaccuracy. But I will say Carroll Baker, Peter Lawford, and Angela Lansbury do the best they can with what was given them.