Red-Headed Woman
Directed by Jack Conway
Written by Anita Loos from the novel by Katherine Bush
1932/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/FilmStruck
[box] Man Outside Pool Hall: There’s a dame. Strictly on the level, like a flight of stairs.[/box]
Jean Harlow has sex appeal to spare. But her character is pretty unappealing in this one.
Lil Andrews (Harlow) has a great body to go with her bright red hair and she knows it. She goes on a single-minded campaign to bed and wed her boss Biill (Chester Morris). Bill is the son of the company president and is very much in love with his wife (Leila Hyams), his childhood sweetheart. Through pure unmitigated gall, Lil manages her homewrecking mission but is disappointed when Bill’s crowd refuses to have anything to do with her.
Eventually Lil sets her sights on a much-older tycoon that disapproves of her mightily. She initially wins him over. Can Lil’s wicked ways succeed forever? With Una Merkel, wonderful as usual, as Lil’s wise-cracking friend.
I like it better when Harlow is the one doing the wise-cracking. I found her character just plain annoying in this.
Clip
Well that quote is worth a star on it’s own.
The 30’s specialized in snappy dialogue! That’s why I love the decade so.
Are you taking a break from 1964? You seem to have dug into prewar movies again.
For some reason, I am really drawn to the pre-Code movies at the moment. But I plan to finish 1964 as well. Then I might just do early movies for a month or so before starting 1965. I’m going on vacation in JUly so it will be good to start 1965 fresh when I come back.
Sounds like a fun break.
I am myself moving very slowly for the time being. We are preparing to move away from Israel and are very busy with this project. I only expect to start 1965 in late July.
Where are you moving? Wishing you a smooth transition.
That is the thing. I don’t know yet. It will either be Denmark or Ireland. Depends on where my wife finds work.
Both sound fabulous to me!
Luke you (if I’m reading the review right) this one didn’t work for me and, bar sidekick Una Merkel the entire casr should hang their heads
Have to agree with the “Harlow is more annoying than funny” crowd.. too calculated and obvious a tease – of course it could be the husband character is just an idiot or the modern eye is simply too jaded to accept the tale. Even the atypical ending can’t save this one.
Harlow’s persistence in the face of her target’s attempt to escape her was truly annoying to me.