The Girl from Missouri
Directed by Jack Conway
Written by Anita Loos and Jack Emerson
1934/US
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime rental
Eadie Chapman: [At an elegant party] Will you try for once in your life to be a lady?
Kitty Lennihan: If they wanted ladies, they’d be home with their wives.
An entertaining comic romp showcasing Jean Harlow as a good girl for a change.
Jean Harlow plays Eadie Chapman, the title character. She has been raised in the backrooms of a saloon by an abusive father and a slatternly mother. She runs away with friend Kitty Lennihan (Patsy Kelly) to the big city determined to marry a rich man without losing her virtue. Patsy is more interested in anything in pants.
Eadie starts in the chorus line. Being Jean Harlow, she attracts a lot of attention. First broke millionaire Frank Cousins (Louis Stone) asks her to marry him on sight and gifts her a priceless Cellini and a ruby before shooting himself in the head. Then she meets T.R. Paige (Lionel Barrymore), a big shot who is about to depart for a disarmament conference. Paige protects her from the police who suspect her of stealing the jewels and Eadie sets her cap for him.
Jean follows T.R. to Palm Beach, where she knocks the socks off his son, Franchot Tone. Nobody really believes she is a good girl. Will Eadie win the day?
This is another one I found on a list of pre-Code movies that was released after the enforcement of the Hays Code. Nevertheless we do get to see Jean in some pretty darn skimpy attire. Patsy Kelly is also great in this movie. She didn’t make nearly enough movies IMO. Very entertaining.
