tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post6094601338076950025..comments2024-03-28T23:29:53.764-04:00Comments on BB Creations: Star of the MonthBirgithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09439720285857050428noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-73872303851513797152023-03-10T12:58:29.218-05:002023-03-10T12:58:29.218-05:00I also meant to say that love your line up of your...I also meant to say that love your line up of your favourite Harlow films and I have to agree. Can you imagine being at the funeral hearing Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy since Indian Love Call?Birgithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09439720285857050428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-69725252173439258842023-03-09T22:40:25.025-05:002023-03-09T22:40:25.025-05:00Yeah that story never sounded right to me but when...Yeah that story never sounded right to me but when I read that book, it all fell into place.Birgithttp://createdbybb.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-38118272084119291652023-03-09T22:29:06.852-05:002023-03-09T22:29:06.852-05:00Today, she would have been in and out of the hospi...Today, she would have been in and out of the hospital and she would have kept on going.Birgithttp://createdbybb.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-71349208347169755692023-03-09T22:19:22.305-05:002023-03-09T22:19:22.305-05:00She did work hard and was in many movies for her s...She did work hard and was in many movies for her short life.Birgithttp://createdbybb.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-26428364281039844732023-03-09T22:18:11.299-05:002023-03-09T22:18:11.299-05:00I know it’s not Saratoga Trunk…ughh either I just ...I know it’s not Saratoga Trunk…ughh either I just mindlessly wrote that or my iPad decided to finish what it didn’t need to…lol. I’m so glad you enjoyed my writing here. You’re right tht he was just common law but I just think of it as married…my bad. I believe she would have evolved and would have been in so many great roles but we shall never know.Birgithttp://createdbybb.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-51100122807708133102023-03-09T22:12:45.618-05:002023-03-09T22:12:45.618-05:00I am testing here…I am testing here…Birgithttp://createdbybb.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-52876760002843398222023-03-08T17:42:28.646-05:002023-03-08T17:42:28.646-05:00I've heard of Jean Harlow, but have never seen...I've heard of Jean Harlow, but have never seen her in film or knew anything about her. So sad, but at least medical diagnoses have come a long way since she died.<br /><br />Bleubeard and Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10149710375520733752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-65933269935424494532023-03-08T17:39:35.026-05:002023-03-08T17:39:35.026-05:00She really worked hard in her short time, didn’t s...She really worked hard in her short time, didn’t she?Anabel Marshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15643196773717977697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-84140667403209293072023-03-07T23:55:50.928-05:002023-03-07T23:55:50.928-05:00Jean is a big favorite of mine, so I heartily appr...Jean is a big favorite of mine, so I heartily approve you choosing her for this month’s spotlight! <br /><br />At the beginning of her brief career she was painfully uncomfortable (her work in The Public Enemy is particularly mechanical) and stiff in front of the camera, though she still radiated a strong presence that drew the audience’s eye to her. Even she was aware of this and commented on it in her typical plainspoken way, but she worked hard and after MGM bought her contract and Paul Bern took an interest in her she blossomed. She was never completely comfortable in drama but she found her niche in comedy and at her best few match her special magic. <br /><br />A lot of her private life was a monkey show but mostly not of her doing. The whole Paul Bern mess seems almost too odd to be true, not sure if he could have been convicted of bigamy since Dorothy Millette was merely his common-law wife and no actual ceremony took place but I do believe it was she who shot him and then wandered away to San Francisco and leapt from the ferry to her death. <br /><br />Jean’s look was very distinctive and very much of its time but I think she would have adapted and changed with the times. After China Seas where she was the full-on platinum blonde of legend she and Louis B. Mayer worked together to soften her appearance and broaden her appeal. Her softer look and more natural hair color (supposedly wigs since over bleaching had destroyed her hair several years before) and a move into more refined roles would have kept her from being trapped in the bombshell strait-jacket. It was working too, where some of her contemporaries careers were faltering she was a cash cow for the studio and was to be loaned to 20th Century Fox for “In Old Chicago” at the time of her passing. Such a shame but I doubt that even if she had been properly diagnosed that there was much at the time the medical profession could have done once her kidneys were damaged by scarlet fever, though they might have been able to prolong her death for a few years. <br /><br />Through the years I’ve managed to see all her films, so many for such a short career! A mixed bag but my top ten would run in this order:<br /><br />Red Dust-she and Gable are pure sex on a stick in this. <br />Libeled Lady-her best performance in a film full of wonderful work.<br />Dinner at Eight<br />Bombshell<br />Wife vs. Secretary<br />China Seas<br />Red-Headed Woman<br />Personal Property<br />The Secret Six<br />Hold Your Man<br /><br />The biggest missed opportunity in her filmography was her pairing with Cary Grant in the disappointing “Suzy” which starts well and then deflates into turgid soap opera misusing both performers gift for comedy. There were plans in place to reunite the pair much more ideally in “Topper” but her death prevented that. <br /><br />By the way her final film is titled Saratoga not Saratoga Trunk (a weird misfire with Ingrid Bergman and Gary Cooper). Saratoga is a weird viewing experience if you know the backstory. You spend most of the time distracted by the knowledge that only about 2/3 of her scenes are actually Jean (sometimes it switches back and forth between her doubles and she within the same sequence!) and for most of it she doesn’t look well. joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-58629452549821377742023-03-07T17:13:08.789-05:002023-03-07T17:13:08.789-05:00She was scary young when she first married as well...She was scary young when she first married as well!Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-45548944048481386622023-03-07T13:19:52.888-05:002023-03-07T13:19:52.888-05:00I knew she was young when she died, but I had no i...I knew she was young when she died, but I had no idea she was THAT young...John Holtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00545030511941957804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-28398956267560481862023-03-07T13:08:36.121-05:002023-03-07T13:08:36.121-05:00I knew she died young, but I did not know it was d...I knew she died young, but I did not know it was due to kidney failure. Yikes. They so should have caught that sooner. Liz A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16531953467834426316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-24260563773522440882023-03-07T12:57:47.291-05:002023-03-07T12:57:47.291-05:00Hi, Birgit!
Sorry I'm late, dearie. I've ...Hi, Birgit!<br /><br />Sorry I'm late, dearie. I've been on the road all day and just now getting back. <br /><br />Jean Harlow is a name I remember hearing many times in my youth. From discussions about her on blogs like yours, I was aware that she took ill and died very young, an untimely death that apparently could have been prevented had she or the studio sought a second opinion regarding her diagnosis and treatment. What a terrible waste. <br /><br />However, Jean is not an actress whose work I have closely followed. I can think of several reasons. In general, early talkies and films of the 1930s do not interest me as much as films released in the 40s and later. Perhaps I was spoiled by blonde bombshell MM. Perhaps I prefer softer, kittenish characters like those often played by MM to the hard nosed, tough talking dames Jean often played.<br /><br />I'm sure you know that Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies was played by Max Baer Jr., son of the famous boxer with ties to Harlow.<br /><br />Thank you for shining the spotlight on Jean Harlow, a fine actress whose life was cut tragically short, but whose legend lives on. Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday, dear friend BB. I'll be back to see you tamale on Song Day Wednesday!Shady Del Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07887100141814372022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-18007796645141913022023-03-07T11:23:47.619-05:002023-03-07T11:23:47.619-05:00What a tragedy to die so young! Thanks for that fa...What a tragedy to die so young! Thanks for that fascinating back story on Jean Harlow. I'd only read the underdeveloped genitalia story. Dinner At Eight is one of my favourite classic films!Debbie D. https://www.blogger.com/profile/13153118405565035071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141871469594180795.post-72849377747971254612023-03-07T11:21:57.341-05:002023-03-07T11:21:57.341-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Debbie D. https://www.blogger.com/profile/13153118405565035071noreply@blogger.com