HARLOW (1965; 2 versions)

Jean Harlow was probably the first sex symbol of the sound movie era. In the 1930s she made over twenty movies, was a box office champ, and mostly played ditzy blondes, though in real life, she was apparently nothing like that. She died in 1937 at the age of 26 due to kidney failure, under circumstances that were never officially clarified. For many years, she remained an object of pop culture interest. In 1964, Irving Shulman published a scandalous tell-all biography of Harlow that became a best-seller, though in the years that followed, most of what he wrote has been shown to be based on rumors or untruths. In 1965, two biopics of her were released, both titled Harlow. The film from Paramount, which starred Carroll Baker, was officially based on the Shulman book but wound up almost totally fictionalized, using very few real characters. The film from Magna, a lower budget affair starring Carol Lynley, hewed a bit closer to the historical record, depicting several real people (Marie Dressler, Louis B. Mayer, Laurel & Hardy), but was shot in what was dubbed Electronovision, having been recorded on video tape and transferred to film, and the image was dark and murky. Neither version was a hit but both followed similar narratives and featured hazy biographical tidbits that continue to be accepted by some as true.

The Paramount film with Carroll Baker has a big studio gloss to it. We meet Harlow as a struggling movie extra doing minor slapstick bits. Her mother (Angela Lansbury, only six years older than Baker) is a driving stage mother and her stepfather (Raf Vallone) is a freeloader who is presented as having lust in his heart for Jean. She finds an agent, Arthur Landau (Red Buttons), who is the good guy of the movie, getting her big breaks and looking out for her mental health when he can—he says she has "the body of a woman and the emotions of a child." (Landau co-wrote the Shulman book and by all accounts, comes out here as way more important than he really was.) She is signed by the fictional Majestic Studios, becomes a star and has a relationship with an actor (Mike Connors) but she marries producer Paul Bern (his real name, played by Peter Lawford) whom she discovers on their wedding night is impotent. He beats her up and eventually kills himself. This sends Harlow on a streak of alcoholic promiscuity (apparently not based on real life) and she dies of pneumonia. Despite the glossy surfaces, this suffers from a lack of real life details—none of the movies she made or the stars she acted with are real, though the Mike Connors character seems based on William Powell with whom she had a long term relationship. Baker looks the part but can't break out of the trappings of soap opera melodrama which overpower the movie, never quite bringing Harlow to life. Buttons, Lansbury and Connors are good as are Martin Balsam and Leslie Nielsen in smaller parts. Pictured at left are Baker and Buttons. [TCM] 

The Magna film, which uses more real names, begins with Harlow (Carol Lynley, at right) doing small roles for Laurel and Hardy. Actor William Mansfield (this film's version of William Powell, played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) mocks her ambitions to be more than a sexy extra, but he comes in and out of her life and eventually encourages her in her career. Mom (Ginger Rogers) and Stepdad (Barry Sullivan) remain stereotyped figures, only out for what they can get from Jean. She becomes a star and gets career advice from grand old acting lady Marie Dressler (Hermione Baddley) with whom Harlow appeared in Dinner at Eight. MGM is not mentioned but Louis B. Mayer signs her to a contract. She marries Paul Bern (Hurd Hatfield), still impotent but no longer a physical bully, even though she calls him a "pathetic cripple." Again, the drinking (mixed with gambling) and promiscuity. She turns her back on her career, studying acting briefly with Maria Ouspenskya, returns to Hollywood and seems to be back on the road to success when she becomes ill—no explanation given—and dies a glamorous Hollywood death. As with the Baker film, soap opera is the rule and her life is treated with no real understanding or detail. Lynley is slightly better than Baker, but neither one is very good. Zimbalist is fine, but Rogers almost fades into the background in a role that should have had more energy. The most obvious problem with this movie is the video shooting. It was filmed in eight days, so it could be released a month before Paramount's version, and it looks rushed, with long takes and some uncomfortable close-ups. The film is difficult to find, and unfortunately the print on Amazon Prime is awful; it’s in pan-and-scan and was clearly taped off of a TV showing with a huge loss of visual detail. Both films seem to have been largely forgotten, and even Harlow herself is mostly unknown today except to film buffs, despite her being name-checked in Madonna’s 1990 hit song "Vogue." If you don't already know Harlow, my advice would be to skip both of these movies and catch her on TCM where her movies still show up with some regularity. Most of her MGM output is also available on home video. [Amazon Prime]