by SeaShark
Spencer Tracy remembered Jean Harlow fondly as a "grand girl" when talking about her after her tragic death in 1937. The two co-starred with Myrna Loy and William Powell in 1936's LIBELED LADY, one of Jean's finest films. My other favorite Harlow movies are HELL'S ANGELS, RED-HEADED WOMAN, RED DUST, BOMBSHELL, DINNER AT EIGHT, PLATINUM BLONDE, and WIFE vs. SECRETARY, one of six films she made with Clark Gable and also starring Myrna Loy and Jimmy Stewart. People who knew Jean always said that the character she played in W v S was the mirror image of the real life Jean in terms of personality, temperment, kindness and selflessness. Jean was one of the most popular MGM stars in the studio's history. She treated everyone at the studio and on the set with the same friendly goodwill as she treated her fellow actors, endearing herself to everyone as "The Baby" who was loved and respected by all. 1990s biographies of Jean by Eve Golden and David Stenn and Curtis A. Brown's 1977 bio are out of print but television biographies of Jean are still repeated on Lifetime: Intimate Portraits, A&E Biography and Turner Classic Movies. Jean Harlow illuminated the screen with her beauty, style, charm, wit, sass and sly sexuality. I hope that the success of THE AVIATOR will inspire a renewed interest in Jean and encourage more filmgoers to discover for themselves this remarkable woman and actress.
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| by EARL
GWEN STEFANI MAKES A DIVERTING YET POOR, POOR COPY OF THE REAL JEAN HARLOW. STEFANI LOOKS LIKE A LOW BUDGET THIRTIES (REPUBLIC) SCREEN TEST CANDIDATE. SAME GOES WITH DE CAPRIO'S HUGHES. THE REAL JEAN IS A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW, NO LESS COPY.
EVEN THOSE TWO SIXTIES FILMS ON HER DONT DO HER JUSTICE.
A LEGEND IS A LEGEND IS A LEGEND.
LOOK AT HOW MADONNA GAVE TRIBUTE HER WITHOUT TOTALLY COPYING HER.
HARLOW IS INIMITABLE. AN ORIGINAL.
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| by SeaShark
I share your affection for JEAN HARLOW and appreciate your post. I would not have cast Gwen Stefani as Jean in THE AVIATOR but I still hope that the film's critical and popular success will encourage people to learn about Jean and enjoy her movies. Stefani in real life seems to share some aspects of Jean's personality and she seems to genuinely admire Jean but, in my opinion, Gwen's facial structure has a severe angular line that (with make-up and lighting choices) conspire to present her as a young Norma Desmond instead of Jean Harlow. I believe that television actress Kelly Carlson would have been a better choice to play Jean but of course I would have conducted several casting calls to discover just the right woman for the role. I think that Leonardo DiCaprio did an excellent job of portraying HOWARD HUGHES, and I am disappointed that THE AVIATOR was not awarded this year's Best Picture Oscar. Incidentally, two of Jean's best movies, LIBELED LADY and DINNER AT EIGHT, were released on DVD last week.
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