Platinum Blonde | Loretta Young, Robert Williams | Cinderella Man and The Platinum Blonde

Platinum Blonde | Loretta Young, Robert Williams | Platinum Blond

DVDs:

Platinum Blonde

	Platinum Blonde Loretta Young, Robert Williams Sony Pictures, 2003 average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

A socialite heiress defeats a journalist in a competition for the attention of a frustrated playwright but when her lifestyle begins to stifle him the reporter comes to his rescue. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 11/22/2005 Starring: Jean Harlow Loretta Young Run time: 89 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Frank Capra

Cinderella Man and The Platinum Blonde

Platinum Blonde remains a fine example of an early screwball comedy about very different people trying to coexist with each under stressful situations with plenty of silly lines and good laughs on the side. The script is certainly not the best you'll ever find but the actors do a superlative job with what they are given. The direction by Frank Capra reflects forethought and the camera angles help dramatize scenes in the movie as the plot unfolds.

The story starts with newspaper reporter Stew Smith, played by the very talented Robert Williams, going to get a story on a rich society scandal. He gets it; but he also gets the heart of the daughter of the wealthy Schuyler family, Anne, played by the beautiful Jean Harlow. Stew and Anne become romantically involved and the problems begin right along with the romance. Stew comes from a working class background and he wants to support his wife; but Anne has very different plans for him. This constant tug of war for control of their relationship dominates the rest of the movie plot.

In addition, look for Loretta Young playing Gallagher. Gallagher and Stew are friends; but to make matters even more complicated Gallagher wants more from Stew than friendship. Anne's mother and the family attorney spice up the plot even further with their histrionics about the tragedy of Anne's "funeral" relationship with Stew. Wow!

Will Anne and Stew stay together? Will Anne's family ultimately accept and love Stew as one of their own? Will Stew become "a bird in a gilded cage? "How will Gallagher fit into this plot? No spoilers here, folks: you'll have to watch the movie to find out the answers to these questions! SMILE

The cinematography impressed me; in 1931 it was still difficult for pictures to be shot without the camera staying still because microphones could not yet be moved about above the cameras. Nevertheless, in Platinum Blonde Capra manages to get both the cameras and the microphones moving as the actors move about the set. Excellent! The sound wobbles at times but this is to be expected from an older movie like this one.

I agree with the reviewers who write that somehow the title of this movie, Platinum Blonde, gives you the sense that Jean Harlow is the big star--but she doesn't quite get that honor when the credits roll. In fact, she gets second billing below Loretta Young! I agree with others who believe that the movie studio was indeed trying to play up the fact that Jean Harlow was in the movie.

The DVD comes with few extras; you merely get a couple of movie trailers. That irks me but in those days excess footage was not necessarily kept.

What a tragedy that poor Robert Williams died so soon after this picture was finished. He would have been a huge star had he lived longer

Overall, Platinum Blonde is a cross between a serious story and a purely comedic romp through relationships that become challenged when two people from very different backgrounds try to stay in love. Jean Harlow fans will treasure this movie; she never looked lovelier and her very convincing acting shines all the way through the picture. Fans of older movie classics will also enjoy watching Platinum Blonde.

for more information click here

Platinum Blond

A very amusing tale of role reversal. A wealthy woman involved with an "average joe" who still wants the
independence to live his life without the yoke of high society's false "airs."

Give it a Few Tries

Platinum Blonde is the story of a newspaper reporter (Robert Williams), one of the best. His job is to investigate a scandal with one of the best known families, the Schuylers. He's so clever, he gets them to admit to a story against their will, but in the process is captured by the eye of beautiful daugher Anne (Jean Harlow). Although he scoops them, he also helps them out of the mess and makes his way into the family by eloping with Anne. This hurts his pal Gallagher (Loretta Young) who has loved him for years, but he's in his own world. He doesn't quite realize what he's getting himself into as a poor man wedding a rich family. Cracks from his friends ensue and day by day his wife does all that she can to change him.

Unfortunately, people have high expectations for this film, and it doesn't necessarily measure up. First of all, this is not typical Capra. There are not heartfelt messages of hope at the end. The characters do not signify what the average man strives to be or the pitfalls he faces. Secondly, Harlow does not play a seductress here; in fact, she's quite classy. Last, Williams is an unknown, and alongside an all star cast, he's the leading man. This can be startling because we have never seen him before and are therefore less likely to like him right off. The first time I saw this film, I was incredibly disappointed and what upset me even more was that this was Harlow's first DVD release. Although the title became her nickname, this is an awful way to experience typical Harlow, but it is a wonderful way for fans to see her in a new light.

If you can find a way to judge this film not based on expectations but on its own merits, you'll find it to be quite enjoyable. Each player is fantastic, namely Williams whose naturalness and easy humor makes the film breezy and fun to watch. Harlow is regal and intelligent, not the least bit green despite this being one of her first big films (before the eyebrow makeover). Young is fresh and exciting, quite thin, but absolutely gorgeous.

for more information click here

The Legacy of Robert Williams

Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake

Jean Harlow and Loretta Young may be the legendary stars of this 1931 Frank Capra comedy about a newspaperman who marries into high society, but the real star of the film is Robert Williams, who plays the reporter. His engaging on-screen light comic persona is reminiscent of the late Lee Tracy and one wonders why he did not have a significant career in the movies.

The answer is simple. He died of appendicitis the year this film was released.

After he marries socialite Harlow, Williams finds that the rich, snobby life is not for him and he detests being called "Cinderella Man." Waiting in the wings is Young, his long-suffering newspaper co-worker, who knows (or hopes) that Williams is a "fish out of water" with his new life and that it will only be a matter of time before he sees the light and returns to her.

Though predictable, the movie never fails to amuse and is an excellent example of early Harlow and Young, as well as a fine memorial to an actor who should have become a major star.

© Michael B. Druxman, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (available December 2008)

for more information click here

A Senseless Jibe; but Jean Harlow is beautiful and Loretta Young is adorable

This is not the best work of director Frank Capra who is known for one of the greatest classics ever made in Hollywood, "It's a Wonderful Life." Nevertheless this movie is played out to the desire of Columbia studios to promote Jean Harlow. No one ever complains about the casting, but the theme of the movie, set in depression era (1931) is lame. Jean Harlow plays the only daughter of upper-class socialite, Ann Schuyler who marries a shrewd newspaper reporter Stew (Robert Williams), and then tries to control his life in the confinements of her palatial home as a house husband, but without success. He invites his friends to his home to party, and his female friend Gallagher (Loretta Young) with whom he collaborates to write a play. At the end, Ann and Stew get separated and he later marries Gallagher. This is somewhat an unrealistic story, and a very strange way to poke at the wealthy for the ills of depression era. However Jean Harlow is stunning and offers a great performance as a spoiled wealthy girl. Loretta Young, one of her performances early in the career, is sweet and adorable as she always is. The untimely and sad deaths of Jean Harlow (at the age of 26) due to Influenza and kidney failure, and Robert Williams due to Peritonitis (died three days after the release of the movie) leaves this movie as a tribute to the work of these young artists.

1. It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)
2. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

products you might be interested in