J'épouserai un millionnaire

Jean Harlow was always a sheer delight in her films, so full of life, charming and beautiful with some of the most sparkling comic timing of anybody at that time in film. Such a shame that she died so young with so much more to give and didn't do more films, regardless the film she was always one of the best assets. 'The Girl from Missouri' had a good cast besides Harlow, including Lionel Barrymore, who may not have been what one calls a subtle actor but was always riveting to watch.

Don't let the title of the film put one off. From the title, one expects 'The Girl from Missouri' to be pretty generic, very cute if not much more and basically with not much to it. It is a much better film actually than the title indicates, a much more spirited, wittier and more charming film than one would think and doesn't get too cute. Not perfect, but the cast are on form, it's well directed and the writing sparkles at its best.

Harlow is perfection here in 'The Girl from Missouri'. Truly enchanting and her comic timing dazzles. The other standouts are Barrymore, both hilarious and crusty, and Patsy Kelly, occasionally going a bit overboard but clearly having a great time. The whole cast are good and what makes the film work, as well as their chemistry which never labours. Franchot Tone has been better, but he does his best in bringing colour and wit to his fairly one-dimensional character. Alan Mowbray brings distinguished support as does a poignant Lewis Stone.

'The Girl from Missouri' benefits from a sharp and witty script, a spirited pace, a genuine charm and Jack Conway directs with skill and energy throughout. The story is silly as heck but is never dull.

Some of the situations are a little on the forced and convenient side.

Part of me wished that there was more nuance to Tone's character, because he can be one of those where one is not sure what people see in him.

Overall though, a lot of fun and fans of Harlow should love it. 8/10

Girl from Missouri, The (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Jean Harlow plays a Southern girl who goes to the big city to land a millionaire and she thinks she finds on in a lawyer (Lionel Barrymore) but soon his son (Franchot Tone) starts coming onto her. The film has a pretty weak screenplay and there's really nothing too original going on. Even Harlow seems a tad bit bored as she doesn't contain any of that spark or energy that made her a legend. We do get several shots of her body, which are nice but it's not enough to save the film. Tone makes for a good leading man but it's Barrymore who steals the show with his maniac like performance. What laughs the film does get are due to Barrymore but Lewis Stone also comes off well in his small role. Oh yeah, one of Harlow's sexual scenes includes her being thrown into a shower with her clothes on and then walking out with her nipples showing through her dress.

Jean Harlow is "The Girl from Missouri" in this 1934 film that ran afoul of the production code and had to be cleaned up. Gone is the tough, sexy gal who's been around the block too many times to count. Now she's cheap-looking but wants the ring on her finger before anything else.

Jean Harlow is Eadie, and she's a delight in this film, which also stars Franchot Tone as the object of her affections, Lionel Barrymore as his father, and Patsy Kelly as her good friend. Eadie sets her sights on an old man, Cousins (Lewis Stone) at a party he throws; he's broke and has just asked T.R. Paige (Barrymore) for a loan. He doesn't get it. Eadie enters, and Cousins gives her his ruby cuff links, which she won't take because they're not engaged. Cousins, knowing he's about to blow his brains out, agrees to marry her, so she takes the cuff links. Before she knows it, he's dead, and she's slipped the cuff links to Paige so she won't be accused of stealing them.

Eadie then sets her sights on Paige and follows him to Palm Beach, where she meets a young man (Franchot Tone) who turns out to be T.R. Paige Jr. She's wildly attracted to him, but he's a playboy. Will he fall for her? Can it work? Good movie. Tone is smooth and elegant. I've never cared for Patsy Kelly; she always seems to be shouting, and she's very stagy. Barrymore is good as always.

So the pure Jean, still with the platinum blonde hair, makes her debut in this film governed by the Hays Code. A shame her career wasn't longer. She had a wonderful screen presence.

Pretty weak showcase for the star who manages to shine brightly despite the ordinariness of the script. The story is cliché and has been told with more imagination elsewhere.

It helps that she is pitted against a top rank actor like Lionel Barrymore as her protagonist. Their flinty interchanges are some of the best scenes in this lackluster affair. The other standout in the cast is Patsy Kelly who makes a peach of a sidekick for the brassy Jean. Her easy virtue is used to counterpoint the heroine's chastity in a way that could get around the censors of the day.

The actor who is out of place, although he fulfills his role adequately, is Franchot Tone. A fine actor in the right pictures, dramas such as Five Graves to Cairo and the like, Metro for some reason used him mostly as a colorless effete mannequin for their leading ladies. Jean and he are oil and water, she was always more comfortable with an earthy man like Gable or Spencer Tracy.

One last thing, what a lousy title for any movie but for a Jean Harlow movie, ridiculous. For some reason the powers that be had a hard time coming up with an appropriate title. Shot under the title Eadie Was a Lady, then changed to 100% Pure then Born to Be Kissed and released in some areas under that title, while none of them is great any would have made more sense than the lemon they ended settling on.

If the themes of The Girl From Missouri sound familiar it should. That's because Anita Loos who wrote the screenplay here also wrote the classic Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Unlike Marilyn Monroe in that film, Jean Harlow will accept any kind of jewelry from men of means.

And it's men of means that Jean Harlow is after. She leaves the road side hash house run by her mother and stepfather because she's decided that the best way to gain the easy life is to marry it. Her talents as a chorus girl are limited, but she'll be able to trade in on that beauty.

Her odyssey starts with her and friend Patsy Kelly getting an invitation to perform at a party thrown by millionaire Lewis Stone. But unbeknownst to Jean, Stone's just having a wild last fling before doing himself because of the moneys he owes not owns. Still she wrangles a few baubles from him that fellow millionaire Lionel Barrymore notices.

Lionel's amused by it until Jean sets her sights on his playboy son, Franchot Tone. After that he is not amused and he looks to shake Jean from climbing the family tree.

The Girl From Missouri went into production mid adaption of The Code so it went under peculiar censorship. I've a feeling we would have seen a much more risqué film. Still Jean Harlow as a younger and sassier version of Mae West is always appreciated. What a great comic talent that woman had, seeing The Girl From Missouri is a sad reminder of the great loss the world of film sustained with her passing three years later.

Ironically enough the casting of Patsy Kelly with Harlow was no doubt influenced by the successful shorts Kelly was making with another famous platinum blonde, Thelma Todd. Harlow and Kelly have the same easy chemistry between that Patsy had with Thelma. Todd would also die a year later in a freak accident/suicide/homicide that no satisfactory explanation has ever really been given.

Don't miss The Girl From Missouri, it's bright and sassy, must be from all that sparkling jewelry.