Three Wise Girls

In her last film before she signed her MGM contract, Jean Harlow starred in Three Wise Girls along with Mae Clarke and Marie Prevost for Columbia. If this sounds familiar Warner Brothers was also doing Three On A Match around the same time and it had some similar plot elements.

While Prevost seems to have a really good deal working at home sending out letters with advertisements for various companies both Harlow and Clarke get themselves involved with married men, for one of them it turns out really bad. Prevost seems to have the right idea.

Playing opposite Harlow is Walter Byron who had a run of minor popularity in silent films, but whose career gradually petered out in sound films. He sounds like George Brent in his speech pattern and voice, but looks like Charley Chase. I'm betting that's why he didn't succeed in sound.

This film was filled with tragedy with both Harlow and Prevost dying way too young within six years. Three Wise Girls is far from the best work of these fatally star crossed actresses.

Cassie (Jean Harlow) works in a coffee shop, but is sick of putting up with the drunks that come in....its only 1932, so things are still allowed to be a little on the rough side. She leaves that job and goes to visit her friend Gladys, who may be able to get her a job as a model at Andre's (Armand Kaliz) dress shop. Gladys introduces Cassie to the dashing "Arthur" (Jameson Thomas) and "Jerry" (Walter Byron), where things start to heat up. Good story, good acting by all. The story really isn't that original, but with such a professional job done by all involved, its quite enjoyable to watch. Viewers will catch Andy Devine in one of his early CREDITED roles as the chauffeur.. he will go on to play larger, funnier roles. Shortie from Columbia Pictures, at just 68 minutes. The only really risqué part is when one of the girls spends some time talking about a weenie that's cooking on the stove. I guess at the time, seeing a married man was also a huge taboo subject for films, or would be when the film code started being enforced. Story by Wilson Collison, who had also written the "Maisie" series, and "Mogambo", which starred Clark Gable. "Three Wise Girls" is directed by William Beaudine, who had been making films since 1915... he must have been standing there when the camera was invented; his bio says he was assistant to D.W. Griffith, so he certainly learned from the best. Lots of little connections here... Harlow and Gable would make six films together in the 1930s.

Bored with her small-town job as a "soda jerker," sexy platinum blonde Jean Harlow (as Cassie Barnes) moves to exciting New York City. For obvious reasons, Ms. Harlow is treated like a sex object. Propositioned by boss number three, Harlow is rescued by drunken Walter Byron (as Jerome "Jerry" Wilson). After sobering up, Mr. Byron seems like the perfect mate for Harlow. He's wealthy, proper and attentive. Unfortunately, Byron is also married. Harlow is soon reacquainted with childhood friend Mae Clarke (as Gladys Kane), who models underwear (and other clothing). She is having a relationship with a married man. Harlow's roommate Marie Prevost (as Dot) is looking for a man...

"Three Wise Girls" focuses on one Jean Harlow, but the other women have the better roles. Harlow commands the screen when she undresses - and director William Beaudine gets in several scenes with Harlow and Ms. Clarke in stages of undress. Harlow's figure is generously displayed. A "silent" star said to be victimized by the microphone, Ms. Prevost is noteworthy in a character role. Able to command the screen without taking off her clothes, Prevost sounds fine. She's looking for a plumber, but will settle for chauffeur Andy Devine. Clarke's subplot is the dramatic highlight. Unfortunately, Harlow's figure and her scene-stealing supporting cast don't make the main story more engaging.

***** Three Wise Girls (1/11/32) William Beaudine ~ Jean Harlow, Mae Clarke, Marie Prevost, Walter Byron

Jean Harlow had top billing and gave a good performance in this one, playing a small-town girl who goes to New York to seek her fortune. I found it refreshing to see her in a more virtuous role; she not only shows her range, but her character is strong, and stands up for herself when hit on by men. At the same time, her magnetism and sex appeal shine through, helped along by some modeling and pre-Code lingerie scenes. She finds out the rich guy she's been seeing is married and wants to end it, particularly after having seen what a similar situation has done to her friend, played well by Mae Clark (who you might remember as having been with Harlow the previous year in 'The Public Enemy', and getting a grapefruit stuffed in her face by James Cagney). The last of the 'wise girls' is Marie Prevost in the role of her roommate, who points out the flipside, hey, it's nice to eat something other than liverwurst by seeing a guy with some money, and breaks off a few other funny lines in the film. The movie is quite brisk at 68 minutes, maybe too brisk in a couple of ways (such as Mae Clark's fate), but it's worth watching, particularly if you're a Harlow fan.

It's early Harlow in a role that doesn't require her signature sparkle. Still, there's enough shine to get noticed. The movie itself is nothing special, reminding me a bit of a cut-rate Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Here shapely working-class girls Clarke and Harlow try to satisfy their hearts' desire by marrying well; at the same time, they must dodge the inevitable mashers. Seems however their rich gentlemen already have wives, so that becomes a problem. Still, we get to see Harlow wiggle in and out of costumes in what would become part of her appeal. Have to say I didn't recognize the familiar Andy Devine under all that chauffeur's uniform. Too bad he didn't get more screen time. Then there's Marie Provost, the wise-cracking third girl, whose rather chubby figure presaged an eventual tragic end (IMDB), cutting short a promising Patsy Kelly-type career.

There's one really jolting scene that's sneaky as heck. Broken hearted, Gladys (Clarke) peers down from stories above street level. We think we know what she's planning, but as it turns out, we don't. Anyway, it's a really well thought-out sequence in an otherwise unexceptional screenplay. All in all, the 60-some minutes amounts to a good look at a pre-celebrity Harlow, along with Mae Clarke, who at least doesn't have to eat grapefruit courtesy Jimmy Cagney.