MGM gave Jean Harlow her greatest vehicles but they could often be guilty of bad taste as well – years after Harlow’s husband killed herself causing a scandal she was cast in a film playing a star (of stage) whose husband kills himself causing a scandal. It’s actually more based on the Libby Holman saga – she married a tobacco heir who died via gunshot; it was thought to be murder then ruled a suicide. Here Franchot Tone plays the rich kid – charming but unhappy and a boozer – with William Powell as an old PR pal who loves Harlow.
That’s a serious sounding story and it’s done dramatically – but spiced up with wisecracks and comic support characters, an odd mixture of screwball and drama, same as done for The Girl from Missouri. It's a shame thing it was treated seriously at all - satire would have been more enjoyable. But no, Tone blows his brains out, Harlow has his baby, the crowd boo her comeback but she talks them around (an utterly unconvincing sequence). Harlow mimes some songs and does a few dances - poorly. She and Powell work well together - but does Powell have to perform the majority of his scenes as if he's drunk? Tone offers excellent support.
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