Really Surprised!

Overrated

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

No matter how you slice it, she comes up Lorelei Lee. The names may be different, but Jean Harlow and Patsy Kelly are identical to the blonde and brunette heroines of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Instead of heading out to sea from the Big Apple, they pack their bags and head out of the mid-west hoping to take Manhattan (and its millionaires) by storm. Who better to play Anita Loos's lovable gold-digger than Jean Harlow? Unlike Marilyn Monroe's movie version of Lorelei, Harlow is closer to the stage incarnation of that character, here a tough girl who doesn't want to end up like her tired but still fairly young mother. She has morals, but like Lorelei believes it is better to fall in love with a rich man rather than a poor one, and ultimately gets more than her original intentions.The mannish Patsy Kelly is so delightfully funny (as well as touching) as Lorelei's pal, who like "Gentlemen Prefer Blonde's" Dorothy (Jane Russell on screen) isn't necessarily looking for gold, just love, sweet love. She flirts with every handsome blue collar worker she lays her eyes on, but is at Harlow's beck and call as every best pal should be, even if it interferes with her carnal activities. Her best line of wanting to be a nice home girl just like Mae West is a gem.Made just on the cusp of the unfortunate Hays code, there's still plenty of innuendo concerning sex, prostitution, infidelity and cocaine to go around. The basic story concerns Harlow's involvement in the missing cufflinks of the suicidal Lewis Stone and the scandal that breaks after she sets her eye on the wealthy Lionel Barrymore and later his son (Franchot Tone) whom she initially believes to be poor. "Auntie Em" Clara Blandick has some amusing moments as Barrymore's secretary (her quiet stares at the intrusive Harlow are hysterically funny, as is her light flirtation with Tone), while Nat Pendleton is raucous as one of Kelly's "conquests". Not as blatant as previous Harlow outings (particularly her gold-digging "Red Headed Woman"), it is still plenty juicy.

In this film, Jean Harlow comes from a low class childhood, when the death of her father led her mother to remarry and, under the stepfather's influence, her mother becomes a "hostess" and Jean is encouraged in entertain as well. But, when she has enough, Jean sneaks off to meet the world head on and tries to find herself love and a soft place to fall. By means of a job and connections, she meets Lewis Stone, but he has his own problems. Then she tries to latch on to Lionel Barrymore, but there's more to him than meets the eye, as he acts kind to her, but realizes, or so he thinks, that she is only mercenary. Enter his son Franchot Tone, as he sets his sights on Jean, but Lionel has his own agenda. Such sets up the story in this enjoyable Jean Harlow film. Her career began with characters that were purely out for money and rich men, but, with the movie studio trying to make sure their films could pass the Hays Production Code, they made her characters more with a heart of gold, instead of heartless. This film certainly entertains and at the same time is emotionally charged, as we see Jean trying to be a good girl despite her yen for Franchot. If you've never seen Jean Harlow, this is certainly one of her best, even though it's not as well known as other films of hers. Though "The Girl from Missouri" was made in 1934, the story and its lead actress are still fresh today. With good support and snappy dialogue from Patsy Kelly, this is must-see Jean Harlow material.

"I know my singing and dancing won't get me anywhere," Jean Harlow tells friend Patsy Kelly. "I'm gonna get married." Harlow is The Girl from Missouri, and in the picture's opening moments she and Patsy flee their depressing small town gin joint surroundings and head to the City, where they take jobs as chorus girls and set about finding men. Harlow is determined to find a rich husband; Patsy is just as interested in meeting doormen and lifeguards. Lionel Barrymore is excellent as T.R. Paige, a millionaire who has worked his way up from nothing himself and sees Harlow as a "platinum chiseler" after his son; Franchot Tone is also good as Tom Paige, the son of that wealth whose eager pursuit of Harlow inspires her distrust and his father's dismay. Will he propose to her? Will she accept him? Will Lionel accept her as a daughter-in-law? --All is complicated by Lionel's political ambitions and by a ring Harlow has fashioned from a pair of cufflinks.Patsy Kelly plays it (mostly) straight as Harlow's friend and companion, and gives a solid performance. Lewis Stone has one poignant scene early on as a ruined businessman. The funniest scene belongs to Nat Pendleton as a beefy lifeguard who, when called, pops up from behind a boat on the sand….Overall, though, it's Jean Harlow's show all the way—and she is charming, strong yet vulnerable, ultimately as tough and clever as Barrymore's political schemer and a match for Tone and his charming grin. No classic, but good fun.

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.