Book Review | "Carole Lombard: The Hoosier Tornado"

I have a book review for you today, dear readers! I'm an avid reader of Classic Hollywood biographies and I always love the opportunity to do book reviews for them. Today's review will be for Carole Lombard: The Hoosier Tornado by Wes D. Gehring, a book I received 'long ago' for Christmas.

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CAROLE LOMBARD: THE HOOSIER TORNADO 

BY WES D. GEHRING 

264 pages | Published: October 2003 | Indiana Historical Society

★★★

How can it not be exciting to read about Carole Lombard? Because honestly, who can say that they don't love Carole - Carole, our screwball queen. Carole, who was dubbed the "Profane Angel" because she swore like a sailor (Fred MacMurray complimented, "She swore like a man - some women try, but she really did.") but had blonde, blue eyed angelic beauty. Carole, who was the better half of Carole & Clark (Gable), a couple that was true product of Hollywood royalty to a Depression era audience. And Carole, who died tragically and certainly prematurely in a plane that crashed into the Nevada mountains in January 1942, killing her instantly.

So I was really excited to jump into this biography. As of 2012, it's the only easily available, in print work on Carole's life so I was really crossing my fingers that it would be good. I'm sorry to report that for me, at least, it fell terribly short.

I am far from an expert on Carole's life and body of work, but being an avid reader of Old Hollywood bios I could tell this book did her no justice. Firstly, the actual biographical portion of this book (so this is albeit a preface, prologue, epilogue, filmography, notes, & "selective" bibliography) comes down to 200 pages, easily the shortest bio I've read. Now, I know Carole died young (at 33), but I think her life was intense enough to fill up more than 200 (short in ratio, double spaced) pages, don'tcha think?

This book was the first to premiere in what is a series of Indiana biographies, life stories of famous people who were born in the Hoosier state. Carole was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and left the state at the age of six only to return on a few occasions. This is not to say blue collar Carole was ashamed of her Fort Wayne roots; only that Hollywood kept her busy. I'm sure Carole was a proud Hoosier, considering her patriotism and ability to schmooze with "the man on the street" or any "Walter Mitty", despite being a glamorous movie star. 

Anyhow, considering this, and also that this book was published by the Indiana Historical Society, it became clear to me from the start that the sole point that the author was setting out to prove, throughout the book's slim life, was Carole's Indiana roots. Gehring has an annoying habit of obsessively using the same word multiple times, which gets tedious, especially in a book so short - "Hoosier" is one of them. He brings up every apt opportunity to use this word, even if it doesn't apply to Carole - sometimes taking up three sentences describing the Hoosier roots of another famous Indiana native, like Irene Dunne. (Usually I wouldn't care about three sentences but in a book this short every word is precious). I mean, WE GET IT. SHE WAS BORN IN INDIANA. But she's in Hollywood making pictures now, so get over it! Still *sighs* being an Indiana Historical Society book, and the title alone should entail this, so I can't complain: I had coming. (You know some other words Gehring has an obsessive habit of overusing? You'll be sure to see "catalyst" and "smoke screen" on ever page.)

The research for this biography also seems quite poor. Gehring could more or less have Googled quite a lot of in the information. Also, he quotes on more than one occasion passages from other biographies, and then takes the time to agree or disagree with that previous biographer's statement, when the honest truth is that he ran out of information and is simply trying to fill pages with this hogwash. And if it's not passages from other biographies, it's snippets from what Gehring refers to as "period reviews." It's nice to read these, but one or two snippets will do. Gehring pulls out about ten after each Carole film.

Another issue for me was the photographs, which are a joke. Gehring produces no interesting or new photographs; and nothing rare or candid. The collection of photos are small, sprinkled about the pages rather than inputed in a few glossaries at different intervals throughout the book, as most biographers do. Even worse; whatever little photographs there are, some of them aren't even of Carole. Instead there are photographs of Charlie Chaplin, George Stevens, W.C Fields, etc. if they happen to have  been mentioned on the page. I think that's ridiculous but it doesn't surprise me considering that Gehring spares plenty of paragraphs on information about other actors or directors that is insufficient to a biography of Carole Lombard.

Okay, now that we've gotten most of the cons of this book out, I must admit, there are a few pros which is why I manage to give this biography three stars. One of which is that Gehring obviously does have affection for his subject, restraining from throwing her under the bus at any point, which is something I incredibly admire for any biographer. I can't stand a biographer who writes a book simply to tear their subject apart; even though this isn't exactly good either, I much rather prefer a biographer who sticks with their subject through and through. And Gehring obviously likes Carole, likes her movies, has warmth for her, etc. which is nice.

The coverage of her films is pretty much consistent, though some reviews I read on Amazon written by hard core Carole fans accuse Gehring of skipping over some movies. (This is probably wrong of me, but when I read a bio I'm more excited to learn about the person's personal life than the movies they made... because I can always just watch the movies, so I'm not really a fan of three page summaries with spoilers.) His cover of her personal life also is not awful either, though I have a feeling - knowing how playful Carole was - there were more stories to have been shared. I loved reading about the pranks she pulled (sending Clark a rubber ham with his face on it for example), about her campaign to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind (1939) (even conjuring up a crazy plot with Gary Cooper to help herself get the role), and her attempts to become a parent with Clark (one friend claimed that they would have even made love hanging out the window if it would have gotten Carole pregnant).

I also really enjoyed a detailed coverage over the ranch style house Carole & Clark bought in the San Fernando Valley. It seems like the second and third floors were turned into his and hers bedroom suites, and it was really interesting to read the descriptions and contrasting styles of the two! Clark's bedroom suite was all manly mahogany, whereas Carole's was elegant down to the chandeliers, pale blue color scheme, & white fur throw rugs. (She once described her bathroom in a way only Carole could put it, "the most elegant sh*thouse in the San Fernando Valley".)

As for Gehring's coverage of her plane crash in the Nevada mountains, he covers it in the prologue as if trying to be clever, but sums it up "she died in the plane with her mother, instantly killed" and that's it. No in depth analysis or anything. Just finished and close. The actual end of the biography (excluding the epilogue) ends equally abruptly, very suddenly, & you think since there's an epilogue there will be more closure but there's only a short discussion of the box office receipts of To Be or Not to Be (1942) and a note to the S.S Carole Lombard, the ship christened in her name after her death. Therefore, Gehring doesn't want to talk about the plane crash at all. And it's not something pleasant to write about but, you know, honestly? (As her note, her childhood, which was given about fifteen quick pages, was not done well either.)

This was a brisk, brief biography, leaving a lot to be desired. Though it shares a few nice stories, it just doesn't do someone like Carole Lombard justice. For that matter, since it's only 200 pages (I'm not including the other 56 pages of filler), it's not a waste of time - nothing about Carole could be a waste of time - so I'm not going to advise you to avoid it... just to know that it falls really short. If you would like to purchase it, you can do so here.

One nice touch was a poem inscribed in the beginning of the book that I thought really cutely describes the genre Carole is most famous for, and so I'll  close this book review with just that.

Carole Lombard (1908 - 1942)

 

CAROLE LOMBARD: THE SCREWBALL GIRL

by Wes D. Gehring 

"Screwball comedy is essentially about 

The crazy rich girl next door

And the comic antohero boy

Who doesn't love her... at first

And though there are several

Recipes available to create

This fruitcake of a genre

All require lots of mixed nuts

For best results, add one 

Zany heiress to the world

Of some mild -mannered male,

Unaware of his own unhappiness

Then sprinkle lightly with comic

Character actors, childlike pets,

And oodles of decadent playtime

In the most la-de-da of settings

Stand back as the ingredients start

To bubble, noting how the male's goose

Is cooked as the screwball heorine 

Wears him out with her wackiness

Properly pampered, this comedy dish

Has served audiences endlessly since

The 1930s, Hollywood's version of the loaves

And the fishes, in 35mm topsyturvydom."

***

That's all, hope you liked the review, and if you have any questions be sure to ask! Or perhaps you read the book and prefer to defend Wes D. Gehring from my wrath, pitch in! ;D 

Sunday Movie Review: "Beloved Infidel" (1959)

I watched so many movies lately: good ones, bad ones, interesting ones! But for today's review I have chosen Beloved Infidel (1959), with the ever so lovely Deborah Kerr and Gregory Peck, both of whom are intense objects of my affection. :)

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BELOVED INFIDEL (1959): Cast, plot details 
In 1936, the witty columnist Sheilah Graham leaves her noble British fiancé and travels in the Queen Mary from Southampton, England, to New York. She seeks out the editor of the North American Newspaper Alliance, John Wheeler, offering her services but he sends her to the Daily Mirror. Sheilah becomes successful and John offers a job in Hollywood to write a gossip column about the stars. When Sheilah meets the decadent writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, they immediately fall in love. Sheilah discovers that Scott accepts any job to financially support his wife Zelda that is in asylum, and his daughter at a boarding school. She opens her heart to him and tells the truth about her origins; but their relationship is affected by his drinking problem. [from IMdb]

• Deborah Kerr as Sheilah Graham
• Gregory Peck as F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Eddie Albert as Bob Carter
• Philip Ober as John Wheeler

THE VERDICT: ★★★★ 

This is an emotional roller coaster of a film in which Kerr & Peck combine their talents which results in natural, human performances and an entertaining film. Give it a watch.

This movie was based on a book of the same title written by Sheilah Graham detailing her relationship with the Jazz Age's greatest author, F.Scott Fitzgerald. Before watching this, I had no clue that Sheilah & Scott had had an affair; I had always just thought of Scott & his wife Zelda, to be honest. Now I remember reading in one of the Lucy biographies I own a short passage about how Fitzgerald, who lived in the same building as Lucy, and Sheilah, used to spy on Lucy & Desi when they came back from weekends they had in Palm Springs and make bets on who would win. (This was before they were married, and their escape to Palm Springs would be filled with romantic declarations, but when they came back on Sunday night they were usually fighting over something). I don't know how I missed that when I read the book, but it didn't really register with me that Graham & Fitzgerald had had an affair.

Deborah Kerr & Gregory Peck have wonderful chemistry together. And though both of their roles deal with demons that seem to destroy them at times - for Sheilah, her muddled background as "Lily Sheel" which is far less blue blooded than she makes it out to be, and for Scott, he is forced to come to terms with his alcohol abuse & the fact that his books don't sell as much as they once did - Deborah & Gregory did a wonderful job of making the roles they portrayed likable. 

And I shouldn't even LIKE Sheilah Graham because of some of the mean things she said about Lucy, but you couldn't help but sympathize with her in this movie. There are points where the intensity of her relationship with Scott just get simply violent and scary because of his alcoholism. And Deborah played her so well, you can understand her conflicting pain: she loves Scott so much but he's dangerous, he's violent, and he's completely someone else when he drinks.

The same goes for Gregory Peck.When Scott got he drunk, he did stupid & embarrassing things. And as I stated before, violent things. But Gregory did a wonderful job of distinguishing the fine line between the two different facts of Scott: one that was the glorious free thinker that brought us some of the greatest novels, and the other that was tormented by this terrible alcoholism. You hated one side of him, the alcoholic side, but the other side was so wonderful you couldn't help feel sorry for - and sympathize, even with - the other side.

Though it's not a perfect movie, Deborah & Gregory's performances make it really worth while. Not to mention it's entirely exciting, heartbreaking, and human too. If you like movies like this, movies about people & romances that aren't perfect, I really suggest you watch it.

PHOTOS & TRIVIA

• In the studio preview scene, Sheilah & Scott are watching That Night in Rio.

A MOVIE TIDBIT

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Hope everyone has a nice week & thank you for 70 + followers! :)

PS: As you noticed, I've slightly changed the interface for the SMR. I think it's cleaner and more visually appealing. Comments?

The 7x7 Link Award

It looks like it's award season in the blogosphere again! Laura of the wonderful Who Can Turn the World Off With her Smile?  and Natalie of the amazing In The Mood have tagged me with the 7x7 Link Award. Thanks so much, Laura and Natalie! I've been following Laura's blog for a few months and I can assure you her posts are always witty, insightful, and original. So definitely go and follow her blog if you don't already! :) As for Natalie, she and I go way back ;) Well, at least a few months back, and she's totally incredible and wonderful and lovely, not to mention a blogger bestie, so go follow her now!

The rules are as follows:

Tell everyone something that no one else knows about

Link to one of my posts that I personally think best fits the following categories: Most Beautiful Piece, Most Helpful Piece, Most Popular Piece, Most Controversial Piece, Most Surprisingly Successful Piece, Most Underrated Piece, and Most Pride-worthy Piece

Pass this award on to seven other bloggers 

I really enjoy doing these tagging things, so let's get on with it!:)

Tell everyone something that no one else knows about 

Hmm... I think my readers know a lot about me because I basically live a Classic Hollywood appreciation life, and I'm really obvious about the Classic Hollywood things I love. Okay, let's see: I love to bake. I haven't had much time for it lately but I love making cookies, cupcakes, cakes, whatever out of scratch. My baked goods are usually chocolate because I'm a total chocoholic, so there you have it, two irrelevant facts about me -;)

Okay, next I have to link to the posts that I best fit the particular categories given to me. Haha, okay, I'll do my best. :)

Most Beautiful Piece

Beautiful??? Okay, I'm going to go with a post I felt had a beautiful topic, and when thinking of this, the first one that came to my mind was the 71 Years of Desilu blog I wrote on Lucy & Desi's wedding anniversary last year. I always enjoy the opportunity to write about their relationship, and that was a prime one. Plus I got to put in lots of pretty pictures of them (which made it visually appealing) and quotes that people had said about the two of them. 

Most Helpful Piece

I hope that most of my movie reviews are helpful... but considering that I consider myself a terrible film reviewer, I don't think I'll go with one of those; instead I choose "Now Playing": Buyer Beware! It's an article I wrote way back in like, August of last year. It's basically about my disappointment in TCM's magazine, "Now Playing", which really turned out to be more of a phamplet then anything. That magazine, if you can call it that, has since grown on me a bit because I always know what's coming up on TCM because of it. Still, the crossword puzzle is awful (36 Across, Olivia __ Havilland) and that's pretty much all the magazine brochure offers. It's okay, TCM, I'll always love you anyway. <3

Most Popular Piece

According to my statistics, it's Old Hollywood Celebrities and Their Children: A Lookalike Contest. When this post started getting popular, it surprised me to no end. It was a really weak post, I feel, that I did way back when I had like no followers. It doesn't have any comments, either, so the only explanation I can feel is that maybe the title really interested readers so they kept clicking on it out of curiosity? Besides, the first place winners out of my like, four pairs of contestants, aren't really going to knock your socks off...

Most Controversial Piece

Haha, probably Being an icon: remembered fondly or simply becoming overrated?. This is also a old post, in which I pretty much bashed Marilyn Monroe to no end and tried, in rambling paragraphs, to explain why I think being a icon is bad. I don't think being iconic is bad, exactly, but I still don't gel with the fact that MM is the poster child for all Classic Hollywood - to my defense, however, I also brought up Audrey Hepburn & Humphrey Bogart in that piece, both of whom I happen to like very much. It was just a rambling post honestly, and I'm probably stupid for bringing it up again; don't mind me. (And no offense to MM fans; truthfully, some of my very favorite bloggers love her, she's just not my cup of tea!) Well yeah, it's either this or my Summertime (1955) review... ;)

Most Surprisingly Successful Piece

Ditto my answer for my most popular piece; honestly don't get how that turned out to be successful. I'll also go with another quite old post, Grace's Glasses, which was a really short post about Grace Kelly and her "nerdy chic" glasses. I don't have any comments on that either, but I have a lot of hits. And as for a more recent post, probably Hollywood and The Day that Lived in Infamy, which I wrote for the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor last December. It got a lot of comments which surprised me because I remember being really frustrated trying to get accounts of what movie stars were doing on December 7th, 1941 and how they heard of the bombing. I also remember not being satisfied with my end result and thinking it wouldn't get many hits; but it did get comments and views, so thank you? :)

Most Underrated Piece

I'll go with I Love Lucy's Dream Team || The Backstage Brains, which I wrote for the 60th anniversary of I Love Lucy last October. I wrote about the people that worked to make I Love Lucy a success that didn't appear on screen, such as the writers, cameraman, director, etc. I researched quite a bit for it to get a proper understanding of some of the technical terms. Over all I think the post turned out pretty well, but it didn't get any comments. 

Most Pride-worthy Piece

I think the A Classic Hollywood Thanksgiving [In Emails], which I wrote last Thanksgiving. Though it was really fun to write I worked hard on those emails and it took me a while, so I was really happy with the way everything turned out and all the nice comments I received on it. :)

Okay, thats it for the categories. Next, I must tag seven other bloggers for this award. Ahh, so many awesome bloggers and only seven that I can pick??? It's always hard, but this time I'll go with:

• Clara at Via Margutta 51: If you don't know about Clara's lovely blog, you must be living under a rock ;) Honestly, though, Clara always has such intriguing posts & a really professional blog interface. 
• Sally at Flying Down to Hollywood: Sally's posts are always interesting and interactive with her readers, like the posts in which she chooses a line from an old film and the readers guess where it's frrm. 
• Bette at Bette's Classic Movie Blog: Bette's another one of my best blogging friends. She has a gorgeous blog design & always writes enthusiastic, fun posts about old Hollywood & entertaining movie reviews. 
• Meredith at Forever Classics: Meredith's blog is always filled with really interesting posts and she also arranged a wonderful Bogie blogathon last December! 
• Craig at Blame Mame: Craig has a wonderful blog with lots of gorgeous visual graphics that he designs himself. I'm never bored when reading his posts & am always looking forward to them!
• Irene at And then they start to sparkle: Irene is one of the sweetest bloggers & is always updating her blog frequently with posts filled with interesting pictures and trivia!
• Jennifer at Films of Yesterday: Jennifer is one of the great, reliable film reviewers that I know. Her reviews are short & sweet & to the point and I can always count on them.

These blog awards get around fast. I tried to tag people I knew hadn't already been tagged, but you've already been tagged with this I apologize; and this award is kind of a meme  too so if you're not in the mood for doing this right now, or you can't squeeze it into your blogging schedule, or whatever way the cookie seems to crumble for you, don't worry I understand. Just know that I love your blog! :)

Thanks again, Laura and Natalie, for tagging me! :)

Gone Too Soon || Jean Harlow (1911 - 1937)

When I heard about Comet Over Hollywood's "Gone Too Soon" blogathon earlier this year, I couldn't wait to participate! With the criteria being a star who died before/or at fifty, I knew exactly who I was going to write about: Natalie Wood, of course. But when Jessica opened the door for entries, I was a little too late and discovered that Natalie had already been taken, as well as my second choice, the ever wonderful Carole Lombard.

Still wanting to participate, I decided I'd take a stab at Jean Harlow, who I barely knew anything about. Now that I think about it, perhaps it's good thing I chose someone that I didn't know much about, because I got to learn something and write about someone new. Right? ;)

"SHE DID NOT WANT TO BE FAMOUS. SHE WANTED TO BE HAPPY."

- Clark Gable 

***

Like I said before, I honestly knew nothing about Jean Harlow before writing this post, save that she'd died young and was good friends with Clark Gable. The only movie of hers I'd seen was Libeled Lady (1936), and that too had been a few years before. But now that I've researched a bit about her, my goodness, her life and early death were quite interesting!

If you were to stop a random person on the street and ask them who first comes to their mind when conjuring up the image of a platinum blond, ivory skinned, red lipped beauty draped in fur and diamonds, they'd reply easily with "Marilyn Monroe." Marilyn, who came to a demise almost as tragic as Jean's, would glorify the "blonde bombshell" image and make it iconic. But it was, in fact, not her who created it but Jean Harlow, some twenty years before.

She was born Harlean Carpenter on March 3rd, 1911, in Kansas City, Missouri. Her childhood was overshadowed by a domineering mother, a greedy stepfather, and illness; suffering meningitis at the age of five and scarlet fever at fifteen. In her family, she was nicknamed the "Baby," and when she became a movie star, she was the "baby" of the MGM lot. Perhaps it was her dimples and playful personality, which made Jean's performances as femme fatales even appealing because there was that underlying, childlike quality to her - very much the type that Marilyn Monroe would exhibit in later years. 

Jean made a vision on the screen. She was the icon of everything that was beautiful or glamorous in the 1930's, a poster child for sensuality laced with comedy - a good example is the famous line she delivered in Howard Hughes' 1930 film, Hell's Angels: "Would you be shocked if I changed into something more comfortable?" This one line could sum up the majority of the image that was built up for her; a sex symbol downplayed by a girlish grin; the girl next door wrapped up in expensive furs and perfume.

Her career flourished in the 1930s, as she turned out films like Red Dust (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), and Libeled Lady (1936). Her best friend, her 'brother', was Clark Gable, who she starred alongside a total of six times. They were so close they truly considered each other siblings and Clark was known to have been the only one who didn't  call her "Baby", instead addressing her by his own affectionate nickname of "sis."

In 1935, after two failed marriages and a husband who had committed suicide, Jean took up with fellow film star William Powell. Bill Powell, with his impish mustache and mischievous manner, was no stranger to dating beautiful blondes. He'd just had a very clean, neatly done divorce with Carole Lombard (whom he still consider a friend), the screwball queen who would soon begin an affair with Jean's best friend, Clark. (Ironically, Carole would die prematurely and tragically too). 

As Clark's quote about her would express, babylike Jean didn't want Hollywood, but to be a wife and mother of many children. When she found true love with Bill, this was what she wanted, right away - so much so she was eager marry him, quit her successful career, and settle down to have a family. But Bill wasn't ready. He had two divorces under his belt and didn't want children. They would become engaged, but marriage was slow coming and Jean was left waiting.

From 1936, her path took a turn for the worst. She became pregnant with William Powell's baby. She was pulled in the many directions, for she wanted to keep the baby but also knew that Bill didn't want a child. To make matters worse, the couple were still not yet married. Under pressure from her mother, she went ahead and got an abortion, never telling Bill of the child. This put on a toll on her emotionally and physically. Upon attending the Oscars of that year with Bill, Clark, and Carole Lombard she was so sick that Carole had to help her to the powder room to recover. In the early part of the next year, she suffered a bout of influenza. Even dental surgery to have two teeth removed that spring put a great strain on her, all of this setting the tone for her final months. Jean's failing health was like a train heading dangerously down the wrong track, but she kept pushing on.

She began the filming of Saratoga (1937) with her 'brother' Clark. By now, Jean began to gain weight despite the constant diets she was on to keep her trim figure. Her usually pearly complexion of skin had faded into a shade that was gray and sickly looking. On film she had lost her typical glow and radiance, and in reality her condition grew worse. But Jean was a trooper and not one to disappoint the many cast members who were working on the film - so she pushed on.

One day on set (May the 29th), a scene called for Clark to pick her up and throw her onto a couch. But when Clark picked up his friend he was faced with a great struggle. He noticed more closely the gray hue of her bloated face, her heavy breathing, and the sweat lacing her brow. He gently laid her down on the couch and called for the director to cut. Despite the protests of the star that she could go on, the studio doctor insisted she be sent to a medical center.

But her "Mama Jean" 's religion did not believe in doctors, so instead of being sent to a hospital, she brought Jean home and cared for her herself, alongside some nurses, for a week. 

For seven days, the movie queen rested in bed amongst tangled silk bedsheets, her limp peroxide blonde hair fanning the pillow she lay upon. Jean did not improve. She desperately tried to spend this 'resting period' getting through the beginning of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, but she was too frail to turn the pages. When her mother finally allowed to be submitted into Good Samaritan hospital on the eighth day of her grave illness, following episodes of vomiting and delirium, Jean reminded her nursemaid to pack her copy of Gone With the Wind so she could finish it while she was there. The nursemaid shook her head, "She'll never finish it," and this prediction was to come true.

At the hospital, her mother only let Clark Gable and William Powell visit her, both greatly disturbed by the appearance of the woman they both loved so much. Up until this point the reason of her illness was believed to have been an inflamed gallbladder, but when Clark leaned into kiss her he smelled what he thought was urine on her breath. He told this to the doctors and it was quickly discovered that Jean was suffering from urine poisoning, or what is known today as acute kidney injury. 

What had been happening to Jean that over the years her kidneys had been failing, and it was leading up to a great  illness like what she was experiencing. The reason she was becoming so heavy was because her body was being filled with toxins. All of this might have been repercussions of the scarlet fever she'd fared when she was fifteen. But in 1937, it was hard to treat kidney failure, and even though for years afterwards rumors would swirl that it was her mother's fault, for not taking her to the hospital sooner, she really could not have been helped. Kidney failure was just untreatable in this time.

Her state of kidney disease was so advanced, Jean could only excrete waste through the forms of breath and sweat. Her situation, which had been downplayed before this, became immediately an emergency as the hospital became besides themselves with ways to treat her. They shaved her bottle blonde hair away in desperation, for they thought some fluid might be able to drained from her head. But there was nothing that could be done for Jean. She lapsed into a coma and not much later, on June 3rd, 1937, at about 11:37 A.M she passed away. She was twenty-six.

It was a sad and tragic end to a star who had shone so brightly. Even though she had been ignoring her constant illness, fatigues, sunburn, etc. which were all symptoms of this disease, the capacity of medical knowledge at the time was not enough to treat her kidney failure. This was a time before dialysis.

News of the death of "Baby" spread fast throughout MGM. Spencer Tracy wrote somberly in his diary, "Jean Harlow died today. Grand gal." When the word was released to the general public, the cause of death given was uremia, which was what was stated in the official doctor's records. Throughout the years, rumors and suspicion would plague Jean's 'mysterious' death, though it wasn't all that mysterious at all. It was indeed a sad and haunting way for the movie star to pass, but the reasons were pretty clear cut. That terrible bout of scarlet fever she'd suffered at the age of fifteen had weakened her kidneys and her fate had become sealed from that point on. Still, people came up with their own reasons for her death - alcoholism, a botched abortion, or even that the peroxide MGM used to keep her hair that famous blonde shade had poisoned her. When the medical records were released the public in the 1990s, the reasons for Jean's death became quite obvious and the issue was put to rest. Though people may continue to say she might have been 'saved' had she not waited so long for proper medical care, it is untrue. In 1937, nothing could have saved her.

MGM planned a lavish funeral for her, and William Powell secured a glamorous crypt for at Forest Lawn. She was buried in one of the sexy gowns she'd worn in Libeled Lady (1936), and it is said a single white gardenia was slipped inside the casket, with a note from William Powell in her hands that read, "Goodnight, my dearest darling." The inscription on her gravestone is simple: "Our Baby."

With her early, tragic death, "Harlow" became an icon. Though her trademark bombshell looks would be overshadowed by Marilyn Monroe's rendition of the style in later years, for the earlier part of the 20th century it was Jean who claimed this iconic status. She was remembered as a wisp of a glamorous figure, suddenly there and suddenly not; some even like to claim her ghost haunts the old home she shared with her third husband, Paul Bern, who committed suicide. (I don't go for that whole, Classic Hollywood and ghosts thing, it's not the way I'd like to remember them; I think of them as family, which fills me with warm feelings, and not with spooky ones; you know?). In the 1960s, a film of her life was created, with Carroll Baker playing her.

Clark Gable, who likely knew her better than anyone, was very right when he said she never wanted to be famous; only to be happy. Jean Harlow would most likely have been satisfied still being "Harlean Carpenter" and living in some middle class home someplace, being a housewife with plenty of kids and going to the movie matinee on occasion - dreaming of being the leading lady of that film only for about two hours, then happily returning to her world and knowing that was where she belonged. 

According to one MGM writer, "The day 'the baby' died there wasn't one sound in the commissary for three hours... not one goddamn sound."

"I'm not a great actress, and I never thought I was. But I happen to have something the public likes."

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After all this researching I've done on Jean, I'm really happy I chose her for this blogathon. I learned so much about her; and if you'll remember, I chose her as one of the ten actresses I wanted to see more of in 2012, and now I'm definitely apt to see her movies. I sympathize with her story so much after reading about her. I feel particularly sad knowing she was about Lucy's age when she died.

Also, all the information I gathered for this post about her was what I learned online, so if you're a real hardcore Jean fan and know tons of information on her, feel free to correct me ;) I apologize for any discrepancies there may be with her health diagnosis, I tried my best! :) OH, also, if anyone wants to suggest any Jean movies as well as any biographies about her, please comment letting me know! I'm really eager to find out more about her and see some of her films. I'm especially looking for her books about her.

I hope you liked my contribution and be sure and check out Comet over Hollywood for the rest of the entries! There are sure to be many great posts and I can't wait to read them! :) And a special thank you to Jessica for arranging this blogathon to pay tribute to the many stars we lost way too soon.

Sunday Movie Review: "How to Marry a Millionaire" (1953)

Eh.

I'm having a really blah day and a ton of homework, and so despite the fact I watched a few interesting movies recently, I'm going to be lazy and give you a short review today. Sorry :(

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The poster:Well, Lauren's the star of this, but the poster is obviously in Marilyn's favor. (Wonder why... hmm..)

The plot:

In this classic comedy, three New York models (Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall) set up an apartment with a mission: They plan to use their looks, charm and talent to catch and marry a trio of millionaires. The gold-digging dames' outrageous man-hunting scheme does attract wealthy candidates, but, love and money don't appear to coexist; all three women must choose between the extremes. [from Netflix]

The starring players:

• Lauren Bacall as Schatze Page
• Betty Grable as Loco Dempsey
• Marilyn Monroe as Pola Debevoise
• William Powell as J.D Hanley

The verdict:

★★★ 1/2

It's uncommon to find a film with three female leads, but here's one for you. And it's a batch of three popular blonds, as well - Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable. Betty and Lauren were still popular but had had their prime in the 40's; as for Marilyn, she was at the peak of her popularity and riding high. It's really Lauren's film but Marilyn gets top billing (and the film poster is obviously in her favor). My favorite was Betty Grable, though. Her character is stupidly sweet and a riot to watch. Lauren Bacall is equally endearing as Schatze and the same goes for Marilyn who surprisingly ditched her usually seductive appearance for glasses. Love the witty script (at one point when Lauren is trying to convince her aging beau that the age difference doesn't matter, she points out she finds old guys attractive, like Roosevelt and Churchill and "that old what's his fella in The African Queen," in a cheeky reference to Bogie... another is a nod to Harry James, Betty's trumpeter husband at the time). Was nominated for Best Costume Design and it makes sense, the costumes are lavish and gorgeous and any fashion fan would want to watch. Catch William Powell in the role of the aging beau. Very splashy and not the greatest movie ever but a fun a rom-com out of Old Hollywood and Betty, Lauren, and Marilyn make it all worth it.

The bottom line:

Fun, splashy entertaining film - the three leads and William Powell, in addition to a witty script, makes it worthwhile.

Some photos:

Some trivia:

• One of the first movies to have its score recorded in a stereo.
• Betty Grable received top billing in the credits, but Marilyn Monroe was promoted the most in trailers and posters; whereas the real star of the film was Lauren Bacall.

A movie tidbit:

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 Happy Sunday! :)