Jean Harlow

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Jean Harlow (1934)

Jean Harlow (born March 3, 1911 in Kansas City , Missouri , † June 7, 1937 in Los Angeles ; born Harlean Harlow Carpenter ) was an American actress who was one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood in the 1930s. Jean Harlow is now considered the prototype of the blonde bombshell that paved the way for other blonde actresses such as Lana Turner and Marilyn Monroe .

Life

Harlean Carpenter was the daughter of Mont Clair Carpenter (1877–1974), a successful dentist, and Jean Poe Carpenter (1891–1958), nee Harlow. After the divorce, the mother and her young daughter moved to Hollywood, after a second marriage, she and her family moved to Chicago. Jean suffered from poor health throughout her childhood. At 16, Jean Harlow ran off with young businessman Charles McGrew to marry him. The young couple went to Los Angeles , where Jean quickly got extra roles and smaller engagements. From 1928 she was already regularly starring in short films . She appeared in the Hal Roach comedy shorts alongside Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel . She had her breakthrough as a star in 1930 when the film producer Howard Hughes re-shot large parts of his film Hell's Angels, which had first started as a silent film , as a sound film . All scenes with the previous leading actress Greta Nissen were re-staged with Jean Harlow. In the film, Harlow also speaks one of the most famous sentences in film history:

"Would you be shocked, if I put on something more comfortable?"

"Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?"

This dialogue produced a serious scandal. The subsequent films were also unsuitable for turning Jean Harlow into a big star. An exception was Frank Capras Before Blondes is Warned in 1931 , in which she competes with Loretta Young as a rich, spoiled heiress for the same man. For the first time Harlow also showed her comedic talent in it. In 1932 MGM took over her contract from the film producer Howard Hughes and her rise to the top star began with her second film for MGM, the comedy Head of Fire . The film was so daring for the time that it was banned by censors in England. That same year, Harlow starred for the second time alongside Clark Gable in the adventure film Jungle in the Storm . The film was shot before the Hays Code came into force and could therefore go relatively far in its description of erotic situations. Harlow and Gable had already appeared together in the film The Secret Six in 1931 . After the jungle in the storm , they starred in four other films as a screen couple .

The marriage with Charles McGrew was divorced in 1931 and the following year Jean Harlow married Paul Bern , a close confidante of the producer Irving Thalberg . Paul Bern committed suicide two months after the wedding. The studio managed to prevent a scandal. From 1933 to 1935 she was married to the cameraman Harold Rosson . After 1933 she played frequently with William Powell and they became a couple privately. After the great success of the social comedy Dinner at eight , in which she appeared in a star cast alongside Marie Dressler and John Barrymore , she took on the leading role in Bombshell , a satire about the film business and the scandal press. Harlow plays Lola Burns , a platinum blonde Hollywood star who has had enough of the quirks of the press and the film industry and wants a quiet life as a housewife and mother. In the film she more or less plays herself. Harlow was also seen in comedies in the following years. Her best-known films include His Secretary with Clark Gable and Myrna Loy from 1935 and Funny Sinner , in which Myrna Loy co-starred again alongside William Powell and Spencer Tracy . In addition, Harlow was also seen in adventure films such as Pirates in the Yellow Sea alongside Clark Gable and Wallace Beery . In early 1937 she appeared on the cover of Life magazine .

Jean Harlow died unexpectedly at the age of 26 in June 1937 while filming Saratoga from poisoning due to kidney failure. She was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale , California . In his book Hollywood - Photographs from the Kobal Collection , David Thomson writes of Jean Harlow's enduring fame: "She remains one of Hollywood's eternal sex goddesses, not least because of her ability to symbolize sexual availability."

The actress's death had further consequences for film history. MGM originally wanted to engage Shirley Temple of 20th Century Fox for the MGM film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz . In return, MGM agreed to 20th Century Fox to loan top MGM stars Clark Gable and Jean Harlow to film In Old Chicago . But as it was, Judy Garland , a contract actress with MGM, got the lead role in The Wizard of Oz .

reception

Harlow's Life was filmed twice in 1965, both times under the title Harlow . The first film directed by Alex Segal was released in May 1965 with Carol Lynley in the lead role, the second a month later with Carroll Baker , directed by Gordon Douglas . In 2004, Gwen Stefani played the role of Jean Harlow in Aviator .

In 1970 the Austrian artist André Heller performed the song Guten Morgen, Jean Harlow, how was the night? .

Filmography (selection)

literature

  • Curtis F. Brown: Jean Harlow. Your films - your life. Heyne, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-453-86006-3 .
  • Darrell Rooney, Mark A. Vieira: Harlow in Hollywood: The Blonde Bombshell in the Glamor Capital, 1928-1937. Angel City Press, Santa Monica (CA.) 2011, ISBN 978-1-883318-96-3 .
  • Bettina Uhlich: Marilyn's idol. The life of the canvas goddess Jean Harlow. Militzke, Leipzig 2011, ISBN 3-86189-841-1 .

Film documentaries

  • Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell . TV documentary by Jom McQuade. USA 1993, Turner, 47 minutes
  • Intimate Portrait: Jean Harlow . TV documentary by Suju Vijayan. USA 1999, The Greif Company

Web links

Commons : Jean Harlow  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jean Harlow biography . Official website of Jean Harlow. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  2. ↑ knerger.de: The grave of Jean Harlow
personal data
SURNAME Harlow, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Harlow Carpenter, Harlean; Carpenter, Harlean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH March 3, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Kansas City, Missouri , United States
DATE OF DEATH June 7, 1937
Place of death Los Angeles , United States