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The Wizard of Oz

· Actor: Judy Garland | Ray Bolger | Jack Haley | Bert Lahr | Frank Morgan · Audience Rating: G (General Audience) · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Victor Fleming | Richard Thorpe · EAN: 9780790745169 · Format: NTSC · ISBN: 079074516X · Label: Warner · Manufacturer: Warner · Product Group: Video · Publisher: Warner · Release Date: 2003-09-02 · Studio: Warner · Theatrical Release Date: 1939-08-25 · UPC: 012569512337
» When it was released during Hollywood's golden year of 1939, The Wizard of Oz didn't start out as the perennial classic it has since become. The film did respectable business, but it wasn't until its debut on television that this family favorite saw its popularity soar. And while Oz's TV broadcasts are now controlled by media mogul Ted Turner (who owns the rights), the advent of home video has made this lively musical a mainstay in the staple diet of great American films. Young Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), her dog, Toto, and her three companions on the Yellow Brick Road to Oz--the Tin Man (Jack Haley), the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), and the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger)--have become pop-culture icons and central figures in the legacy of fantasy for children. As the Wicked Witch who covets Dorothy's enchanted ruby slippers, Margaret Hamilton has had the singular honor of scaring the wits out of children for more than six decades. The film's still as fresh, frightening, and funny as it was when first released. It may take some liberal detours from the original story by L. Frank Baum, but it's loyal to the Baum legacy while charting its own course as a spectacular film. Shot in glorious Technicolor, befitting its dynamic production design (Munchkinland alone is a psychedelic explosion of color and decor), The Wizard of Oz may not appeal to every taste as the years go by, but it's required viewing for kids of all ages. --Jeff Shannonit is good

2006-02-16
this movie is good but it could have been betterPropaganda...

2005-09-11
...that's all this is. And with a cover that is obviously playing off of WICKED's success, this DVD-set is nothing more than the false story of what happened in OZ. For the real story, see the musical WICKED or read its source novel.

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Gone With The Wind

· Actor: Thomas Mitchell | Barbara O'Neil | Vivien Leigh | Evelyn Keyes | Ann Rutherford · Audience Rating: G (General Audience) · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Sam Wood | Victor Fleming · EAN: 9786305123613 · Format: NTSC | Original recording remastered · ISBN: 6305123616 · Label: MGM (Warner) · Manufacturer: MGM (Warner) · Product Group: Video · Publisher: MGM (Warner) · Release Date: 1999-03-02 · Studio: MGM (Warner) · Theatrical Release Date: 1941-01-17 · UPC: 027616719935
» David O. Selznick wanted Gone with the Wind to be somehow more than a movie, a film that would broaden the very idea of what a film could be and do and look like. In many respects he got what he worked so hard to achieve in this 1939 epic (and all-time box-office champ in terms of tickets sold), and in some respects he fell far short of the goal. While the first half of this Civil War drama is taut and suspenseful and nostalgic, the second is ramshackle and arbitrary. But there's no question that the film is an enormous achievement in terms of its every resource--art direction, color, sound, cinematography--being pushed to new limits for the greater glory of telling an American story as fully as possible. Vivien Leigh is still magnificently narcissistic, Olivia de Havilland angelic and lovely, Leslie Howard reckless and aristocratic. As for Clark Gable: we're talking one of the most vital, masculine performances ever committed to film. The DVD release has optional French subtitles and theatrical trailer. --Tom KeoghExcellent movie

2007-11-13
The reason I bought this movie was for the special features. I've seen it before and I was interested in the commentary. This DVD set is must have for any Gone With The Wind fan. The person who did the commentary did an excellent job as he went into detail of how the movie got started, background of major characters, directors etc. The making of the movie is a must see as well.not that great

2006-06-06
Besides the groundbreaking image and the fact that it had one of the first "swears" in a motion picture this movie is not that great. The acting is so/so but i will give the storyline credit, it has a great morale story. So if one of you people reading this is thinking of buying or renting this movie discard the hype around it and make a judgement on your own.

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Captains Courageous

· Actor: Freddie Bartholomew | Spencer Tracy | Lionel Barrymore | Mickey Rooney | Melvyn Douglas · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Victor Fleming · EAN: 9786301965958 · Format: NTSC · ISBN: 6301965957 · Label: MGM (Warner) · Manufacturer: MGM (Warner) · Product Group: Video · Publisher: MGM (Warner) · Release Date: 2002-02-05 · Studio: MGM (Warner) · Theatrical Release Date: 1937-06-25 · UPC: 027616005830
» The award-winning l937 version of Kipling's classic Captains Courageous finds spoiled-rotten brat Harvey Cheyne (Freddie Bartholomew) well on the way to becoming a horrible adult, under the illusion that money can buy all happiness. The little monster falls off a cruise ship, and is fished out of the drink by Portuguese fisherman Manuel (Spencer Tracy) and brought back to his fishing boat. Though the overprivileged lad initially chafes at being put to work aboard the smelly vessel, he eventually learns the value of a day's work and learns lessons in life that make him a functional person and bring him several steps closer to manhood. Despite Tracy's indeterminate accent, he excels in his role as the boy's friend, and enthusiastic performances from the rest of the cast bring this coming-of-age tale to life. It's a film that has lost none of its sentimental appeal (or occasional hamminess) over the years and should have an all-ages appeal to fans of Hollywood classics. --Jerry RenshawA marvelous tribute to fathers, sons, and friends.

2004-06-21
Thank God this is in TCM's library; it was just aired this past Father's Day weekend, and I watched it for the first time in twenty years. It still resonates as a father/son film, a buddy film, a coming-of-age film, and an adventure story. Even the film's moment of transition (roughly 24 minutes in) seems to be paying homage to 'other world' adventures like THE WIZARD OF OZ and ALICE IN WONDERLAND- except that Alice is a bratty little boy this time- easily the brattiest kid you'll ever meet in Freddie Bartholomew. Once Bartholomew begins his adventure with fisherman Spencer Tracy so does an amazing battle of wits, dialogue, great script, most of all, awesome performances. (Who would've thought the macho Victor Fleming would direct a story with such sensitivity and warmth amidst not only the leads but supporting castmembers Melvyn Douglas, Lionel Barrymore, and the up-and-coming Mickey Rooney?) Even though Tracy capped (and deserved) the Oscar, 12-year-old Bartholomew is a revelation as he learns about humility, honor, friendship, and growing up throughout the entire film. (A bewitching sequence shows Bartholomew play a prank which backfires on him and nearly costs him his friendship with Tracy.) The film could be accused of datedness, but it is a testimony to the basic Kipling story that it has been filmed three times, twice for television. (Can a Broadway musical be far off?) Full of wonderful black-and-white cinematography and ocean-fog special effects, it needs to come to DVD immediately. And I guarantee you'll cry like a baby with a smile on your face.I Urge You To See This Film!

2001-12-03
This is a marvelous movie about a spoiled, insecure child who brags, manipulates, and uses his wealth & positon to feel strong & good about himself (sound like anyone you know?). After being suspended from school for his antics he is dragged to Europe to accompany his father on a business trip. En route, he accidentenly falls overboard from the oceanliner (that's how they travelled in those days) and is rescued by a fisherman. He learns his lesson, matures and acquires integrity through his association with the crew of fisherman & in particular Spencer Tracy's character.
This fine cast consists of legends who give wonderful performances: John Carradine, Lionel Barrymore, Mickey Rooney, Melvyn Douglas and of course, Spencer Tracy.
The film also gives you a rare glimpse into a way of life past. Today we have huge fishing ships that net miles of fish and have the canneneries right on board. Without it being intentional, the movie shows you what life was like when people still cared about the work they did and had pride in the honest work they had accomplished (rather than life being a succession of "jobs").
You may show this movie to your children without fear;not only is there nothing unseemly in it, it has a valuable lesson to teach us all. And it is of much better quality than any of the so-called "family films" that have been produced in the last two decades.
HOLLYWOOD TAKE NOTE: you don't need punchy soundtracks, death defying stunts and high tech wizardry to make a good movie - - just an honest story, a good script and a fine cast. This movie proves that. It was made 70 yrs ago and we're still buying it.
My only complaint with this film is that it's not availabe on DVD.

List: CDN$ 23.11

Used: CDN$ 104.53

A Guy Named Joe

· Actor: Spencer Tracy | Irene Dunne | Van Johnson | Ward Bond | James Gleason · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Victor Fleming · EAN: 9786301969161 · Format: Import | NTSC · ISBN: 6301969162 · Product Group: Video · Release Date: 1998-09-01 · Theatrical Release Date: 1944-03 · UPC: 027616138033 Not his greatest, but still interesting

2002-07-15
This movie is sort of like the flying-ace version of Angels on My Shoulder. It's unusual for a Spencer Tracy film in that he dies in the first half of the movie, goes to heaven, comes back to earth to help rookie pilots, and doesn't get his girl. Instead, Van Johnson, the young flyer he's sent to shepherd, gets her and they live happily ever after, presumably.
There are some unusual aspects to the plot. Tracy is assigned to assist Van Johnson during training, but Johnson isn't the sort of guy Tracy would normally hang out with or even like. For example, we're told he's rich and just inherited 4 million dollars. When Johnson gets sent to New Guinea to fly in the south Pacific, he meets Irene Dunne, Tracy's former love, and Johnson starts putting moves on her, another reason for Tracy to dislike his assigned pilot.
But Johnson turns out to be a better guy for Irene than Tracy was, and Tracy even seems to sense or realize that, and at the end of the film, he finally lets her go.
There are some nicely done battle scenes in the movie, and the one where Dunne takes up the P38 and successfully completes a solo suicide mission Van Johnson was sent to do is notable in that this was a long time before women's lib. Dunne shows that she can fly as well as any man, and along with the scene where Tracy goes down taking out the German aircraft carrier (which the Germans never had), is one of the two most climactic battle scenes in the movie. Dunne shows she can be as good as any man, but still feminine, a role contemporary feminists don't seem to approve of.

All in all a decent movie with some interesting aspects to the characters and plot. Big Steve says go see it (or in this case, buy it) and don't Bogart the popcorn.

A different film than "ALWAYS"

2000-10-20
"A guy named Joe" (AGNJ) should not be compared to Spielberg's "Always", because they are different pictures. AGNJ in the first half is about flying and Spencer Tracy's love for IT, not so much Irene Dunne. Its highly amusing to see him die by crashing into a German aircraft carrier when the Germans never put one into service. In Always, you really do sense that Richard Dreyfuss loves Holly Hunter. Its Irene Dunne's character that is stuck on Joe, and its wonderful to see her in the movie maintaing her professional poise as a ferry pilot while Van Johnson is hitting on her. In fact, I know a young woman who reminds me exactly of her, who holds a deep loss in her heart but maintains a professional bearing.

Its Van Johnson who makes her want to live again, and in the best scene of the movie, she realizes he ain't gonna make it when he's assigned a suicide attack mission in his P-38. What's amazing is this in the 1940s, but Irene Dunne jumps into his P-38 and flies the mission INCLUDING dropping bombs and firing machine guns at the enemy. Its startling to see and you don't see any feminists rushing to praise this picture. Its because she's a professional, a sexy woman AND a warrior, not a bitter man-hater. Like I suspect many from "America's greatest generation" she knew the enemy had to be defeated or else tyranny would rule the earth and instead of complaining pitched in and helped. Her goal was to help not be a female version of a male "Top Gun" egotist. Ahhh, that we had more women like her today!

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Used: CDN$ 14.00

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

· Actor: Spencer Tracy | Ingrid Bergman | Lana Turner | Donald Crisp | Ian Hunter · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Victor Fleming · EAN: 9786301967815 · Format: Import | NTSC · ISBN: 630196781X · Product Group: Video · Release Date: 1998-09-01 · Theatrical Release Date: 1941-09 · UPC: 027616065131
» Classy MGM was not the studio most likely to make a horror movie in 1941, and in fact its production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ended up looking more like a glossy costume drama than a B-movie frightfest. The mood of Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of a divided doctor is ably captured in Joseph Ruttenberg's Oscar-nominated cinematography---more so, perhaps, than in Spencer Tracy's lead performance. Tracy wasn't especially happy about playing the role, although his transformations from good Dr. Jekyll to evil Dr. Hyde are convincing enough. One of the main reasons to see this version of the story is the young, impossibly beautiful Ingrid Bergman, then still a year shy of Casablanca. Bergman was cast in the good-girl part, but proved a shrewd judge of material, even this early in her Hollywood career; she finagled her way into playing the floozy instead, thus securing a more colorful acting platform than Lana Turner, who ended up in the more respectable role. Director Victor Fleming's previous movie was a little number called Gone with the Wind, and the Big Picture approach to that project may have influenced his work here--this Dr. Jekyll is just a bit too stately, too polished to really engage. The picture is so dignified it never cuts loose with the kind of wild invention that marked the 1932 version of the story, which won Fredric March an Oscar. It's the tale as imagined by Jekyll, rather than Hyde. ---Robert Horton

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Good Earth, the

· Actor: Paul Muni | Luise Rainer | Walter Connolly | Tilly Losch | Charley Grapewin · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Gustav Machaty | Victor Fleming · EAN: 9786301969406 · Format: NTSC · ISBN: 6301969405 · Label: MGM (Warner) · Manufacturer: MGM (Warner) · Product Group: Video · Publisher: MGM (Warner) · Release Date: 2002-02-05 · Studio: MGM (Warner) · Theatrical Release Date: 1937-08-06 · UPC: 027616012036
» MGM's status as the "class" studio was fully engaged when production chief Irving Thalberg took on this expensive, serious adaptation of Pearl Buck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. A smooth entertainment with a stiff portion of this-is-good-for-you seriousness, The Good Earth epitomizes Thalberg's idea of Art, which was also the prevailing idea of the period he dominated in Hollywood. The story follows Wang Lung (Paul Muni), a humble farmer, who makes an arranged marriage to a slave, O-Lan (Luise Rainer). The couple's great struggle is to procure--and then, against withering odds, keep--a piece of land, ownership of which makes the difference between self-determination and near-slavery. The film's physical production is truly eye-filling, with location shooting in China providing exterior shots and backdrops (and blending seamlessly with the footage shot in the U.S.). No wonder the great cinematographer Karl Freund won an Oscar for the photography, which includes an awesomely staged locust plague.

Also copping an Oscar was Luise Rainer for best actress--her second consecutive award, after The Great Ziegfeld. Rainer's underplayed portrait of self-effacing stoicism is a contrast to Muni's broader performance, although in some odd way he's exactly right for his role. Caucasian actors play the main characters (Walter Connolly is the family's bothersome, and tiresome, know-it-all uncle), with Asian actors--including Keye Luke--filling out the supporting parts. The blend of sobriety and hokum is vintage Thalberg, and this is the one MGM movie with an onscreen dedication to the young dynamo; he died during production, age 37. --Robert Horton

The Good Earth

2005-07-03
It is unfortunate that this classic - The Good Earth - is currently unavailable. I urge to restock it for customers.
I reviewed the version that I downloaded many years ago from television. Though the quality leaves much to be desired but the picture protrays the spirit of the Chinese people very well - from ashes to phoenix! The movie, based on the classical novel by the late Pearl S. Buck, is still stunning when reviewed from time to time. Hope, someday, either a video or VHS version would be made available by popular demand.Fascinating Stereotypes

2004-06-30
THE GOOD EARTH is fascinating today because of its blatant portrayals of Chinese stereotypes. Neither of the leads are Chinese but are Caucasians dressed in "yellow face" make-up which was supposed to make them look Chinese but in fact makes them look more like space aliens from another planet. The film deserves attention today because of the atrocious performance by Luise Rainer of Pearl Buck's heroine, the long-suffering peasant wife O-Lan. Originally, Anna May Wong was up for the role but deemed "not Chinese" enough for the part. Ha ha! Today, Rainer's performance which won an Oscar at the time has not withstood the test of time. Yet her cowering, passive, pathetic Chinese woman performance has influenced generations of Americans to view Chinese women as passive and docile. Books written by Chinese do not show any such thing! Check out Mo Yan's RED SORGHUM (there's a book and movie version starring Gong Li) to see the portrayal of a brave Chinese peasant woman. The movie is still worth seeing because it helps us to understand the stereotypes of yesteryear when the Chinese were seen as very exotic, but don't expect a realistic portrayal of Chinese rural life. For that, check out Zhang Yimou's films, such as Qiu Ju, Not One Less, and of course Red Sorghum.

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Treasure Island

· Actor: Wallace Beery | Jackie Cooper | Lionel Barrymore | Otto Kruger | Lewis Stone · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Victor Fleming · EAN: 9786301977067 · Format: Import | NTSC · ISBN: 6301977068 · Product Group: Video · Release Date: 1994-12-21 · Theatrical Release Date: 1934-08-17 · UPC: 027616175533 Treasure this Version

2004-05-17
I enjoy most versions but to me this is the best. The great cast, sets, music, screenplay, and directing made it a wonderful adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson book. A pity it wasn't done in color only because I think it would gain more recognition with todays youth. Many still appreciate this wonderful adventure with pirates, sailing, and treasure hunting. The battle scene at the stockade is very exciting. One of the best family movies you can find these days. Any fan of Disney adventure movies will probably enjoy it.Like really living it

2004-04-28
I liked this movie way more than Pirates of the Carribean. It makes you feel like you are really watching actual Pirates. OK so they are not as hot as Johnny Depp..but this movie scared me and and gave me a feeling of adventure.Why are modern movies so boring? I loved this movie!!

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Treasure Island

· Actor: Wallace Beery | Jackie Cooper | Lionel Barrymore | Otto Kruger | Lewis Stone · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Victor Fleming · EAN: 9786301976381 · Format: NTSC · ISBN: 630197638X · Label: MGM (Warner) · Manufacturer: MGM (Warner) · Product Group: Video · Publisher: MGM (Warner) · Release Date: 1991-08-28 · Studio: MGM (Warner) · Theatrical Release Date: 1934-08-17 · UPC: 027616003232 Treasure this Version

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Reckless

· Actor: Jean Harlow | William Powell | Franchot Tone | May Robson | Ted Healy · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Victor Fleming · EAN: 9786302224399 · Format: Import | NTSC · ISBN: 630222439X · Product Group: Video · Release Date: 1995-04-16 · Theatrical Release Date: 1935-04-19 · UPC: 027616237439
» Producer David O. Selznick had dreams of musical stardom for Jean Harlow when he cast her in the melodrama Reckless, based on the tragic life of Broadway singer Libby Holman (called Mona Leslie in the movie). Harlow is charming in the film and does some of her finest dramatic acting, but she's no musical star. She looks uncomfortable lip-synching her songs, and the little bit of hoofing she does is nothing to write home about. As is the case in so many 1930s movies, the film's message is class-related. Mona has two rivals for her affections: humble sports promoter Ned Riley (William Powell) and millionaire playboy Bob Harrison (Franchot Tone). The viewer knows that Mona would be happier with Ned, but she elopes with Bob, dazzled by his yacht and his fancy talk. Little does Mona know that Bob was once engaged to marry his childhood sweetheart, Jo Mercer (a young and lovely Rosalind Russell). Bob soon realizes that he's made a mistake marrying Mona; he doesn't have the guts to stand up for her among his snooty family and friends. What's impressive about this movie is that it doesn't pull any punches--the tragedy here is wrenching and real. And knowledge of the parallel events in Harlow's own life (her catastrophic marriage to Paul Bern) renders the film even more poignant. --Laura Mirsky MEDIOCRE THIRTIES FLICK.

2002-07-02
A bizarre film which was obviously (and rather cruelly) modeled - at least in part - after a tragedy in Harlow's own personal life. For his first picture with Jean Harlow - with whom he was then involved romantically in real life - Bill Powell plays Ned Riley, an aristocrat who marries a "Broadway Baby" (Harlow, natch); tragic melodrama ensues. Harlow was angry at MGM for being forced to do this rather tasteless (for personal reasons) picture which obviously capitalised on the suicide of Paul Bern - Harlow's second husband - whose mysterious death became a notoriously hot scandal sheet subject for the press in 1932. Harlow tries hard to improve her acting in this, but the tension and inner strain is evident in several scenes (no wonder, considering the autobiographical nuances and overtones insinuated by the screen writers!) The Powell-Harlow chemistry ONSCREEN isn't much to mull over in this rather poorly constructed film with carelessly motivated characterisations. Catch LIBELED LADY - a delicious 1936 comedy with Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy co-starring for a much more satisfying look at the duo at work!The STARS are the STANDOUT in this Moving Melodrama!

2000-03-27
I have to disagree with Mr. Maltin's review. The superb charm and talent of Mr. William Powell and Jean Harlow are definitely enough to pull you through the so called "phony and tired plotline". It' a pure joy to watch them, they'll make you laugh one minute, and tear your heart out at the next. This film was an unexpected delight. Once you manage to sit through the first and overly long opening musical number, sit back and enjoy. Yes, Jean plays Mona, a stage star, William is Ned, the man responsible for her career, and the man that is secretly in love with her. Enter the drink loving millionaire playboy Bob (Franchot Tone), who Mona falls fall, add one drunken night, and they're married. Of course Bob is already regretting his hasty marriage. However, they return to Bob's aristocratic home town, and the snobbish unacceptance of Bob's father and townsfolk, largely due to the fact that Bob had been engaged to a town favourite (A young Rossalind Russell), when he married Mona...Drama and tragedy ensue, forcing Mona to return to Broadway to support herself and Bob's child. However, a vicious campaign is launched against Mona by the judgemental aristocratic circle that believe the worst about her. All the while, Mona's friends, feisty grandmother and ever faithful Ned, rally around her to the very moving finale, when an almost broken, tearful Mona faces a callous, jeering audience with great style and dignity... I particularly enjoyed Ned's warm, funny, teasing relationship with Mona and especially, her grandmother, the definite highlight of the film. No one plays the charming, comedic tipsy-drunk better than William Powell! Now I can say his dramtic skills are just as good! Finally, I would like to add the corney comment that Ned was truely the wind beneath Mona's wings! Touching and funnily so, without being too sappy!

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Used: CDN$ 23.00

Red Dust

· Actor: Clark Gable | Jean Harlow | Gene Raymond | Mary Astor | Donald Crisp · Binding: VHS Tape · Director: Victor Fleming · EAN: 9786301978392 · Format: Import | NTSC · ISBN: 6301978390 · Product Group: Video · Release Date: 1994-06-30 · Theatrical Release Date: 1932-10-22 · UPC: 027616056030
» Red Dust is the second of six movies Clark Gable and Jean Harlow made together. As usual, he plays a rugged man's man whose devilishly sexy good looks and deep-rooted gallantry make him irresistible to women; she, a tough, no-nonsense broad with a smart mouth, champagne hair, a body that won't quit, and a heart of mush. Their presence elevates this otherwise melodramatic soaper to the rank of classic. Directed by Victor Fleming (who, at Gable's insistence, took over the direction of Gone With the Wind from George Cukor), it definitely bears Fleming's macho mark.

Dennis Carson (Gable) runs a Southeast Asian rubber plantation. Vantine, a "woman of easy virtue" (Harlow), drifts into camp looking for a place to evade the law. One look at Dennis and she falls, hard. Her incessant chatter drives him nuts--and out of sheer impudence she insists on calling him "Fred"--but she finally wears him down. "You talk too much, but you're a cute little trick at that," he grins, pulling her onto his lap as the camera cuts away...

Then Dennis falls for Babs Willis (Mary Astor), the genteel wife of visiting surveyor Gary Willis (Gene Raymond). (The couple arrives at the dangerous, ramshackle camp with tennis rackets.) Babs can't help but succumb to Dennis's raw masculine power. Come the monsoons, he carries her in out of the rain. Their ensuing first kiss is one hot movie moment--and her a married woman! Of course this can't last: Gable and Harlow have to end up together. Dennis takes pity on Gary and abandons his plan to run away with Babs. "I've been noble," he tells Vantine, taking her in his arms. "Well, it's about time!" she replies. --Laura Mirsky

Jean Harlow & Clark Gable are Awesome!!!

2003-06-03
I thought this was a awesome movie!!!!! The chinese guy was hilarious!!!!! I really thought their on screen chemistry was very real & easy to belive. Its too bad Jean Harlow didn't live longer becuase I think she was a wonderful actress. I felt really bad for Gary & Vantine. :) I thought this was a wonderful movie & that you should buy itJean Harlow and Clark Gable make their first film together

2003-03-26
The 1932 film "Red Dust," the first cinematic pairing of platinum blondeshell Jean Harlow and the virile Clark Gable, is obviously inspired by the success of Somerset Maugham's "Rain." Once again we have a fallen woman, Vantine Jefferson (Harlow), a Saigon prostitute, running from the police who hides out on an Indo-China rubber plantation run by an unshaven Dennis Carson (Gable). Harlow's character talks tough, but she is a sizzling sexpot (this is the film where she takes a bath in a rain barrel) who sasses him back every time he tries to give her the business. Soon he falls for all of her vamping and tries to get her to accept some meony so she can start her life anew some place else.
The next boat arrives at the plantation and delivers engineer Gary Willis (Gene Raymond) and his wife, Barbara (Mary Astor). Willis has been stricken with fever and while he recovers Carson forgets about Vantine and falls for Barbara. Then things start getting really complicated. But the main attraction here is these characters wallowing in sins of the flesh in a film made two years before the Code cleaned up Hollywood (and five years before Harlow's death at the age of 26). You will never think the same thoughts about your favorite cheese again after watching Harlow and Gable tackle the subject. Gable acts the part of a first-rate cad for most of the film while Harlow drips innuendo about her sleeping habits. Even Astor as the adulterous "Babs" has her moments, as when she and Gable share their first kiss after he rescues her from a monsoon that leaves her drenched.

"Red Dust" is one of those black & white pre-Code films that is steamier than the vast majority of contemporary films that try to deal with the idea of sex. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (uncredited) and is based on a play by Wilson Collison. This was the first of two films that Gable made with Fleming before the director was called in to save the actor from George Cukor on "Gone With the Wind." Harlow and Gable would be united again the following year in "Hold Your Man," in 1935 in "China Seas," 1936's "Wife Versus Secretary," and in her last film, 1937's "Saratoga."

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