Director: Victor Fleming
Starring: Jean Harlow, William Powell, Franchot Tone, May Robson, Ted Healy, Nat Pendleton, Robert Light, Rosalind Russell, Henry Stephenson
Distributed by: Warner Archive
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Run Time: 97 minutes
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
This the film first time that this 1935 classic has been released on DVD. It has been newly remastered by Warner Brothers. They definitely did a decent job for sure, there are some small issues but what do you expect from a film that is over 75 years old. The film was never one of my favorites and I feel that the story is very jumpy and unfocused. The story really only gets started in the third act and doesn’t leave enough time to develop.
Since the film is from 1935, I am very happy to see that special features included on this release. The first extra is a radio promo called “Leo is on the Air”, definitely worth a listen to. The other extra is a production session pre-recording from on the MGM stage. This one is very cool to watch and to see the whole film behind the scenes. Overall if you are a fan of Jean Harlow and William Powell, you might want to pick this up to see this classic remaster
Synopsis:
By 1935, every movie fan in the world knew Jean Harlow as both a blonde bombshell and a delightful comedienne. To expand her range, the studio gave her a dramatic role in Reckless – and Harlow was a hit. She plays musical star Mona Leslie, the bride of a champagne-stewed blueblood. When he blows his brains out, Mona is suspected of his murder, igniting media frenzy. The film is also notable for its Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein title tune (Harlow, whose considerable skills didn’t extend beyond acting, was dubbed and body doubled in the musical numbers), plus a cast that includes Franchot Tone, Rosalind Russell, and as a hotshot promoter, William Powell, who would become the last love of Harlow’s tragically short life.