There's a certain time in the late 1930s when, in my view, movies come of age. This film does have some substance, although it is not quite of that very slightly later Hollywood when films became "modern". And, the same can be said of Spencer Tracy (one of my two favorite actors; the other being Cary Grant). This was the film just before his breakout role in "Fury" and a series of truly impressive starring roles. This is the Tracy that seemed to feel he had to yell to make a point (or was that the direction he was receiving?). He hadn't quite learned what I'll refer to as simmering-subtlety. Nevertheless, Tracy has his moments in this film.
Jean Harlow is impressive, even without her platinum blond hair. You'll recognize quite a few of the supporting actors (including Una Merkel and a young Mickey Rooney). I was interested to see Joseph Calleia as the bad guy here...a common role for him at the time, although I remember him best as the papa from the Martin & Lewis film "The Caddy" more than a dozen years later. Although not a large role, there's a strong performance by supporting actor J. Farrell MacDonald (if you watch old movies, you'll recognize him, although you probably never knew his name).
The portion of the film that is most interesting is about midway through. After we learn that the major characters are sort of low class yellers, and after Tracy and Harlow split, it's the scene at the hobo camp that brought real substance to the movie...quite touching. And speaking of the hobo camp, it's a reminder that this film was made right in the middle of the Great Depression, and its depiction of labor unions is quite impressive. But then the film once again sinks into that pre-GWTW immaturity that I spoke of earlier. Harlow steals money from the bad guy to help Tracy, gets caught, goes to womens' prison, escapes through a drain pipe in the middle of a thunderstorm, at about the same time that the poor night watchman at a dock (Tracy) saves the union workers' jobs by foiling a sabotage attempt (why was there such an attempt by hobos???). Yes, it gets kinda dumb, and oh, I forgot to mention that while in prison, Harlow has a baby which nobody tells Tracy about. And believe it or not, despite Harlow breaking out of prison, they all live happily ever after. Dumb, dumb, dumb...but somewhat entertaining!
Jean Harlow is impressive, even without her platinum blond hair. You'll recognize quite a few of the supporting actors (including Una Merkel and a young Mickey Rooney). I was interested to see Joseph Calleia as the bad guy here...a common role for him at the time, although I remember him best as the papa from the Martin & Lewis film "The Caddy" more than a dozen years later. Although not a large role, there's a strong performance by supporting actor J. Farrell MacDonald (if you watch old movies, you'll recognize him, although you probably never knew his name).
The portion of the film that is most interesting is about midway through. After we learn that the major characters are sort of low class yellers, and after Tracy and Harlow split, it's the scene at the hobo camp that brought real substance to the movie...quite touching. And speaking of the hobo camp, it's a reminder that this film was made right in the middle of the Great Depression, and its depiction of labor unions is quite impressive. But then the film once again sinks into that pre-GWTW immaturity that I spoke of earlier. Harlow steals money from the bad guy to help Tracy, gets caught, goes to womens' prison, escapes through a drain pipe in the middle of a thunderstorm, at about the same time that the poor night watchman at a dock (Tracy) saves the union workers' jobs by foiling a sabotage attempt (why was there such an attempt by hobos???). Yes, it gets kinda dumb, and oh, I forgot to mention that while in prison, Harlow has a baby which nobody tells Tracy about. And believe it or not, despite Harlow breaking out of prison, they all live happily ever after. Dumb, dumb, dumb...but somewhat entertaining!