Platinum Blonde (1931)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Harry Chandlee (story) and
Douglas W. Churchill (story) ...

Release Date:

31 October 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

She Was Gorgeous - He Was A Man . . . So, the other girl had to wait !

Plot:

A young woman from a very rich family impulsively marries a reporter, but each assumes the other is the one whose lifestyle must change.

Plot Keywords:

Socialite | Newspaper | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Loretta Young	...	Gallagher
Robert Williams	...	Stew Smith
Jean Harlow	...	Anne Schuyler
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Smythe, The Butler
Reginald Owen	...	Dexter Grayson
Edmund Breese	...	Conroy, The Editor
Don Dillaway	...	Michael Schuyler (as Donald Dillaway)
Walter Catlett	...	Binji Baker
Claud Allister	...	Dawson, The Valet
Louise Closser Hale	...	Mrs. Schuyler

Also Known As:

Gallagher (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

During its 1950 reissue it was double-billed with "Gilda."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Stew Smith is married, his colleagues make fun of him in the press room. At that moment his wife calls and he walks over to the phone with his pipe in his mouth. However, when he picks up the phone, the pipe disappears.

Quotes:

Dexter Grayson: Anne asked me, uh, to come and see you about the divorce.
Stew Smith: She did?
Dexter Grayson: She wants me to arrange the financial settlement.
Stew Smith: Listen, Grayson, I got 106 bucks and 75 cents in the bank. Now Anne can have any part of that she wants, but she's got to hurry, because I'm spending it awful fast.
Dexter Grayson: You don't seem to understand. Anne doesn't expect anything from you. We would like to know how much YOU would want to ...
Stew Smith: Now wait a minute! Do I get from you that she wants to pay ME alimony?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: On Blondes/Walter Kundzicz/The Art of Flirting (#6.13)" (2004)

Must-see for film buffs

This very early Capra film is a must-see for several reasons. Jean Harlow is unusually cast as a straight society high-brow. Although the role could easily be played as a caricature, she brings to it appealing depth and vulnerability. Loretta Young is radiant. And Robert Williams delivers an eccentric performance that seems far ahead of its time. I had never seen nor heard of him before. Capra's populism here consists mostly of: let the classes stay in their places, they don't mix very well. A surprisingly literate and engaging film.