Reckless (1935)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

David O. Selznick (story)
P.J. Wolfson (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 April 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Comedy

Tagline:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Mammoth Musical Melodrama

Plot:

Wealthy Bob Harrison buys all the seats in the theatre to watch Mona Leslie's musical by himself. He loves her...

Plot Keywords:

Playboy | Singer | Marriage | Racetrack | Yellow Journalism

Cast

Jean Harlow	...	Mona Leslie
William Powell	...	Ned Riley
Franchot Tone	...	Robert 'Bob' Harrison Jr.
May Robson	...	Mrs. Granny Leslie
Ted Healy	...	Smiley
Nat Pendleton	...	Blossom
Rosalind Russell	...	Josephine 'Jo' Mercer
Henry Stephenson	...	Colonel Harrison Sr.
Man Mountain Dean	...	Himself (as Man-Mountain Dean)
Robert Light	...	Paul Mercer
Allan Jones	...	Allan, a Singer
Carl Randall	...	Carl Randall, Mona's Dance Partner in 'Trocadero' Number
Louise Henry	...	Louise
James Ellison	...	Dale Every
Nina Mae McKinney	...	Specialty Singer

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #736)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Selznick based this on the Libby Holman murder scandal. Star Jean Harlow felt the story had disturbing similarities to suicide of her second husband, Paul Bern. Jean Harlow believed she was cast in the picture in a deliberate attempt to capitalize on that event, and she refused the role at first. In William Powell's autobiography, he says he convinced her to accept the role rather than be suspended.

Quotes:

Mona Leslie: [Spoken introduction to the song, Reckless] What'll you ever be? What'll you ever do? How will you ever know if you don't take a chance?
Chorus: You have got to gamble with fate.
Mona Leslie: [singing] I wanna live, love, learn a lot. I'll light my candle and I'll burn a lot.
Chorus: You'll have some bad shots, hard knocks!
Mona Leslie: I'm on my own if I bruise.
Chorus: And there'll be smiles here, shouts here!
Mona Leslie: And I can take it on the chin if I lose, because I'm reckless!
Chorus: She's simply reckless!
Mona Leslie: Reckless!
Chorus: She's simply reckless!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dum

not very good

A pretty forgettable movie starring William Powell and Jean Harlow. The plot really doesn't really come together and seems to be just thrown together. There are a few musicals numbers but they are pretty bad and don't compare to The Great Ziegfeld. Harlow looks like she's mouthing the words and her dance scene will only shows her legs and nothing else. The plot has something to do with Powell and Harlow being in love with each other but Franchot Tone comes in and steals Harlow away before Powell makes his move. Rosalind Russell is in love with Tone but she winds up getting married to someone else. The movie just doesn't work and this was directed by the same guy who directed The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind.