Platinum Blonde (1931)

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

Director:

Frank Capra (as Frank R. Capra)

Writers:

Harry Chandlee (story) (as Harry E. Chandlee), Douglas W. Churchill (story)

Stars:

Jean Harlow, Loretta Young, Robert Williams

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Loretta Young	...	Gallagher
Robert Williams	...	Stew Smith
Jean Harlow	...	Ann Schuyler
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Butler
Reginald Owen	...	Grayson
Edmund Breese	...	Conroy - the Editor
Don Dillaway	...	Michael Schuyler (as Donald Dillaway)
Walter Catlett	...	Bingy
Claud Allister	...	Dawson - the Valet
Louise Closser Hale	...	Mrs. Schuyler

Storyline

Reporter Gallagher loves reporter Smith who marries Anne. He's soon bored being married to a socialite and asks Gallagher to help him write a play. She arrives with a bunch of reporters and the mansion turns into a party. Anne arrives and orders them out and Smith goes with them.

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | reporter | party | mansion | socialite | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gallagher

Box Office

Budget:

£600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Stew Smith: There you go, talkin' like a woman.
Gallagher: Well?
Stew Smith: Well, you're my pal, aren't you? And don't turn female on me.

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Connections

Featured in Sex, Censorship and the Silver Screen: Censored (1996)

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Soundtracks

A Bird in a Gilded Cage
(1900) (uncredited)
Music by Harry von Tilzer
Lyrics by Arthur J. Lamb
Sung a cappella by Edmund Breese

User Reviews

A Genius - Robert Williams - the great loss

Platinum Blonde launched so many careers - the most infamous being Frank Capra and Jean Harlow. It is not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination. The sound is bad, Harlow is terribly miscast, and poor Loretta Young struggles valiantly to bring depth to a part that is the filmic equivalent of wallpaper. As many have said before me, she and Harlow would have done well to reverse roles.

But the greatest on screen portrayal of fresh, modern, naturalistic acting (a style that later would be attributed to James Dean) is from the wonderful, refreshingly brilliant young Robert Williams in 1931!!!!! I would never mark this film as a masterpiece, yet I would encourage all struggling male actors to study this man's work as a prime example of how to dominate a scene without any artifice or aggression. Every time he enters a room, the whole film lights up, and every time he leaves, all the other actors seem to lose their purpose and energy.

I have never seen such simple perfection, and I am saddened to no end to learn of his untimely death at thirty-four, just as he was starting to get roles worthy of his genius. I could not get enough of this man's work, and regret having so little of it to view. An absolute must see for Robert Williams alone!