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

The opening cast credits list ten names, while the end credits lists only seven of the ten, with character names. Hence the opening credits are used in the IMDb cast list.

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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: Oh Gallagher, she's queenly. She is queenly. And I know queens!

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Connections

Referenced in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

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Soundtracks

Am I Wasting My Time On You?
(uncredited)
Music by Irving Bibo

User Reviews

Primitive, pleasant Capra

Robert Williams plays the kind of role Spencer Tracy did time and again at Fox and MGM--the brash, likeable working man--and, in fact, the picture suggests a dry run of Tracy's "Libeled Lady." There's a breach-of-promise suit, a roomful of reporters cracking wise, a rich-rich Long Island clan existing to be mocked, and the kind of farcical complications that made the newspaper comedy one of the '30s' most endearing genres. Unfortunately, the dialogue isn't as snappy as it thinks it is, and Jean Harlow is as miscast as a society dame as Loretta Young is as a world-weary reporter -- the whole thing might have made more sense if they switched roles. The compensations, though, are many: Capra giving his actors brilliant bits of business (the "puttering" scene is an unsung classic), a roster of swell character actors, and some pre-Production Code naughtiness, including two very sexy love scenes between Williams and Harlow. Capra's pace is slower than usual, and his later works had cleverer plot twists. His handling of actors, though, is as beautiful to behold as ever. And in Williams' irresistible performance, we have a glimpse of a star that might have been.