Red Dust (1932)

The owner of a rubber plantation becomes involved with the new wife of one of his employees.

Director:

Victor Fleming (uncredited)

Writers:

John Lee Mahin (screen play) (as John Mahin), Wilson Collison (from the play by)

Stars:

Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Gene Raymond

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clark Gable	...	Dennis Carson
Jean Harlow	...	Vantine
Gene Raymond	...	Gary Willis
Mary Astor	...	Barbara Willis
Donald Crisp	...	Guidon
Tully Marshall	...	McQuarg
Forrester Harvey	...	Limey
Willie Fung	...	Hoy

Storyline

Conditions are spartan on Dennis Carson's Indochina rubber plantation during a dusty dry monsoon. The latest boat upriver brings Carson an unwelcome guest: Vantine, a floozy from Saigon, hoping to evade the police by a stay upcountry. But Carson, initially uninterested, soon succumbs to Vantine's ostentatious charms...until the arrival of surveyor Gary Willis, ill with malaria, and his refined but sensuous wife Barbara. Now the rains begin, and passion flows like water...

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Plot Keywords:

french colony | coolie | love triangle | monsoon | french indochina | 

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Taglines:

The fiery heroine of "Red Headed Woman" and Clark Gable, the screen lover supreme, appear now together in a romance more turbulent than the tropical storms. (Print Ad- Winthrop News, ((Winthrop, Minn)) 1 December 1932)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is based on the 1928 play of the same name by Wilson Collison. Mogambo (1953) is the second adapted version of the play with the setting changed from Indochina to Africa. Congo Maisie (1940) is frequently, and incorrectly, called a remake of Red Dust. Although there are similarities between the two films, Congo Maisie was based on another work by Collison, the 1934 novel "Congo Landing".

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Goofs

When Clark Gable and Gene Raymond are in the tree while hunting, after the line: 'this would be a bad country to raise children in, wouldn't it?', the cloud in the background changes dramatically.

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Quotes

Dennis Carson: Come on, lets have it. Who are you? Where'd you come from?
Vantine: Don't rush me, brother. I'm Pollyanna, the Glad Girl.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years at the Movies (1994)

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Soundtracks

Appassionato in A Minor
(uncredited)
Music by Domenico Savino

User Reviews

first key role at MGM for Harlow

This film was the one which really showcased Jean Harlow, fresh at MGM after a stint at Columbia, and a film or two as one of the muses of Howard Hughes.

In real life she'd married and been widowed in quick succession, and although the Paul Bern scandal must have been a strain, it doesn't show here on screen. Harlow is absolutely luminous, a wise-cracking hardboiled good-time girl with a soft centre and a hint of innocence. What else could she be but a bright platinum blonde? Mary Astor, tight-laced and classy, arrives at the sexually-charged rubber plantation with feverish husband Gene Raymond, and catches the eye of wide-boy hard-man Clark Gable (a real he-man of the 'grab em by the hair' school).

A fascinating slice of 1930s pre-Production Code history, 'Red Dust' sizzles and is always in heat. Remade as 'Mogambo' and apart from the addition of colour, some recasting (Gardner for Harlow, Grace Kelly for Astor, Donald Sinden for Raymond), it remained a heady brew, even down to the indefatigable Mr Gable reprising his role as Carson!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 October 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Red Dust

Filming Locations:

Stage 6, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$408,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1