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Harlow (film)
Encyclopedia
Harlow is a biographical film
about the life of film star Jean Harlow
. It stars Carroll Baker
in the title role. It was released in 1965 by Paramount Pictures
, shortly after another film with the same title
and subject. Although the film failed commercially, it was successful in launching a hit song for Neal Hefti
(Girl Talk
).
) and oblivious mother "Mama Jean" (Angela Lansbury
, only six years older than Carroll Baker). With the help of Arthur Landau (Red Buttons), she rises to fame and gains the unwanted attention of the Howard Hughes
-inspired Richard Manley (Leslie Nielsen
). She then marries Paul Bern
(Peter Lawford
), an absentee husband who kills himself some time after the marriage. His death, combined with the stress of her career leads Harlow on an odyssey of failed relationships and alcoholism, culminating in her death of pneumonia at the age of twenty-six.
In real life, Harlow died of uremic poisoning due to nephritis
(inflammation of the kidney).
's pulp biography, Paramount's Harlow is a melodramatic look at Harlow's life, focusing on her failed marriages. The widescreen technicolor
film, produced by Joseph E. Levine
, was made on a $2.5 million budget and featured a wide-reaching publicity campaign. Upon release, however, the film failed critically and commercially, making roughly one million dollars at the box office.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
about the life of film star Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
. It stars Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker is a former American actress who has enjoyed popularity as both a serious dramatic actress and, particularly in the 1960s, as a movie sex symbol...
in the title role. It was released in 1965 by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, shortly after another film with the same title
Harlow (Magna film)
Harlow is a 1965 biographical film about the life of film star Jean Harlow, with Carol Lynley in the title role. It was released shortly before Paramount Pictures own film on the same subject. This was Ginger Rogers' last film appearance.-Cast:...
and subject. Although the film failed commercially, it was successful in launching a hit song for Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
(Girl Talk
Girl Talk (Neal Hefti song)
"Girl Talk" is a popular song composed by Neal Hefti, with lyrics written by Bobby Troup. It was written for the 1965 film Harlow, a biographical film about Jean Harlow, starring Carroll Baker....
).
Plot
The film opens with Harlow as a struggling extra and bit actress dealing with her greedy stepfather Marino (Raf ValloneRaf Vallone
Raffaele "Raf" Vallone was an Italian footballer, actor and an international film star.Born in Tropea, Calabria, the son of a lawyer, Vallone attended Liceo classico Cavour in Turin, and studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father's law firm...
) and oblivious mother "Mama Jean" (Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
, only six years older than Carroll Baker). With the help of Arthur Landau (Red Buttons), she rises to fame and gains the unwanted attention of the Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
-inspired Richard Manley (Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
). She then marries Paul Bern
Paul Bern
Paul Bern was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for MGM.-Early life and career:...
(Peter Lawford
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
), an absentee husband who kills himself some time after the marriage. His death, combined with the stress of her career leads Harlow on an odyssey of failed relationships and alcoholism, culminating in her death of pneumonia at the age of twenty-six.
In real life, Harlow died of uremic poisoning due to nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
(inflammation of the kidney).
Cast
- Carroll Baker as Jean Harlow
- Red Buttons as Arthur Landau
- Raf ValloneRaf ValloneRaffaele "Raf" Vallone was an Italian footballer, actor and an international film star.Born in Tropea, Calabria, the son of a lawyer, Vallone attended Liceo classico Cavour in Turin, and studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father's law firm...
as Marino Bello - Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as Mama Jean Bello - Peter LawfordPeter LawfordPeter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
as Paul BernPaul BernPaul Bern was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for MGM.-Early life and career:... - Mike ConnorsMike ConnorsMike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a .38 handgun hidden in his back, in another CBS series, Tightrope.-Early life:Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in...
as Jack Harrison (as Michael Connors) - Martin BalsamMartin BalsamMartin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
as Everett Redman - Leslie NielsenLeslie NielsenLeslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
as Richard Manley - Mary MurphyMary Murphy (actress)Mary Murphy was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of her early childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, James Victor Murphy, died in 1940. Shortly afterwards, she and her mother moved to Southern California...
as Sally Doane - Hanna LandyHanna HertelendyHanna Hertelendy aka Hanna Landy was an Hungarian-American film and television actress.She was born as Ilona Zimka near Budapest on October 5, 1919, and married Istvan Hertelendy in 1940. She became a successful stage actress in Budapest, essaying such roles as Ophelia , Irina , in Molnar'sLiliom...
as Beatrice Landau - Peter HansenPeter Hansen (actor)Peter Hansen is an American actor, best known for his role as a lawyer, Lee Baldwin, on the soap opera General Hospital. He played the role from 1965 to 1986 and again from 1992 to 2004...
as Assistant Director - Kipp HamiltonKipp HamiltonKipp Hamilton was an American actress. She was the sister of producer Joe Hamilton and the sister-in-law of Carol Burnett.-Career:...
as Marie Tanner - Peter LeedsPeter LeedsPeter Leeds was an actor who appeared on television more than 8,000 times, and also had many film, Broadway, and radio appearances. The majority of his work took place in the 1950s and 1960s...
as Parker
Production
Based in part on Harlow: An Intimate Biography, writer Irving ShulmanIrving Shulman
Irving Shulman was an American author and screenwriter whose works were adapted into movies. His books included The Amboy Dukes, Cry Tough and The Square Trap, all of which were adapted into movies....
's pulp biography, Paramount's Harlow is a melodramatic look at Harlow's life, focusing on her failed marriages. The widescreen technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
film, produced by Joseph E. Levine
Joseph E. Levine
Joseph E. Levine was an American film producer.He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His Embassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as Hercules , The Carpetbaggers, Harlow, The Graduate, A Bridge Too Far and The Lion in Winter.Levine is famous...
, was made on a $2.5 million budget and featured a wide-reaching publicity campaign. Upon release, however, the film failed critically and commercially, making roughly one million dollars at the box office.