Red-Headed Woman

Red-Headed Woman (1932)

Runtime: 79 minutes

Directed by: Jack Conway

Starring: Jean Harlow, Chester Morris, Lewis Stone, Leila Hyams, Una Merkel

From: MGM

A rather saucy change of pace for me.

The need arose to not only make sure I don't neglect one of the few streaming services I subscribe to at the time, but to see something of this vintage. Thus, off to the Criterion Channel I went. Last year I saw the 1933 Warner Brothers motion picture Baby Face and that was a wild Pre-Code entry which had much in the way of salacious material as Barbara Stanwyck literally sleeps her way to the top. Only afterward did I hear that this movie was heavily inspired by this effort from MGM; after putting it off after it's been on the channel for awhile, finally last night was the time... I prefer Face as it's wilder and more over the top, but that doesn't mean this wasn't pretty good.

Jean Harlow plays a real maneater, a golddigger who wrecks a happy home and steals rich guy Bill from his poor suffering wife Irene... who deserves better than some dopey wealthy SOB who is easily manipulated by a trampy girl who is far below their social class. In a fun script that had the involvement of such people as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Anita Loos (noted playwright/screenwriter and the first female staff scriptwriter in Hollywood's history) there are various twists/turns and a nice comedic supporting role from Una Merkel, who was the voice of reason and was gobsmacked at her pal Harlow's behavior.

Naturally, Jean was the highlight as the determined lady who used sex to get her way—as this was a Pre-Code movie that idea could explicitly be stated. Yet the rest of the main cast was fine, whether it be Merkel, Chester Morris, Lewis Stone, or Leila Hyams of Freaks fame as Irene. As expected, this MGM production was reasonably well put together and was an easy 80 minute watch. Its frankness is a reminder of how Pre-Code movies could be before things had to be toned down just a few years later; this then Baby Face would be an eye-opener for even some Letterboxd users.