jarrodmcdonald-1 I realized that for some reason I did not have a copy of BOMBSHELL-- so yesterday I sat down to record it and I ended up watching the whole thing again. A few things struck me about this picture and Harlow's work in it. First, I think it's a form of cinema verite and a precursor to reality television. There is one scene where she mentions scenes for RED DUST, which Harlow the actress appeared in. So the character she is playing in BOMBSHELL is a "fictionalized" version of herself as an MGM star. It takes a brilliant lady to be able to spoof herself, to play herself without lapsing into too much self-parody-- and she keeps it fairly straight for the most part, with her tongue-in-cheek way of poking fun at the business she's in. At some point you have to ask, what is real Harlow-- and since she's so smart, I am sure she asked herself that when she studied the script for BOMBSHELL.The other thing here is that not only does Harlow have to be in on the joke, but the entire cast has to be as well. The three actors that Lee Tracy's character hires to pull a fast one at the end of the film can be said to be playing a riff on their real-life selves. At one point, the phrase 'character actor' is used and C. Aubrey Smith was definitely that, and Franchot Tone would be regarded as more of a character actor later than he was as a leading man. Even Frank Morgan, who plays Harlow's father, is a character actor and he is certainly in on the gag of actors as 'family.' Indeed, they are all blurring the line between who they are, what they do for a living, and how to combine that effectively in order to make a new motion picture that is coherent and entertaining. Also, some of the scenes are so cleverly orchestrated where voices rise and fall and the competing crescendos make a cacophonous symphony of tragedy and satire that you have to ask how much was scripted and how much was improvised. Only the minds of true geniuses can assemble such haywire fun and pull off without a hitch. This is a top-flight group effort at classic movie making and Harlow is its ring leader par excellence.

Michael_Elliott Bombshell (1933) *** (out of 4) A great cast highlights this MGM comedy that shines the spotlight on 1930's Hollywood. In the film, Jean Harlow plays the beautiful bombshell who just happens to the be the most miserable "A" list star around. Not only does she have a seedy reporter (Lee Tracy) making her life hell but she also has a jealous director (Pat O'Brien) and a weak family who just want her cash. Apparently the story here was partially based on Harlow's life as well as the life of Clara Bow and it would turn out that this comedy would be one of Harlow's most loved. I wouldn't say I loved the film but it's still quite pleasant to watch due in large part to the wonderful cast. Harlow is as good as always, delivering a fine comic performance that has her constantly moving, speaking faster, walking faster and getting into more trouble than anyone would care to count. She does a very good job at playing her part and making it come to life and this is especially true during one great sequence where she tries to adopt a child only to have all her "group" finally push her over the edge and into a breakdown. While Harlow gets all the credit, there's also no doubt that the supporting cast deserve a lot of attention. Tracy nearly steals the film as the press agent always starting trouble and Tone is also good in his supporting role. Frank Morgan gets a few nice laughs as the dimwitted father and O'Brien, as usual, delivers a nice comic performance. Una Merkel, C. Aubrey Smith and Ted Healy round out the cast. The film's reputation as one of the greatest screwball comedies is a bit overdone but this is still a film many will want to see and especially fans of the cast.

blanche-2 Jean Harlow is the "Bombshell" of the 1933 film also starring Franchot Tone, Frank Morgan, Lee Tracy, Pat O'Brien, Una Merkel, Isabel Jewell, Louise Beavers, Ted Healy, and C. Aubrey Smith. Harlow plays a star, Lola Burns, who has a career very similar to Jean Harlow's - in fact, she starred in "Red Dust" with Clark Gable! She's the "It" girl where Harlow was the "If" girl. From the first time we meet Lola, it's obvious that she is overwhelmed by the pressures of her home life, which in turn puts pressure on her career duties. Her drunken father (Morgan) acts as her business manager but her bills aren't paid and she doesn't have any money; she constantly has to bail her brother out of trouble; there's a newspaper man who prints one lie after another about her; one of the people in her household wears her clothes and steals from her; she has three huge dogs; her brother shows up with a tramp; the assistant director on "Red Dust," Jim Brogan (Pat O'Brien) is in love with her and goes crazy when he sees Hugo, the Marqis de Pisa de Pisa on the set (and it's in his storyline that strong prejudice against immigrants is shown); and her agent (Lee Tracy) is a puppeteer in a sick puppet show - Lola's life.Lola wants out. She decides that she wants to adopt a child and falls in love with a baby at an orphanage but the home visit is a total disaster. Disgusted with her life and all the leaches around her, she takes off, seeking peace and quiet. It's in peaceful surroundings that she meets the wealthy Gifford Middleton. It's love at first sight. Just when she's meeting Gifford's parents, her father and brother appear.This is a very funny comedy and also very touching, as Lola's sweet personality and desire for a stable family is evident. She swears to Gifford that she's through with show business but becomes concerned when told there hasn't been anything about her in the papers lately. She's young and has no idea what she really wants. Her agent plays off of this and uses it to his own advantage. To most people, she's a blond gravy train.All of the actors are terrific. Franchot Tone is hilarious, totally and deliberately WAY over the top saying lines such as the one in the summary box. Harlow is surrounded with the best character actors - Lee Tracy, who despite a scandal in 1934 managed to enjoy a nearly 40-year career is great as Lola's fast-talking scam artist agent; Frank Morgan plays his usual role of a weak man, but not a bad one; Louise Beavers brings spark to the role of a maid; Pat O'Brien is in top form as the volatile Brogan.But it's Harlow's film, and she keeps up with the frantic pace of the film beautifully. Funny and vulnerable, she's hilarious when she pretends she's upper class, as she's often done in her films - no one has ever pulled that off quite like she has. Certainly one of the most lovable and charismatic actresses ever on screen. It's unbelievable that she didn't have a chance to live a full life. "Bombshell" is one of her best films among a lot of wonderful ones.

theowinthrop This is an interesting change of pace comedy for Jean Harlow. She is not playing a lower class shop girl or even a prostitute like in THE GIRL FROM MISSOURI or RED DUST, nor a slumming upper class girl (as in THE PUBLIC ENEMY). Instead she is playing a very popular film star with a very sexy body and screen personae - gee, it sounds like she is playing Jean Harlow. According to the thread the character she is playing ("Lola Burns") was supposed to be based on Clara Bow (certainly the two names are similar in sound). But it could be based on Harlow's attempts (tragically repeatedly doomed) to have a happy normal life but finding her screen personae interfering.Still, even if one starts thinking of Harlow's marriage to Paul Bern or her romance with William Powell, the film is engrossing and humorous enough to make you push aside the tragedy of the life of Harlean Carpenter. Lola is, like all movie stars, a prisoner of the studio's determination to get all the public attention publicity can garner from it's merchandise (it's stars). In particular Lola finds herself at the mercy of the studio's head publicity man "Space Hanlon" (Lee Tracy). Tracy is always coming up with goofy stunts, or twisting events that involve Lola in her attempts at normality (like adopting a baby, or dating a "normal" man (Franchot Tone) into another mess. The studio only cares that she personifies sexual allure - so Hanlon keeps making that the key to his publicity: he even arranges a fight between several men on the set of her latest film (one is director Pat O'Brien) supposedly over Lola's love.Lola is not against sex and love - the quote in the "Summary line" is Lola's when her maid wakes her at the start of the film, and she's just had a promising sex dream. She really needs a confidante - but everyone around her takes advantage of her. Her father (Frank Morgan) is an alcoholic, cadging old scoundrel (who keeps reminding her - to her growing disgust - of her owing him obedience as her loving father). Her sibling (Ted Healey) is also an alcoholic, constantly having sexual affairs that she has to get him out of. Her maid actually steals from the household accounts (Lola is aware of this - she is not stupid). And all constantly are as demanding on her as her studio.Ironically there is one person who would be her confidante and more - but he knows she'll reject him. It's Space, who loves her. In fact, some of the stunts he sets up is to get rid of possible rivals. Eventually, can he get her to recognize this? Ah that is the final point of the film.Harlow was a gifted comic actress, knowing how to use her image for fun (such as Wallace Beery's unfaithful wife in DINNER AT EIGHT). But I suspect because of her own problems in Hollywood and real life she put more of herself in this film than in any other. I can't say it was her best performance (I tend to like RED DUST and CHINA SEAS a little more) but it was somehow her most real performance, and the film benefits as a result.