josephmcgrath-62358 what a great movie. I just watched it on TCM. jean Harlow,and Clark gable were a stupendous combo. both of their character portrayals were right up their ally. both had a crusty edge to them. gene Raymond continued to be a actor I am impressed with every time I see him, in these older movies. he was also very good in a later movie Mr. &mrs. smith with Robert Montgomery,and Carole Lombard. he plays a great straight guy character,and very unassuming,almost naive. Mary Astor was great as the unfaithful wife, with more polish than the character Harlow played, but not as happy go lucky,and not street wise. Mary Astor was beautiful, and a great actor. she adapted well as the years advanced in Hollywood. her rolls were always perfect, with her advancement. she was a talented and very sophisticated lady in real life,and a accomplished author as well. her roll in Maltese falcon, and little women showed her diversity,as well as a movie that the title escapes me with Bette Davis, George Brent. I have enjoyed the tribute to Harlow.

GManfred Golden Age fans will love this one, a Pre-Code film that's much like a filmed stage play - in fact, it's based on a play which, by all accounts was even racier than the movie. It was made in 1932 and certainly couldn't pass muster after the inception of the Hays Office, but nowadays anything goes; odd someone hasn't tried. They would be hard-pressed, though, to find a better cast, especially the two principals. Gable and Harlow are perfect together, the animal magnetism fairly leaping off the screen. Gable was the very model of modern masculinity at the time, and Harlow his female counterpart.Some reviewers noted an element of racism woven throughout the picture, but they should give it a rest. The world in general and society in particular were vastly different from the modern PC era. Also of interest is the support cast, headed by Mary Astor, who admittedly was a better actress than Harlow but minus the manifest 'feminine wiles'. In a departure from more dignified roles, Donald Crisp plays vulgar drunk and to excellent effect.Have you seen it? If not, do so. It's well worth your time just to see how the 'pros' used to do it, inherent plot flaws notwithstanding.

lugonian RED DUST (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1932), directed by Victor Fleming, is a red hot movie featuring the steamy collaboration of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in their first starring roles together. Having been featured in secondary roles opposite Wallace Beery in the crime drama, THE SECRET SIX (MGM, 1931, RED DUST establishes Gable and Harlow, with their italic labeled names above the title, as the latest box-office draw. Coming in the wake of jungle related stories as TRADER HORN (1931) and TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932), or Harlow's floozy character somewhat inspired by W. Somerset Maugham's own Sadie Thompson lifted from RAIN (United Artists, 1932), RED DUST, set in a remote location of Indo-China, no doubt was a huge success at the time. Watching the chemistry between Gable and Harlow shows the reason why.Taken from the play by Wilson Collison, the plot revolves around Dennis Carson (Clark Gable) in charge of a rubber plantation assisted by McQuarg (Tully Marshall) and Guidon (Donald Crisp). Upon their return from Saigon by boat, Carson encounters Vantine (Jean Harlow), a tough talking blonde babe of questionable background ("I'm not used to sleeping at night") eluding the Saigon police, found on the bed of the drunken Guidon. Carson, ("I've been looking at her kind ever since my voice changed"), allows Vantine ("Pollyanna, the Glad Girl") to remain on the plantation headquarters until the next boat arrives. Though they have a rocky start constantly arguing, Dennis and Vantine soon come to mutual terms. As Vantine leaves on the next boat, Dennis goes to greet Gary Willis (Gene Raymond), a young engineer to be his new assistant. Aside from being stricken with fever, Gary surprises Dennis by introducing him to his new bride, Barbara (Mary Astor). Later, due to the boat getting stuck in the mud, Vantine returns to the plantation and Dennis' life. After Gary recovers from his illness, Dennis sends him away on assignment assisted by McQuarg and Guidon to supervise the construction of a jungle bridge. In the meantime, Dennis, having already had a relationship with Vantine, finds himself doing the same with Gary's wife.If the plot sounds overly familiar, in true Hollywood essence of "great movies are not made, they're remade," the basis of RED DUST reappeared in CONGO MAISIE (MGM, 1940), the second of the "Maisie" series starring Ann Sothern, and officially remade more famously as MOGAMBO (MGM, 1953) with the much older Clark Gable repeating his original role with different character name. Stretched out to nearly two hours as opposed to the original's 83 minutes, MOGAMBO, set in Africa, has Ava Gardner ("Honey Bear") and Grace Kelly (Linda) in the Astor and Harlow roles. MOGAMBO proved to be Gable's last great motion picture for MGM before leaving his home-based company after 23 years of service. The advantage MOGAMBO has over RED DUST is the fact that MOGAMBO does not have the studio bound with stage origin feel to it, yet, greatly benefits in both Technicolor and actual location shooting in Africa. The advantages RED DUST has over MOGAMBO is the fact the movie is very much pre-code, with situations and toned-down vulgar talk between Harlow and Gable. Other classic Harlow moments include her bathing in a barrel of drinking water; reading Peter Rabbit stories to Dennis; and her presentation of a tough girl with a heart of gold. With Harlow having a reputation of not being such a good actress, under Victor Fleming's direction, she's actually quite effective here as well as alluring. Mary Astor as the dignified wife who falls into Gable's charms, comes off as second best. Gene Raymond is acceptable as the young man who looks up to his employer, but clueless to what's happening behind his back. With a small assortment of players listed in the cast, there's also Forrester Harvey as Limey, and Willie Fung assuming his usual stereotypical broken English speaking Chinese ("Ah lite") for comedy assurance.Though the leading players prove more favorable than the title of RED DUST (RED LUST might have been more like it), the film itself is a classic in its own right. As in situations of remakes versus originals, it does leave the old question as to which movie is better, RED DUST or MOGAMBO. Distributed to home video in the 1980s, and later into DVD decades later, RED DUST continues to entertain whenever broadcast, sometimes on a double bill with MOGAMBO, on Turner Classic Movies. (***)

calvinnme The setting is the tropics of Indochina, a rubber plantation to be specific. Dennis Carson (Clark Gable) is the owner of the rubber plantation, beset by the constant troubles - both human and natural - of running such a farm in a primitive place. Constantly surrounded by men, one day Dennis finds he has double trouble on his hands. First the prostitute Vantine (Jean Harlow) is foisted upon him because she is giving the law a wide berth due to her profession, and this looks like a nice secluded spot to lay low. Vantine actually falls for Dennis - she playfully calls him Fred - however, Dennis just thinks he is another john and that it's all in a day's work to Vantine.To add to his troubles, Dennis' new surveyor brings his wife, Barbara, along (Mary Astor), and the only place fit for a woman to live is in Dennis' home. Dennis sends the surveyor on a long stay in the jungle "to increase production", but he really just wants some alone time with Barbara, and Barbara returns the sentiment. Before her husband returns from the jungle Dennis and Barbara have fallen in love, but do they have the heart to tell her young husband? Watch and find out.There really is not much of a plot in this film other than to give a steamy lusty setting to a steamy lusty tale. This is a precode film, but if you analyze it frame by frame it is completely tame by today's standards. Even given the freedom of the precode era there were limits as to what could be shown, and thus almost everything is insinuated and it is up to the viewer to mentally project what happens. To me, this makes this film very erotic versus the biology lessons of today's films that show everything. Of course you do have some great visual cues, mainly Harlow's on-the-level prostitute bouncing about Dennis' home scantily clad and of course there's Harlow's famous bath in a rain barrel scene. Mary Astor's prim and proper Babs is a great contrast to Harlow's character as she gets swept up in events bigger than herself - her affair with Dennis - yet still seems to act like she thinks she's better than Vantine. Vantine's catty remarks, as she is hurt by Dennis' rejection of her, are classic Harlow all the way.This is one of my favorite precode films, and I heartily recommend it to anybody who enjoys films from the precode era.