4th Luso World Cinema Blogathon–Favorite Mary Astor Performances

The Luso World Cinema Blogathon is an annual event hosted by Spellbound with Beth Ann and Critica Retro. I’ll admit that I didn’t know anything about Luso cinema, in fact, I didn’t know what “Luso” meant. Research revealed that “Luso” is a prefix used in relation to Portugal and Portuguese culture. From reading through the list of actors/actresses of Portuguese heritage, I learned that one of my favorites, Mary Astor, fits this description.

Mary Astor was born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke in Quincy, Illinois on May 3, 1906. Her father was German and her mother was American. Mary got her Portuguese heritage from her mother. Mary was homeschooled by her mother until 1919 when she sent a photo of herself to a beauty contest and became a semi-finalist. When she was 15, she began taking drama lessons and appearing in local productions. Mary submitted her photos to other beauty contests, eventually catching the attention of an employee at Famous Players-Lasky. She was then signed to a six-month contract at Paramount. Mary would eventually make her screen debut in 1921 at the age of 14.

Mary’s career in silent film had its ups and downs. In 1929, she briefly found herself out of work as her voice was deemed too deep for talkies. However, she appeared in a play with her friend Florence Eldridge (wife of Fredric March) which ended up getting her back into films. She started being cast in films again and was on her way to stardom. In 1935, Mary had an extra-marital affair and was later embroiled in a bitter custody dispute with her ex-husband. In many cases, an adulteress’ career would be over, but the scandal seemed to have little effect on her career. Mary would eventually win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1941 for her role in The Great Lie.

Mary Astor’s career reached its peak in the 1940s with her Oscar win and appearance in the film noir classic, The Maltese Falcon, as Brigid O’Shaugnessy. As what happened with a lot of actresses back then, as soon as Mary hit 40 she was seen as a “mother” figure and was often cast in more matronly roles such as matriarch Anna Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis and Marmee in Little Women. Some of Astor’s best roles however come during this time when she took on against-type parts, such as playing a prostitute in Act of Violence or a madam in Desert Fury. Mary made her final appearance in 1964 in the small, but important role of Jewel Mayhew in Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.

Mary Astor had a lot of great roles in her long career. Here are my top 5 favorite Mary Astor performances:

Walter Huston and Mary Astor in “Dodsworth.”

#1 Dodsworth (1936). In this film, Mary plays “the other woman,” a role which typically isn’t sympathetic and is usually villainous. However, in Dodsworth, Mary’s performance as Edith Cortright and relationship with Walter Huston’s Sam Dodsworth is so beautiful that she is seen as the woman that Sam deserves. In this film, Sam and his wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton)’s daughter is all grown and married. Fran cannot accept being old enough to have a grown and married daughter. Sam retires and hopes to live a life of leisure with Fran. They’re planning on starting their retirement with an extended European vacation. While on the ocean liner, Sam meets Edith and Fran meets a young Englishman (David Niven) with whom she flirts. Sam ends up spending much of his time on the boat with Edith. While in Europe, Fran wants to be part of the jet set, spending her time living the high life while pretending to be much younger. Sam just wants to see the sights. As the Dodsworths find themselves growing apart, through a chance encounter, Sam reunites with Edith.

Mary’s performance in Dodsworth is very charming and sweet. She is what the film needs to offset the vain and materialistic Fran. While she is the “other woman” so to speak, Sam is such a nice guy and Fran is so awful, that we as the audience want Sam and Edith to be together.

Mary Astor and Joel McCrea in “The Palm Beach Story.”

#2 The Palm Beach Story (1942). Mary Astor’s performance in this film is unlike any other part that I’ve seen her play. While she doesn’t seem like the obvious choice to appear in a Preston Sturges screwball comedy, Mary is right at home. In this film, she plays the oft-married Princess Maud Centimillia. At the start of the film, she’s on her way home to Palm Beach, FL with her latest conquest, Toto. She pulls up to the dock in her yacht and immediately wants to drop Toto for Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea). Tom is in town looking for his wife, Gerry (Claudette Colbert) who has traveled to Palm Beach from New York. While on the train to Florida, Gerry meets the Princess’ brother, John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee). John is instantly smitten with Gerry and takes her back to his home to give her a place to stay.

Mary Astor’s performance as the Princess is hysterical. Even though she’s taken Toto as her lover, she wants nothing to do with him as soon as she spots Joel McCrea. Her disdain for Toto is so clear and obvious, but he’s a dope and doesn’t pick up on it. The Princess constantly has to think of errands to send Toto on so she’ll go away. She’s also very funny when Gerry introduces her husband as “Captain McGlue” in an effort to hide the fact that he’s her husband. When Tom later reveals that he is not Captain McGlue, the Princess says: “Thank heaven for some things. That name!”

Clark Gable and Mary Astor in “Red Dust.”

#3 Red Dust (1933) In this film, Mary plays Barbara Willis, the wealthy wife of Gary (Gene Raymond) who is sent to oversee a rubber plantation in French Indochina. The manager of the rubber plantation is Dennis Carson (Clark Gable). Another visitor to the plantation is Vantine (Jean Harlow), a young prostitute on the lam. Vantine is instantly smitten with Dennis and he seems interested in her until he sees Barbara. Barbara is the polar opposite of Vantine. She is brunette, more classy and ladylike. In contrast, Vantine is a bleached blonde, a brash, and outspoken. Gary ends up coming down with malaria, which puts him out of commission and more importantly, away from Barbara. Dennis spends the week of Barbara’s visit seducing her until she finally succumbs to his advances. Meanwhile, Vantine looks on with intense jealousy.

This is a very sexy part for Mary Astor. She is given the chance to have the hot and heavy affair with the hunky Clark Gable. The entire film is sweaty and it feels sweaty. At one point, Barbara is caught in the rain and is drenched. She then shares a sexy kiss with Gable.

Mary Astor and John Barrymore in “Midnight.”

#4 Midnight (1939) In this film, Mary plays the wealthy Helene Flammarion, the wife of Georges Flammrion (John Barrymore). She is very openly having an affair with ladies man, Jacques Picot (Frances Lederer). At the beginning of the film, Eve Peabody (Claudette Colbert) crashes a concert attended by members of the Parisian high society. She ends up running into Marcel Renaud (Rex O’Malley) who invites her to play bridge with himself, Helene, and Jacques. Eve introduces herself as “Madame Czerny.” Georges enters the room and sees Eve. He pretends to recognize Madame Czerny.

Georges comes up with a scheme to break up his wife and Jacques. He proposes to Eve that she try and break up Jacques and Helene. If she succeeds, Georges will give her a good payoff to reward her for her efforts. He will also give her 50,000 francs and invites her to his and Helene’s home in Versailles for the weekend. Georges also puts Eve up in a suite at the Ritz and buys her a new wardrobe, worthy of her persona as Madame Czerny. Meanwhile, cab driver Tibor Czerny (Don Ameche) is looking for Eve, having fallen in love with her while her drove her around town. When he finally finds her, he is amused that she’s taken on his surname as her fake royalty name.

While Mary Astor is more of a side character in this film, she is very funny in her part as John Barrymore’s unfaithful wife. She has absolutely no discretion in her affair with Jacques. Mary excels in these parts playing a bit of a goody two shoes, but also classy and a bit rigid. She’s also great at delivering her lines with a bit of bitterness, cynicism, while also being very funny.

Mary Astor and Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon”

#5 The Maltese Falcon (1941). This is perhaps Mary Astor’s most famous role, that of femme fatale Brigid O’Shaugnessy in John Huston’s directorial debut and Humphrey Bogart’s breakout role. In this film, Brigid introduces herself to Bogart’s Sam Spade as “Miss Wonderly,” but he soon figures out that she’s lying about her identity. She comes to Sam wanting help in finding out the whereabouts of her missing sister. All Brigid can say is that she came to town (San Francisco) with Floyd Thursby. Sam puts his associate, Miles Archer, on the case. Miles is murdered while investigating Thursby’s whereabouts.

Sam sets out to investigate Archer’s death, but is soon thrust into an even larger (more interesting) mystery. He goes to Brigid, now calling herself Brigid having abandoned the “Miss Wonderly” moniker, to find out more information about Thursby. Brigid confesses that she made up the story about her sister and revealed that Thursby was her partner. She also puts forth the theory that Thursby probably killed Archer. When Sam returns to his office, he encounters Joe Cairo (Peter Lorre) who is wanting help looking for a statue of a black bird.

The black bird investigation proves to be a lot more interesting, especially when it turns out that Brigid is acquainted with Joe Cairo. Sam also learns that Cairo and Brigid are part of a gang led by Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet). Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook Jr.) is Kasper’s gunsel and eventual fall guy. The ending of the film where Sam calls Brigid out and says she was responsible for Archer’s death. This is Mary Astor’s time to shine. In the scene, she is heartbroken that Sam Spade, with whom she thought she was in love, sends her up the river. She pleads with him to not turn her over to the police, but to no avail. He “consoles” her stating that she’ll probably be out in twenty years. As she descends in the elevator, Brigid’s face is covered by the shadows of bars on the windows.

MGM Blogathon–Jean Harlow, the First Blonde Bombshell

Jean Harlow the original blonde bombshell

On Monday, June 7, 1937, Spencer Tracy made a very short diary entry– “Jean Harlow died. Grand girl.” Harlow’s tragic death at the young age of 26 devastated the entire MGM company. One MGM writer was quoted later saying, “The day Baby (Harlow’s nickname) died…there wasn’t a sound in the commissary for three hours.” Harlow’s fiance, William Powell, was devastated. He was in the middle of filming his latest film, Double Wedding, with frequent co-star Myrna Loy. Loy was also good friends with Harlow. The two stars asked for time to grieve and production was temporarily halted. Even after completing the film, both Powell and Loy felt like they hadn’t turned in their best performances. Clark Gable and Una Merkel were also good friends of Harlow’s and had been with her during her final days. Both Gable and Merkel appeared with Harlow in what turned out to be her final film, Saratoga (1937).

Unfortunately, Harlow’s passing at such a young age and rumors about her cause of death have overshadowed her legacy. A rumor persists that her death was caused by poisoning from the peroxide she used to achieve her trademark platinum blonde look. The truth is that Harlow unfortunately was not in the best of health throughout her short life. When she was 15, she contracted scarlet fever and it is thought that the illness permanently damaged her kidneys. Harlow also suffered bouts of meningitis, polio, and pneumonia during her youth. Healthwise, the poor girl was a mess.

Jean Harlow sported a more natural look towards the end of her life.

Watching Harlow on the silver screen however, one would never know that she suffered from so many various ailments. On-screen, Harlow’s beauty and effervescent personality are on full display. Her trademark platinum blonde hair lights up the screen. Unfortunately, Harlow’s hair suffered greatly from the treatment given to achieve this look. Harlow’s hairdressers came up with a concoction of hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite bleach, ammonia, and Lux soap flakes. Yikes. Last time I checked, one was not supposed to mix bleach and ammonia together. But this is what Harlow endured to be a star. However, her hair also started to fall out. Towards the end of her life, Harlow had given up the harsh peroxide treatment and returned to her natural hair color or wore wigs.

Despite all the issues the platinum blonde hair caused Harlow, it led to her breakthrough film, aptly titled, Platinum Blonde (1931). Prior to this role, she had appeared in small roles, usually as the floozy, but she did have a good role in James Cagney’s breakthrough film, The Public Enemy (1931). In Harlow’s earliest films, she’s not particularly good. It’s very obvious that she isn’t experienced in acting. However, she just has that je ne sais quoi, aka “that certain something,” aka “the ‘it’ factor,” aka “star quality.” In 1932, Harlow finally hit her stride and became a bona fide star when she appeared in Red-Headed Woman.

Jean Harlow in “Red Headed Woman.”

In Red-Headed Woman, Harlow plays Lillian ‘Lil’ Andrews, a young woman who lives in a small town in Ohio, in a home literally on the wrong side of the tracks. She desperately wants to improve her social standing and will stop at nothing, and I mean nothing, to do so. Curiously enough, in this film which is widely seen as Harlow’s star making role, her character dyes her platinum hair red. In my opinion, Harlow actually looks better with the darker hair. As Lil, Harlow sizzles on screen. There is a scene where she changes her top and for a brief second, the side of her right breast is visible. There’s another scene where Lil asks a store clerk if the dress she’s interested in is sheer and the clerk says that yes it is. That’s all Lil needs to hear and she gladly wears it. Throughout the film, Lil shamelessly seduces married men, older rich men, anyone who can move her to the other side of the tracks.

LIL: “Listen Sally, I made up my mind a long time ago, I’m not gonna spend my whole life on the wrong side of the railroad tracks.”

SALLY: “Well, I hope you don’t get hit by a train while you’re crossing over.”

Jean Harlow as “Lil” and Una Merkel as “Sally” in “Red-Headed Woman” (1932)

Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in “Red Dust.”

1932 was a big year for Harlow, after Red-Headed Woman, Harlow’s star status further solidified with the release of Red Dust, co-starring Harlow’s friend and frequent co-star, Clark Gable. Red Dust is mostly remembered today for Harlow’s famous scene where her character bathes nude in a rain barrel. However, Harlow’s performance in Red Dust is so much more than that one short scene. In this film, Harlow plays a prostitute, Vantine, who stumbles upon Gable’s rubber plantation in Vietnam. She’s on the run. Why, exactly? We don’t know, but we can assume that her occupation probably has something to do with it. While on the plantation, Harlow and Gable crackle and sizzle on screen. Their chemistry is off the charts, even in a ridiculous scene where they discuss their preferred type of blue cheese.

VANTINE [bathing in the rain barrel]: “What’s the matter? Afraid I’ll shock the duchess? Don’t you suppose she’s ever seen a French postcard?”

DENNIS: “You’ll let those curtains down if it’s the last bath you’ll ever take!”

Jean Harlow as “Vantine” and Clark Gable as “Dennis” in “Red Dust” (1932)

Harlow’s best roles were during the pre-code era, when her sexuality and sensual nature were allowed to be on display. 1933 was a banner year for Harlow as well, as she was re-teamed with Gable in Hold Your Man, and appeared as part of the all-star cast in Dinner at Eight. She has a particularly memorable scene with Marie Dressler, a fellow MGM star who couldn’t be more different than Harlow. She also appeared in Bombshell, playing a fictionalized version of Clara Bow. An argument could be made however, that Harlow was also playing a fictionalized version of herself. The success of Bombshell led to Harlow being declared a “blonde bombshell.”

KITTY: “I was reading a book the other day.”

CARLOTTA: “Reading a book?!”

KITTY: “Yes. It’s about civilization or something. A nutty kind of book. Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?”

CARLOTTA: “Oh, my dear, that’s something you never need worry about.”

Jean Harlow as “Kitty” and Marie Dressler as “Carlotta” in “Dinner at Eight” (1933)

Jean Harlow and Marie Dressler in “Dinner at Eight.”

After the production code went into effect in mid-1934, Harlow’s on-screen image was toned down. She was still the brassy blonde, but she was no longer the sexpot. She didn’t slink around in silk bias cut gowns where it was very obvious she wasn’t wearing underwear. While she might have still been going commando under her costumes, the Harlow-character was now a different type of woman. In The Girl From Missouri, made in 1934 after the production code went into effect, had a storyline similar to Red-Headed Woman. Harlow’s character, Eadie, lives in Kansas City and desperately wants to leave her home, complete with an abusive stepfather, behind. She decides to move to New York City to search for a millionaire. If The Girl From Missouri had come out earlier, Harlow’s character would have probably acted more brazenly in pursuit of her millionaire. The production code version of this film features a tamer, more common rom-com plot.

TR: “You want to scratch me off your list. I’m not a ladies’ man.”

EADIE: “Oh, Mr. Paige. Don’t be such a pessimist.”

Franchot Tone as “TR” and Jean Harlow as “Eadie” in “The Girl From Missouri” (1934).

Both The Girl From Missouri and 1936’s Libeled Lady, feature a common production code Jean Harlow character, the sassy girl who is a bit gaudy and unsophisticated, but has charm in spades. Libeled Lady is the first film Harlow made where she does not sport her trademark platinum blonde hair. By this point, the harsh peroxide and bleach had led to Harlow’s hair resembling straw. It eventually started to fall out in clumps. Alarmed at her hair loss, Harlow understandably ceased the bleach treatments and reverted to her own hair color, or she would wear wigs. In addition to Harlow, Libeled Lady features three of MGM’s other big stars: Spencer Tracy, William Powell, and Myrna Loy.

WARREN: “Gladys, do you want me to kill myself?”

GLADYS: “Did you change your insurance?”

Spencer Tracy as “Warren” and Jean Harlow as “Gladys” in “Libeled Lady” (1936).

The cast of “Libeled Lady,” L to R: William Powell, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy.

In 1934, Harlow and Powell started dating. At some point they became engaged, but did not marry before Harlow’s death. Powell had gifted Harlow an enormous star sapphire ring and was truly devoted to her. Had Harlow not died so young, it’s interesting to think about whether Harlow and Powell would have married. Would their marriage have lasted? Sadly, we’ll never know because by the beginning of 1937, it was the beginning of the end for Harlow. She was cast in the film Saratoga again with Gable. She would not complete the film. In March, she developed sepsis after having her wisdom teeth extracted. After a brief hospitalization, she resumed filming.

In May, Harlow complained of symptoms–fatigue, nausea, fluid retention and abdominal pain, but sadly the studio doctor didn’t seem to think there were any issues (Really, doc?). He diagnosed her with a gallbladder infection and the flu. Whether Harlow’s life would have been prolonged or even saved were she diagnosed correctly, is hard to say. It is apparent though that she was already suffering from kidney failure and with dialysis not being a thing and antibiotics still in their infancy, most likely Harlow was doomed. At the end of May, she filmed a scene in which her character is suffering from a fever. Harlow did not need to act to do this scene. She was very very ill and had to lean against Gable for support. William Powell was called to escort Harlow home. She never returned to the set.

On the evening of June 6, 1937, Harlow slipped into a coma. She died the next morning just after 11:30am.

As a child, Marilyn Monroe idolized Jean Harlow.

Harlow’s death is tragic. Who knows what she could have done had she lived a long life? I would have loved to have seen Harlow continue with her more natural appearance. She would get rid of the pencil-thin high arched eyebrows. I could see her with longer hair. I would have loved to have seen Harlow in a film noir. Let’s hope that when she reached her 40s in the 1950s, that she didn’t adopt the awful poodle cut that so many of her peers did and aged them 15-20 years in the process. Perhaps in the 1950s, Harlow could have worked with a young actress who idolized her–Marilyn Monroe. Monroe worshipped Harlow as a child and tried to emulate her, complete with the platinum blonde hair.

I love Jean Harlow. She is a legend. While Harlow continues to end up on lists of stars who died tragically young, her legacy is so much more. Harlow is the original blonde bombshell. She established the blueprint for the sassy, sometimes brassy, va va voom blonde who inevitably will win the heart of the leading man of the film. After Harlow’s breakthrough in Platinum Blonde, many other platinum blonde starlets popped up: Alice Faye, Ida Lupino, Bette Davis, Joan Blondell, Ginger Rogers, even Joan Crawford sported the look for awhile! But only Harlow persists as the ultimate platinum blonde. Marilyn Monroe might share the platinum blonde mantel, but Harlow is the original.

“I wasn’t born an actress, you know. Events made me one.” -Jean Harlow

#PreCodeApril2022 Film #1: The Public Enemy (1931)

I started off this year’s #PreCodeApril event on Twitter with one of the all-time great pre-code films, The Public Enemy (1931). This film is also one of the premier gangster films, and is the film that made James Cagney a star. It was also one of Jean Harlow’s first big parts. With all the hype surrounding the film and its massive starpower, it is amazing that it has eluded me until now. Of course, I knew about the famous grapefruit scene between Cagney and Mae Clarke. I just hadn’t seen the scene within the context of the film.

The Public Enemy (1931)

The Public Enemy, 1931
Starring: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell, Mae Clarke
Director: William A. Wellman
Studio: Warner Brothers

SYNOPSIS: The Public Enemy takes place over about a twenty year (give or take) span of time. At the beginning of the film, it’s the early 1900s. We meet our main characters, Tom Powers (Cagney) and his best friend, Matt Doyle (Woods), as children living in Chicago. The two boys are troublemakers and are seen engaging in petty theft around town. They work for a gangster named “Putty Nose.” Putty Nose has the boys steal small items, then he pays them for the items. Putty presumably then sells them for a higher price to someone else. Putty Nose then invites the boys to participate in a robbery at a fur warehouse. The heist goes awry when Tom is startled by a stuffed bear and shoots at it. His gunshot alerts the police to their presence, who end up shooting one of the members of Putty’s gang. Tom and Matt gun the police officer down. When the boys go to Putty for help, they discover that he’s left town. This incident establishes a grudge that Tom carries with him to adulthood.

Time passes and the two boys grow up. By 1920, with Prohibition in full swing, Tom and Matt are enlisted by a bootlegger to help distribute his illicit liquor. Tom and Matt are living the high life as bootleggers. They eventually get girlfriends, Kitty (Clarke) and Mamie (Blondell). Tom and Kitty quickly tire of one another. Their relationship reaches its bitter end (literally) when Tom pushes a grapefruit half into Kitty’s face. Eventually Tom meets another woman, Gwen (Harlow), who admits that she’s been with a lot of men. As time passes, Tom’s illicit activity and relationships with other noted members of the underground makes him the target of a rival gang.

James Cagney and Jean Harlow in “The Public Enemy.”

MY THOUGHTS: This was such an amazing film. At first I wasn’t sure what to think of it, I was just anticipating the grapefruit scene. But Cagney was mesmerizing on screen. Apparently, he was supposed to have the supporting role as Matt Doyle, with Edward Woods in the leading role as Tom. However, when the first day’s rushes came back, director William A. Wellman realized what charisma and starpower Cagney had and switched his and Woods’ roles. And while Woods may have been the loser in the deal, the world is richer for Wellman’s insight. Cagney is fantastic in this film and with a less interesting lead (read: Woods), the film might have been average at best. Cagney elevates the material. The ending was truly gruesome. I was not expecting it. Joan Blondell was excellent, even in her small role. She and Cagney make a delightful team. Harlow had flashes of what made her a big star, but it is obvious that she is still very early in her career. Having watched a few of Harlow’s pre-codes, she really comes to her own a year later in 1932 with Red-Headed Woman and Red Dust.