Red-Headed Woman (1932)

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Red-Headed Woman preposterous, over-sexed trash, but wildly entertaining because of those exact reasons. Harlow finally found a niche for her explosive sexual charisma: comedy. Yes, Red-Headed Woman is a black comedy, of sorts, about a woman who sees nothing wrong about sleeping her way into the upper-echelon of society and promptly moving on to her next victim/lover when things don’t go her way... read more

Description: Jean Harlow was never sexier than in this pre-Hays Code comedy. With her trademark platinum hair dyed an unlikely shade of red (breaking the first of many '30s taboos), Harlow plays Lil, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who's determined to climb the business ladder even if it means sleeping her way to the top. Harlow sets her sights on her boss, Bill (Chester Morris), and refuses to take no for an answer; the problem is, though, her boss is a married man. The shameless home wrecker uses every trick in the book to snag him until her behavior borders on what we'd call "stalking" in today's lexicon. Red-Headed Wom Jean Harlow was never sexier than in this pre-Hays Code comedy. With her trademark platinum hair dyed an unlikely shade of red (breaking the first of many '30s taboos), Harlow plays Lil, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who's determined to climb the business ladder even if it means sleeping her way to the top. Harlow sets her sights on her boss, Bill (Chester Morris), and refuses to take no for an answer; the problem is, though, her boss is a married man. The shameless home wrecker uses every trick in the book to snag him until her behavior borders on what we'd call "stalking" in today's lexicon. Red-Headed Woman wavers wildly between comedy and weighty melodrama, with Harlow showing great comic flair as well as pathos in her portrayal of Lil. More significant, though, is the plot; more than a little risqué (even for modern times), this is an example of the type of film that simply couldn't be made a few years later. With marital infidelity; lots of implicit sex, violence, sadism (when Bill finally slaps Lil out of frustration, she says "Hit me again! I like it!"); and plenty of bare female flesh, this is thoroughly adult fare. Fast moving, funny, sexy, and ribald, Red-Headed Woman is a great example of the type of movie entertainment that came from Hollywood before outraged moralists and the Production Code dropped a net of censorship over the studios. ... (more) (less)