April 26 movie: Red Headed Woman. This was more what I think of as a typical pre-code Harlow movie. Harlow plays a social climber who gets what she wants by seducing rich men. Chester Morris plays her first victim, who spends a lot of time glowering and saying ugly things to Harlow, and also beats her up at one point. Una Merkel is great as the sassy best friend, a role she did many many times. Charles Boyer also has a small part as the chauffeur with whom Harlow gets some on the side. This movie sort of tries to have it both ways: Harlow gets her comeuppance, gets humiliated and tossed out on her ear by both rich guys, but then runs off to France and ends up happy, richer than either of them, and still has her chauffeur on the side. If it had been made a couple of years later they would have had to make her die of a wasting disease in a poorhouse to punish her for her sexual aggression.
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