Harlow (Magna film)
Encyclopedia
Harlow is a 1965 biographical film
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...

 about the life of film star Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...

, with Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...

 in the title role. It was released shortly before Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

 own film on the same subject. This was Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....

' last film appearance.

Cast

  • Carol Lynley as Jean Harlow
  • Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
    Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
    Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the series Maverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series...

     as William Mansfield
  • Ginger Rogers as Mama Jean Bello
  • Barry Sullivan
    Barry Sullivan (actor)
    Barry Sullivan was an American movie actor who appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s.Born in New York City, Sullivan fell into acting when in college playing semi-pro football...

     as Marino Bello
  • Hurd Hatfield
    Hurd Hatfield
    William Rukard Hurd Hatfield was an American actor.-Biography:The son of William Henry Hatfield , an attorney who served as deputy attorney general for New York, and his wife, the former Adele Steele, Hatfield was born in New York City, and was educated at Columbia University before travelling to...

     as Paul Bern
  • Lloyd Bochner
    Lloyd Bochner
    Lloyd Wolfe Bochner was a Canadian actor, usually playing the role of suave, rich leading men.- Career :...

     as Marc Peters
  • Hermione Baddeley
    Hermione Baddeley
    Hermione Baddeley was an English character actress of theatre, film and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Room at the Top and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here...

     as Marie Dressler
    Marie Dressler
    Marie Dressler was a Canadian-American actress and Depression-era film star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930-31 in Min and Bill.-Early life and stage career:...

  • Audrey Totter
    Audrey Totter
    Audrey Mary Totter is an American actress and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract star of Austrian-Slovene and Swedish descent...

     as Marilyn
  • John Williams
    John Williams (actor)
    John Williams was an English stage, film and television actor. He is remembered for his role as chief inspector Hubbard in Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M For Murder, and as portraying the second "Mr...

     as Jonathan Martin
  • Audrey Christie as Thelma
  • Michael Dante
    Michael Dante
    Michael Dante is an American award winning actor of television, films and stage and a former professional minor league baseball player....

     as Ed
  • Jack Kruschen
    Jack Kruschen
    Jack Kruschen was a Canadian-born character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio.-Radio:...

     as Louis B. Mayer
    Louis B. Mayer
    Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...

  • Celia Lovsky
    Celia Lovsky
    Celia Lovsky was an Austrian American actress. She was born Cäcilie Lvovsky in Vienna, daughter of Bretislav Lvovsky , a minor Czech opera composer...

     as Maria Ouspenskaya
    Maria Ouspenskaya
    Maria Alekseyevna Ouspenskaya was a Russian actress and acting teacher. She achieved success as a stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an elderly woman in Hollywood films.-Life and career:...

  • Robert Strauss
    Robert Strauss (actor)
    Robert Strauss was a gravel-voiced American actor.-Career:Strauss began his career as a classical actor, appearing in The Tempest and Macbeth on Broadway in 1930...

     as Hank
  • Sonny Liston
    Sonny Liston
    Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was a professional boxer and ex-convict known for his toughness, punching power, and intimidating appearance who became world heavyweight champion in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round...

     as First Fighter


Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...

 was originally cast for Ginger Rogers' role.

Comparison to the Paramount Pictures version

Filmed in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

 electronovision
Electronovision
Electronovision was a process used by producer/entrepreneur H. William "Bill" Sargent, Jr. to produce a handful of motion pictures, theatrical plays, and specials in the 1960s and early 1970s using a high-resolution videotape process for production, later transferred to film via kinescope for...

 – a photographic technique relegated to television by 1965 – the Magna version was put out five weeks before Paramount's, with a more limited release. Directed by television veteran Alex Segal
Alex Segal
Alex Segal was an American television director, television producer and film director.He directed mostly on television making over 25 productions between his debut as a director on Starring Boris Karloff in 1949 and his death.He directed a few films including Joy in the Morning in 1965.He received...

, the film was made on a very low budget, and served as a second feature at most theaters. While Lynley was closer to Jean Harlow's actual age than Baker, the film's contrived plot and poor budget prevented it from gaining as much attention as Paramount's big budget version.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr's character, William Mansfield, is based on William Powell
William Powell
William Horatio Powell was an American actor.A major star at MGM, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the popular Thin Man series in which Powell and Loy played Nick and Nora Charles...

. That part of Harlow's life was entirely ignored by the Paramount feature.
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