Hold Your Man
Encyclopedia
Hold Your Man is a 1933
American romantic drama film directed by an uncredited Sam Wood
and starring Jean Harlow
and Clark Gable
, the third of their six films together. The screenplay by Anita Loos
and Howard Emmett Rogers was based on a story by Loos.
) hides from his latest victim and a policeman in the first unlocked apartment he can find. It turns out to occupied by Ruby Adams (Jean Harlow
), a cynical woman with numerous boyfriends. When it is safe to come out, Eddie wants to become better acquainted with his pretty rescuer. Although she resists at first, she ends up falling in love with him.
Eddie's partner Slim (Garry Owen) comes up with a scheme to catch one of Ruby's married admirers in a compromising position and blackmail him, but Eddie finds at the last moment that he cannot bear to have his girl involved in something that sordid. He breaks into Ruby's apartment and punches the would-be victim, accidentally killing him. Eddie escapes, but Ruby is caught and sentenced to a reformatory for two years. One of her fellow inmates turns out to be Gypsy Angecon (Dorothy Burgess
), Eddie's previous girlfriend.
When Eddie learns from a released Gypsy that Ruby is pregnant with his child, he visits her, but as a fugitive, he has to pretend to be there to see another inmate. Even though the authorities become suspicious, Eddie is determined to marry Ruby so his child will not be illegitimate. With the police closing in, instead of escaping, he persuades a minister visiting his wayward daughter to marry them.
Afterwards, Eddie is caught and sent to prison. When he gets out, he is welcomed by Ruby and their young son. Ruby announces that Al Simpson (Stuart Erwin
), who had wanted to marry her himself, has gotten Eddie a legitimate job.
Cast notes
Harlow and Gable made six films together, and Hold Your Man was the third, following on the great success of 1932's Red Dust
. Writer Anita Loos
also had an extended working relationship with Harlow: this was the second of five films they made together, their first being Red-Headed Woman
. Under the tightened reign of the Hays Office, Loos was forced by Louis B. Mayer
, the head of MGM, to have Harlow's character be punished for her sins (pre-marital sex among them), which is why Ruby spends time in a reformatory, and also why Ruby and Eddie have to get married.
. In Variety
, a critic wrote ""earlier sequences have plenty of ginger, but the torrid details are handled with the utmost discretion while conveying a maximum of effect." and Frank Nugent in the New York Times wrote "The sudden transition from hard-boiled wisecracking romance to sentimental penitence provides a jolt."
Nevertheless, the critics praised Harlow and Gable, and the film was a smashing box office success, grossing $1.1 million on a budget of $260,000—a profit of 300%. Harlow was well on her way to being the biggest star in Hollywood, and her next picture, Bombshell
(1933), would not even need a male star to carry the film.
1933 in film
-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
American romantic drama film directed by an uncredited Sam Wood
Sam Wood
Samuel Grosvenor "Sam" Wood was an American film director, and producer, who was best known for directing such Hollywood hits as A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and The Pride of the Yankees...
and starring 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...
and Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, the third of their six films together. The screenplay by Anita Loos
Anita Loos
Anita Loos was an American screenwriter, playwright and author.-Early life:Born Corinne Anita Loos in Sisson, California , where her father, R. Beers Loos, had opened a tabloid newspaper for which her mother, Minerva "Minnie" Smith did most of the work of a newspaper publisher...
and Howard Emmett Rogers was based on a story by Loos.
Plot
Small-time con man Eddie Hall (Clark GableClark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
) hides from his latest victim and a policeman in the first unlocked apartment he can find. It turns out to occupied by Ruby Adams (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...
), a cynical woman with numerous boyfriends. When it is safe to come out, Eddie wants to become better acquainted with his pretty rescuer. Although she resists at first, she ends up falling in love with him.
Eddie's partner Slim (Garry Owen) comes up with a scheme to catch one of Ruby's married admirers in a compromising position and blackmail him, but Eddie finds at the last moment that he cannot bear to have his girl involved in something that sordid. He breaks into Ruby's apartment and punches the would-be victim, accidentally killing him. Eddie escapes, but Ruby is caught and sentenced to a reformatory for two years. One of her fellow inmates turns out to be Gypsy Angecon (Dorothy Burgess
Dorothy Burgess
Dorothy Burgess was a stage and motion picture actress from Los Angeles, California.-Family, education:She was a niece of Fay Bainter. On her father's side she was related to George Montgomery of Montgomery and Stone. Her grandfather was Henry A. Burgess, Sr. He came to Los Angeles in 1893,...
), Eddie's previous girlfriend.
When Eddie learns from a released Gypsy that Ruby is pregnant with his child, he visits her, but as a fugitive, he has to pretend to be there to see another inmate. Even though the authorities become suspicious, Eddie is determined to marry Ruby so his child will not be illegitimate. With the police closing in, instead of escaping, he persuades a minister visiting his wayward daughter to marry them.
Afterwards, Eddie is caught and sent to prison. When he gets out, he is welcomed by Ruby and their young son. Ruby announces that Al Simpson (Stuart Erwin
Stuart Erwin
Stuart Erwin was an American actor. Erwin began acting in college in the 1920s, first appearing on the stage, then breaking into films in 1928 in Mother Knows Best...
), who had wanted to marry her himself, has gotten Eddie a legitimate job.
Cast
- Jean HarlowJean HarlowJean 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...
as Ruby Adams - Clark GableClark GableWilliam Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
as Eddie Hall - Stuart ErwinStuart ErwinStuart Erwin was an American actor. Erwin began acting in college in the 1920s, first appearing on the stage, then breaking into films in 1928 in Mother Knows Best...
as Al Simpson - Dorothy BurgessDorothy BurgessDorothy Burgess was a stage and motion picture actress from Los Angeles, California.-Family, education:She was a niece of Fay Bainter. On her father's side she was related to George Montgomery of Montgomery and Stone. Her grandfather was Henry A. Burgess, Sr. He came to Los Angeles in 1893,...
as Gypsy Angecon - Muriel Kirkland as Bertha Dillion
- Garry Owen as Slim
- Barbara Barondess as Sadie Cline
- Elizabeth PattersonElizabeth Patterson (actress)Elizabeth Patterson was an American film and television character actress remembered for her portrayal of elderly neighbor Matilda Trumbull on I Love Lucy.-Career:...
as Miss Tuttle (reformatory matron) - Inez CourtneyInez CourtneyInez Courtney was an actress on the Broadway stage and in films. Born in Amsterdam, New York, she came from a large Irish-American family. Her father died when she was fifteen so she decided to go onto the stage...
as Mazie (reformatory inmate) - Theresa HarrisTheresa HarrisTheresa Harris was an American television and film actress.-Early life and career:Harris was born on New Year's Eve, 1906 in Houston, Texas to Isaiah and Mable Harris, both of whom were former sharecroppers from Louisiana.In 1929, she came out to Hollywood and lent her singing voice to the...
as Lily Mae Crippen (reformatory inmate) - George H. Reed as Rev. Crippen
- Blanche FridericiBlanche FridericiBlanche Friderici , sometimes credited as Blanche Frederici, was an American film and stage actress.-Early life and education:She was born in Brooklyn, New York.-Theatre:...
as Mrs. Wagner - Helen ShipmanHelen ShipmanHelen Shipman was an American singer, dancer and actress who starred in various Broadway musicals and musical comedies and who also acted in movies.-Early life and career:...
as Miss Davis - Paul HurstPaul HurstPaul Michael Hurst is a former English footballer who played in Football League Two in England, for Rotherham, where he played for over 10 years. He is currently joint manager of Conference National side Grimsby Town with Rob Scott.-Playing career:Hurst figured regularly on the left side of the...
as Aubrey C. Mitchell - Louise BeaversLouise BeaversLouise Beavers was an African-American film and television actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films from the 1920s to the 1930s, most often in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Beavers was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American...
as Powder room maid
Cast notes
- About her singing in the film, Jean Harlow said, "They have me singing in a reformatory! My singing would be enough to get me in, but I'd never be able to sing my way out." The song she sings, "Hold Your Man", was written by Nacio Herb BrownNacio Herb BrownNacio Herb Brown was an American writer of popular songs, movie scores, and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s.-Biography:...
(music) and Arthur FreedArthur FreedArthur Freed was born Arthur Grossman in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a Jewish American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer.- Biography :Freed began his career as a song-plugger and pianist in Chicago...
(lyrics).
Production
Hold Your Man – the working titles for which were "Black Orange Blossoms", "He Was Her Man" and "Nora" – was in production from April 16 through May 1933.Harlow and Gable made six films together, and Hold Your Man was the third, following on the great success of 1932's Red Dust
Red Dust
Red Dust is an American 1932 romantic drama film directed by Victor Fleming. The picture is the second of six movies Clark Gable and Jean Harlow made together and was produced during the Pre-Code era of Hollywood...
. Writer Anita Loos
Anita Loos
Anita Loos was an American screenwriter, playwright and author.-Early life:Born Corinne Anita Loos in Sisson, California , where her father, R. Beers Loos, had opened a tabloid newspaper for which her mother, Minerva "Minnie" Smith did most of the work of a newspaper publisher...
also had an extended working relationship with Harlow: this was the second of five films they made together, their first being Red-Headed Woman
Red-Headed Woman
Red-Headed Woman is a 1932 Pre-Code comedy film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on a novel by Katherine Brush, and with a screenplay by Anita Loos. It was directed by Jack Conway, and stars Jean Harlow as a woman who uses sex to advance her social position...
. Under the tightened reign of the Hays Office, Loos was forced by 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...
, the head of MGM, to have Harlow's character be punished for her sins (pre-marital sex among them), which is why Ruby spends time in a reformatory, and also why Ruby and Eddie have to get married.
Response
Critics were aware that the studio was trying to have its cake and eat it too, by presenting scandalous behavior early in the film, which is then justified by the punishment the characters are made to suffer later on – a pattern that would become endemic under the Production CodeProduction Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
. In Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, a critic wrote ""earlier sequences have plenty of ginger, but the torrid details are handled with the utmost discretion while conveying a maximum of effect." and Frank Nugent in the New York Times wrote "The sudden transition from hard-boiled wisecracking romance to sentimental penitence provides a jolt."
Nevertheless, the critics praised Harlow and Gable, and the film was a smashing box office success, grossing $1.1 million on a budget of $260,000—a profit of 300%. Harlow was well on her way to being the biggest star in Hollywood, and her next picture, Bombshell
Bombshell (film)
Bombshell is a Pre-Code film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan, C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Forbes and Franchot Tone.-Plot:...
(1933), would not even need a male star to carry the film.