Red-Headed Woman
Encyclopedia
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. During the course of the film, Harlow breaks up a marriage, has multiple affairs and pre-marital sex, and attempts to kill a man.
) and cleverly breaks up his marriage with his loving wife Irene (Leila Hyams
). Irene reconsiders and tries to reconcile with Bill, only to find he has married Lil that day.
However, Lil finds herself shunned by high society, including Bill's father, Will Legendre Sr. (Lewis Stone
), because of her lower class origins and homewrecking. When Charles B. Gaerste (Henry Stephenson
), a nationally known coal tycoon and the main customer of the Legendres' company, visits the city, Lil thinks she has found a way to force her way into the highest social circles. She seduces him, then blackmails him into throwing a party at her mansion, knowing that no one would dare offend him by not showing up. It seems like a social coup for Lil, until her hairdresser friend and confidante Sally (Una Merkel
) points out that all the guests have left early to attend a surprise party for Irene (who lives across the street).
Humiliated, she decides to move to New York City
, even if it means a temporary separation from her husband. Will finds Lil's handkerchief at Gaerste's place and correctly guesses what Lil has done. He shows his evidence to his son, who hires detectives to watch Lil. They find that she is conducting not one, but two affairs, with Charles and his handsome French chauffeur
Albert (Charles Boyer
). Bill shows Charles damning photographs.
When Lil learns that Charles has found out about her, she returns to Bill, only to find him with Irene. Furious, she shoots him, but he survives and refuses to have her charged with attempted murder. However, he does divorce her and remarry Irene. Two years later, he sees her again, at a racetrack in Paris
, in the company of an aged Frenchman. He discreetly hides Irene's binoculars. In the final scene, Lil and her elderly companion get into a limousine ... driven by Albert.
was concerned that the original story and the first draft of a script by F. Scott Fitzgerald
were too serious, and offered the job of rewriting it to Anita Loos, instructing her to provide something that was more fun and playful and with a greater emphasis on comedy.
Before Harlow, MGM wanted Clara Bow
, who agreed to do the part, but objected to the "future services" option the studio felt needed.
Prior to its release he worked with the Will Hays Office
to ensure it would receive approval for general release. Under the Production Code
, a criminal could not be seen to profit from the crime, or to go unpunished. Sin must be punished. Adding further to the problem was Harlow's overtly sexual portrayal, with several scenes in which she was partially undressed, or making obvious sexual advances.
Although the Hays Office could not ban a film as such, a refusal to issue approval for a particular film could lead exhibitors to refuse to screen it. Thalberg agreed to seventeen cuts to enable it to screen in the United States; however upon release, it still received a large number of complaints from affronted cinema patrons. The original theatrical release was banned in the United Kingdom
, it was never resubmitted until 1965. The furor surrounding its release generated considerable publicity, and the film was a box-office success.
1932 in film
-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
Pre-Code
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
comedy film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, based on a novel by Katherine Brush, and with a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
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...
. It was directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Jack Conway
Jack Conway (film-maker)
Jack Ryan Conway was a film director and film producer, as well as an actor of many films in the first half of the 20th century....
, and stars 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...
as a woman who uses sex to advance her social position. During the course of the film, Harlow breaks up a marriage, has multiple affairs and pre-marital sex, and attempts to kill a man.
Plot
Lilian 'Lil' Andrews (Harlow wearing a red wig) is a young woman who will do anything to improve herself. She seduces her wealthy boss William 'Bill' Legendre Jr. (Chester MorrisChester Morris
Chester Morris was an American actor, who starred in the Boston Blackie detective series of the 1940s.-Career:...
) and cleverly breaks up his marriage with his loving wife Irene (Leila Hyams
Leila Hyams
Leila Hyams was an American film actress. Her relatively short film career began in silent films, and ended in the mid 1930s.-Early life:...
). Irene reconsiders and tries to reconcile with Bill, only to find he has married Lil that day.
However, Lil finds herself shunned by high society, including Bill's father, Will Legendre Sr. (Lewis Stone
Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone was an American actor.Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, son of Bertrand Stone and Philena Heald Ball. Stone's hair grew gray by the time he was twenty. He fought in the Spanish-American War, then returned to a career as a writer. He soon began acting...
), because of her lower class origins and homewrecking. When Charles B. Gaerste (Henry Stephenson
Henry Stephenson
Henry Stephenson , sometimes credited as Harry Stephenson, was a British character actor....
), a nationally known coal tycoon and the main customer of the Legendres' company, visits the city, Lil thinks she has found a way to force her way into the highest social circles. She seduces him, then blackmails him into throwing a party at her mansion, knowing that no one would dare offend him by not showing up. It seems like a social coup for Lil, until her hairdresser friend and confidante Sally (Una Merkel
Una Merkel
Una Merkel was an American Tony Award-winning stage and film actress.-Life and career:Una Merkel was born in Covington, Kentucky, and grew up in Philadelphia and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928...
) points out that all the guests have left early to attend a surprise party for Irene (who lives across the street).
Humiliated, she decides to move to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, even if it means a temporary separation from her husband. Will finds Lil's handkerchief at Gaerste's place and correctly guesses what Lil has done. He shows his evidence to his son, who hires detectives to watch Lil. They find that she is conducting not one, but two affairs, with Charles and his handsome French chauffeur
Chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...
Albert (Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found success in movies during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised romantic dramas,...
). Bill shows Charles damning photographs.
When Lil learns that Charles has found out about her, she returns to Bill, only to find him with Irene. Furious, she shoots him, but he survives and refuses to have her charged with attempted murder. However, he does divorce her and remarry Irene. Two years later, he sees her again, at a racetrack in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, in the company of an aged Frenchman. He discreetly hides Irene's binoculars. In the final scene, Lil and her elderly companion get into a limousine ... driven by Albert.
Cast (in credits order)
- 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 Lillian 'Lil' / 'Red' Andrews Legendre - Chester MorrisChester MorrisChester Morris was an American actor, who starred in the Boston Blackie detective series of the 1940s.-Career:...
as William 'Bill' / 'Willie' Legendre Jr. - Lewis StoneLewis StoneLewis Shepard Stone was an American actor.Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, son of Bertrand Stone and Philena Heald Ball. Stone's hair grew gray by the time he was twenty. He fought in the Spanish-American War, then returned to a career as a writer. He soon began acting...
as William 'Will' Legendre Sr. - Leila HyamsLeila HyamsLeila Hyams was an American film actress. Her relatively short film career began in silent films, and ended in the mid 1930s.-Early life:...
as Irene 'Rene' Legendre - Una MerkelUna MerkelUna Merkel was an American Tony Award-winning stage and film actress.-Life and career:Una Merkel was born in Covington, Kentucky, and grew up in Philadelphia and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928...
as Sally - Henry StephensonHenry StephensonHenry Stephenson , sometimes credited as Harry Stephenson, was a British character actor....
as Charles B. 'Charlie' / 'C.B.' Gaerste - Charles BoyerCharles BoyerCharles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found success in movies during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised romantic dramas,...
as Albert - May RobsonMay RobsonMay Robson was an actress and playwright. A major stage actress of the late 19th and early 20th century, Robson is best known today for the dozens of 1930s motion pictures she appeared in when she was well into her seventies, usually playing cross old ladies with hearts of gold.- Biography :Born...
as Aunt Jane - Harvey ClarkHarvey Clark (actor)Harvey Clark was an American actor on stage and screen. He appeared in 198 films between 1915 and 1938.He was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack....
as Uncle Fred
Production
The film proved difficult from its inception. Producer Irving ThalbergIrving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
was concerned that the original story and the first draft of a script by F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
were too serious, and offered the job of rewriting it to Anita Loos, instructing her to provide something that was more fun and playful and with a greater emphasis on comedy.
Before Harlow, MGM wanted Clara Bow
Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
, who agreed to do the part, but objected to the "future services" option the studio felt needed.
Prior to its release he worked with the Will Hays Office
Will H. Hays
William Harrison Hays, Sr. , was the namesake of the Hays Code for censorship of American films, chairman of the Republican National Committee and U.S. Postmaster General from 1921 to 1922....
to ensure it would receive approval for general release. Under the Production Code
Production 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...
, a criminal could not be seen to profit from the crime, or to go unpunished. Sin must be punished. Adding further to the problem was Harlow's overtly sexual portrayal, with several scenes in which she was partially undressed, or making obvious sexual advances.
Although the Hays Office could not ban a film as such, a refusal to issue approval for a particular film could lead exhibitors to refuse to screen it. Thalberg agreed to seventeen cuts to enable it to screen in the United States; however upon release, it still received a large number of complaints from affronted cinema patrons. The original theatrical release was banned in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, it was never resubmitted until 1965. The furor surrounding its release generated considerable publicity, and the film was a box-office success.