More DVDs I Bought

I just returned from going downtown and buying some DVDs. All of them are from Hollywood's "golden age," including The Postman Always Rings Twice, Grand Hotel, Stormy Weather, and Wife vs. Secretary. The last film was the one I was looking for. It starred Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and Myrna Loy. I am a huge fan of Jean Harlow, and I used to have almost all of her films on VHS. Unfortunately, relatively few of her movies are on DVD; I don't know if Warners or whoever owns the rights to the MGM catalog are waiting until the 100th anniversary of her birth in 2011 to issue all of her films, but it is strange. Her best films, including Bombshell and Red Dust, have NEVER been issued on DVD.

Harlow was a far better actress than she was given credit for, and she was great opposite Clark Gable. They had great rapport. It was one of the great tragedies she died at only 26 in 1937 of renal failure, but there was nothing that could be done at the time. She had had kidney disease from the time she was in her teens, after she suffered from a bout of scarlet fever. All during her Hollywood career, she was slowly dying. A lot of filthy rumors circulated surrounding her death and her second marriage to Paul Bern, but she was remembered as one of the most beloved of all stars and as a genuinely nice person. She was nothing like the parts she played.

Anyhow, some copyright violator uploaded Bombshell (1933) and Reckless (1935) just for people like me to upload on the iPod. Here are the first parts of each film, for those who are so inclined (this version of Bombshell has some subtitles on it).

Bombshell:



link


Reckless (with future fiancee William Powell):





link The picture quality is MUCH better on iPod.


Both films featured Franchot Tone, though he has a bigger part in Reckless.