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It was one of the first Harlow movies I saw. Don't laugh, but I actually cried towards the end. But that's just me, I cried when I saw Saratoga too. I watch them again and again and I never get tired of them. I'm only 20 and I feel like I've been watching these movies forever.

Jean Harlow can be funny and likable in such delectable classics as "Dinner at Eight", "The Girl From Missouri", "Red-Headed Woman", "Platinum Blonde", among others. But she is wasted in "Reckless", a surprisingly plodding and undernourished comedy-musical-melodrama, made for MGM and David O. Selznick, directed by Victor Fleming. Harlow's Mona Leslie, a Broadway singer whose reckless affairs with rich playboy (Franchot Tone) leads to scandal and jealousy, is one of her weakest performances. William Powell plays her secret admirer who rescues her from carelessness. May Robson is the maid whose delightful banter with Powell is one of the few likable moments in the film. As in "Personal Property" and the overrated "Libeled Lady", the film offers nothing more than its earnestly plush and overproduced MGM look. And it is obvious from the beginning that Harlow is uncomfortable with this mush; her singing and musical numbers, mostly dubbed, are highly forgettable.

...this movie rapidly descends into maudlin melodrama that is practically unwatchable. The movie starts out with promise with a feisty Granny Lesie (May Robson) pulling a rather hung over Ned Riley (William Powell) out of bed to bail playful star Mona Leslie (Jean Harlow) out of jail. These early scenes would make any fan of these three want to stick around for more, but believe me, you'll regret that decision. Things go downhill rapidly when Mona meets avid fan and drunken playboy Bob Harrison Jr. (Franchot Tone), whose enthusiasm wanes and drunkenness worsens after the two are hastily married. Every indignity you can think of is flung at Harlow's character at a time in Harlow's life when she herself had recently been through a great personal tragedy, and you just get the feeling that MGM is using that tragedy to sell movie tickets. It really is a sad spectacle for any Harlow fan.

The melodrama grows to ridiculous proportions by the end of the film, with Mona Leslie even being booed by fans and her giving a preposterous on stage speech as a result. All of this just crowds out any promise with which the film started. Avoid this one.

William Powell, Jean Harlow, and May Robson are absolute delights in "Reckless," a movie which starts out on the light side and then suddenly turns into a drama, continues down the drama road and ends at melodrama, '30s style. Powell and Harlow have wonderful chemistry. Both were natural, charismatic, and energetic performers. May Robson is a riot as Granny, and her scenes with Powell are gems.

Franchot Tone plays a millionaire playboy crazy over Harlow; Powell loves her but doesn't come out and say it. It's a very old formula, but that doesn't matter. The film is interspersed with several musical numbers that aren't particularly inspiring. Harlow's singing is dubbed, and I suspect the actual dancing parts of her dancing were also. Who cares - she just radiated beauty, warmth, and vulnerability in everything she did. The musical sections were apparently thrown in after the film was made.

I can't write for anyone else, but I was surprised when the film made its dramatic turn - and without giving anything away, particularly surprised Harlow went for it, until I read that she turned the film down because of it. William Powell convinced her to take the role. By the end of the film, we're in melodrama land. But the two stars pull it off, though it is truly ridiculous.

A young Rosalind Russell has a supporting role and essays it beautifully. It's not a great movie, but the people in it surely are.

Even with big stars and an expensive production with songs by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein this is a minor film reworking of the Libby Holman tragedy. Powell is fine but in the background as is Rosalind in an early film where she is still in her grand lady phase. Ever the trouper Jean does what she can in a part for which she is hopelessly ill suited. She was aware of her limitations as much as anyone but went ahead with this even after expressing her doubts because it provided an opportunity for her to work with Bill Powell with whom she was personally involved. She does fine in the dramatic portions and is snappy at the beginning but she was no singer and is obviously dubbed. As a dancer well...she was a fine comedienne.