Imprudente jeunesse

William Powell is delightful, Jean Harlow is warm and vulnerable, Rosalind Russell is charming, and even Franchot Tone, who plays a millionaire playboy who jilts Russell for Harlow without truly knowing his own mind, is witty. The dialog, particularly in the first half of the movie, is light and amusing, and there are a couple of nice musical numbers. It gets a little fast paced and soap operatic towards the end, but it's always entertaining. This is the film that got Powell and Harlow together personally for the last two years of her life, and their chemistry shows. The early scene with them lounging together and him proposing in his own way as she drowses off is fantastic, and Powell's scenes with the old granny are also priceless. It's also fun to see a young Mickey Rooney in a couple of scenes. Not perfect but watch this one for the cast and their performances.

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.

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.

...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.

Jean Harlow was a gifted comedienne, but not noted for either her singing or her dancing. Thus, MGM cast her as Mona Leslie, a nightclub singer and dancer in 1935's "Reckless." To establish Mona's claim to fame, the rehearsal of a lavish nightclub number, which is set to Jerome Kern's "Reckless," is depicted. The gargantuan production features dozens of performers, several enormous sets, and impossible hairstyle and costume changes that defy logic. Worse, Harlow's painfully obvious lip-synching and clumsy attempts at dancing, which are inter-cut with an actual dancer's movements, only emphasis the credibility problems. Kern's lackluster song does not help either, falling flat to the ears.

If audiences expected a light comedy with music, considering the off-screen romance of the Powell-Harlow pairing, they were disappointed. Teamed with William Powell as Ned Riley, Mona's theatrical agent, and Franchot Tone as Bob Harrison, a wealthy playboy, Harlow is the apex of a romantic triangle that has tragic consequences. Although neither breaks any new ground, William Powell and May Robson come off best; Powell plays a sober repeat of his Nick Charles persona from "The Thin Man," and Robson is the tough but kindly old lady that she trademarked. Franchot Tone is competent as the smitten patrician, except during his unconvincing drunken bouts, and Harlow is out of her depth in a dramatic role. However, future stars, Rosalind Russell and Mickey Rooney, shine in small roles.

Directed by Victor Fleming, "Reckless" is a disappointment given the promise of the cast and David O. Selznick's credit for writing the story, which was based on a tabloid scandal of the period. The singing and dancing are difficult to watch and would generate giggles, if viewers were not embarrassed for Harlow's ineptness. Even fans of Harlow may want to skip this misfire and revel in one of her better films such as "Dinner at Eight," "Bombshell," or "Libeled Lady." The film reportedly lost money at the box-office, and the reasons for the red ink are evident on the screen.