Imprudente jeunesse

Reckless (1935)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Really poor comedy/drama about a showgirl (Jean Harlow) who gets caught in a love triangle with a producer (William Powell) and a playboy (Franchot Tone). This is a pretty poor picture that fails as a comedy and then really fails as a drama in its second half. I'm not sure if Fleming couldn't handle the material or what but in all honesty he's not given too much to work with and even the cast sleepwalks through the film. This is certainly the worst I've seen Harlow and Powell as neither actor are up to their usual standards and Powell comes off quite boring. The supporting cast includes May Robson, Ted Healy and Mickey Rooney but none of them offer any laughs. The second half of the film turns into a drama, which tries to bring tears but this is the only segment that offers any laughs. The ending is downright insane and overly forced.

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.

This really seems like a Marion Davies vehicle: comedienne who really can't dance or sing is called upon to do so (but her songs are dubbed). This one has ornate, ridiculous-but-not-Busby Berkely routines, and the usual good, almost artistic, direction by Victor Fleming. But it also has William Powell and Jean Harlow! I've never seen Powell more relaxed and fun; he has obvious chemistry not just with Harlow but with May Robson as Granny! The scenes between him and May are a delight. And Harlow's acting is great! So it's a must-see for fans of Powell and Harlow. Just be prepared, the musical scenes are a joke, and the final scene is so ill-conceived it's a let-down. Otherwise, this is first-rate.

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.