Valet de coeur

What surprised me about PERSONAL PROPERTY is that Robert Taylor had such a good sense of humor that could have been used in more films of this type for him when he was starting out. Usually cast as a rather dour and stern looking type (and later, the heroic villain or bad guy with a gun), it's a pleasure to see him in this mild romantic comedy that passes the time pleasantly enough but is easily forgotten.

Jean Harlow co-stars with Taylor in what would be her last completed role for MGM. She seems a bit sluggish with her comeback remarks and somehow seems lacking the zest she usually showed in her romantic comedies with William Powell or Clark Gable. But she and Taylor make a handsome couple.

The silly story never quite comes off as convincing enough with a strange number of elements in the plotting that has Taylor pretending to be her butler while falling in love with her--although she seems to resist his charms from the start. While the predictable ending is never in doubt, it takes a bit of persuasion to believe his brother could be Reginald Owen.

Summing up: The thin plot moves rather sluggishly despite the brief running time but there are a few chuckles to get out of the whole thing. All in all, it's undistinguished from any viewpoint and a not too subtle jab at the idle rich.

Never viewed this Jean Harlow film where she stars as a widow with the name, Crystal Wetherby and Robert Taylor, (Raymond Dabney). Robert Dabney just comes home to his family after being in prison for six months for breaking the law and his brother and father are not pleased to see him come back home. Robert's mother is the only one who is happy to see her son and she wants to protect her son. The Dabney Family deals with ladies underwear and the business is not doing very well and Robert's brother wants to marry Crystal Wetherby for her money in order to save his business and he does not want anyone to know he had a brother who went to prison. It just so happens that Crystal is also broke and owes a large sum of money and she is being hounded by the bill collectors. Raymond Dabney is hired by a sheriff to collect the funds owed him and requires that Raymond stay in Crystal's home until the debt is paid. Crystal decides to have Raymond pose as her butler, but does not realize that Raymond is a Dabney and his brother wants to marry her. There is plenty of comedy and Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor burn up the silver screen together.

Apparently the only film Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor starred together, this harmless but ultimately forgettable MGM star vehicle is gravely marred by plush MGM studio sets and a drab, unconvincing direction by W.S. Van Dyke, though it has its moments of unintentional humor. But given the stars and the studio, this could have been more entertaining. It is a tedious mélange of romance and comedy that somehow frazzles or drowns when a good or funny scene ends. Harlow plays an impoverished but glamorous American widow named Crystal Wetherby who, at first, has her sights set on a penniless Englishman (Reginald Owen) but soon becomes interested in Robert Taylor. If you are a fan of the stars, "Personal Property" can be eminently watchable, though Dyke's sluggish pacing can be gruelling at times.

I always watch Robert Taylor in memory of my mother; she loved him. This film is a Taylor-Harlow pairing, "Personal Property," a watered-down version of the play, and the first time it was made, it was a precode film, A Man of Possession.

Taylor is Raymond Dabney, the black sheep in a successful family, all of whom are British except for him, evidently, as he sports no accent. He's been released early from prison after selling a car he didn't own. His brother Claude (Reginald Owen) and father (E.E. Clive) aren't happy to see him, unlike his mother, so they offer Raymond 300 pounds to go anywhere he wants, preferably out of the country. Raymond chooses London.

At a cocktail lounge, Raymond meets Crystal Wetherby (Harlow), a widow. Raymond is interested and follows her to the opera Aida, and then he follows her home. At her home, he meets a bailiff who is going to sit in Crystal's house until she pays what she owes.

Crystal is throwing a dinner for her fiancé and future in-laws; Raymond kindly offers to pretend to be her butler. When the future family shows up, a few problems present themselves.

Jean Harlow was always very likable, although here, she's a little more low-key. She wears her engagement ring from William Powell throughout the film; it's sad that her life was cut so short. I thought Taylor was just fine. He had a nice sense of comedy. But I have to agree with some others that the role would have been better suited to Franchot Tone or Cary Grant. Taylor was a beautiful man, and he looked great in evening clothes, but he was a farm boy at heart and didn't have quite the sophistication necessary.

I found this film slow and not very involving, but I loved the two stars.

Back during the golden age of Hollywood, things were not always so golden when it came to casting folks in films. Since almost all the actors were contract players essentially belonging to one studio, the studios often tried to fit the actors into films instead of finding the best actor or actress for the part. So, when MGM wanted to do a film about China, they cast Walter Huston and Katharine Hepburn in it! And, the same sort of wacky casting happened somewhat regularly. While not nearly as goofy, some knucklehead at MGM thought 'Robert Taylor isn't busy with a film and he IS very popular...so let's have him star in "Personal Property"'...even though the role calls for him to be English!! He sounds about as English as Greta Garbo...and this is the same guy who starred as a brash American in "A Yank at Oxford"! Now I am not saying this is a bad film....just a badly cast film. Jean Harlow (in her last completed movie) is just fine because she plays an American fortune- hunter. And, Reginald Owen is just fine as her upper-class English fiancé...though you are expected to believe he and Taylor are brothers!

When the film begins, Raymond Dabney (Taylor) has just gotten out of jail for something...though they don't say what. His brother, Claude (Owen) is upset because the sudden appearance of Raymond might scare away the fiancée, Crystal (Harlow). By a complete act of chance, Raymond sees Crystal at the opera and INSTANTLY falls head over heels for her. In 1930s films, this is kind of cute as he constantly follows her. When seen today, he seems much more like a creepy stalker!

It turns out that Crystal AND Claude are both interested in marrying each other because they think the other one is rich! Claude is far from rich...and Crystal is so broke that practically everything she owns is being repossessed! So how's all this going to work out and how is Raymond going to figure into all this? See the film...find out for yourself.

Overall, it's a decent film....enjoyable but also slight and easy to forget. The only outstanding portion was the dinner party sequence, as I thought it was rather funny seeing the British actors exaggerating their stuffy upper-class patter. They were so incredibly dull and awful...but funny.