Red Dust (1932)

“Don't you think I could be happy?”

“Would you mind if I made it my job to see that you are?”

            Any film that takes place in warm locations such as Africa or South America, make my skin crawl. It has nothing to do with the cultures and most of the time the stories are good. What makes my skin crawl is seeing the characters sweat like crazy from the heat and being in areas of the world that are so remote you would have to be insane to chose to go there let alone there. I despise the heat with so much passion. I love to say that in the cold you can pile on the clothes but in the heat you cannot strip down to your underwear if you are in public. I hate feeling like I am going to combust from the inside out when I am hot.

            Anyway, there is somewhat of a point to my rambling… maybe. The 1932 film Red Dust takes place in a remote part of Asia where the sun is constantly high and there is no relief from the heat. And all the characters are sweating their asses off.

            Dennis Carson (Clark Gable) is the owner and manager of a rubber plantation in the middle of the jungle in China. A prostitute named Vantine (Jean Harlow) is on the run from the law in Saigon and came across his place to stay. At first he wants her out but then he lets her stay the night after they have a “talk”.

            The following day Dennis wants Vantine out of the house and away from his plantation because he has a new worker, Gary Willis (Gene Raymond) and his wife Barbara (Mary Astor) coming in by boat that afternoon. When Gary and Barbara come in, Dennis boards the boat to help them with their things. Gary is on the bed not looking too well. Barbara first gets a load of Dennis through a mirror and stops right in the middle of what she is doing to stare at him. As soon as they get back to Dennis’ place he can see that Gary is ill with some kind of jungle virus. He gives Gary some pills and tells him to stay in bed until his sickness passes.

            Vantine comes back that night much to Dennis’ dismay. The boat broke down and will not be fixed for a few weeks. Dennis is now worried about giving off the wrong impression to Barbara by having Vantine around.

            While Gary was sick, Dennis and Barbara become close. After he carried her home during a rainstorm they kissed and from then on carried on an affair. Things get serious between them and they want to tell Gary that they are together. Dennis had sent Gary out to the plantation to do some work. He goes out there to help kill a tiger. Dennis had planned on telling Gary about he and Barbara going away together but after Gary tells him about his plans for the future with his wife he cannot go on with his plan. Dennis heads back to camp during a downpour to be with Barbara. One of Dennis’ workers drunkenly slips about Dennis and Barbara. Gary gets into a fury and heads back during the downpour as well.

            Back at the house Dennis tells Barbara he cannot go off with her anymore and that their relationship was all a lie. She had heard Dennis crashing around the table with Vantine while she was in bed and grabbed her gun in case it was an intruder making noise. When Barbara sees Vantine with Dennis she gets upset and shoots Dennis in the side. Gary comes home just after the shot went off. Barbara tells her husband that Dennis tried to make a move on her and she shot him. Vantine backs her up by saying Dennis is in love with Barbara and has been trying to get with her all the time he was away.

            There should be hopefully no shock that Vantine and Dennis end up together totally in love at the end.

            I am not usually a Jean Harlow fan but I loved her as Vantine. I think I can finally say I have seen a film where I can understand how and why Harlow was considered a sex symbol. She was definitely sexy in Red Dust and her smart, sarcastic, quick attitude was perfect. There is a scene where Vantine gets mad at Dennis and she sits down hard on a chair and put her feet on the desk. Her dress falls down around her thighs and she picks it up. I was in awe of Harlow in that scene. That is the scene where I finally understood her appeal. And damn woman had a great pair of legs on her! Clark Gable is Clark Gable. He never does anything for me. He does not have sex appeal that is believable and it always baffles me how his characters get the girl (or a girl). Mary Astor was perfect. I have loved every performance I have seen her in. Gene Raymond like Gable really does nothing for me.

            Red Dust is a good film. I think all the heat and the sweating that at least the male characters did added to the tension and drama of the story. I for one would never stand living in the jungle. If I ever had a husband who told me he was going to work in the jungle in China or anywhere else in the world and wanted me to come with him I would tell him go to hell I am staying in civilization! Red Dust is a fantastic example of a Pre-Code film with seduction, Jean Harlow barely dressed half time and swimming naked around in a barrel of water, and Harlow and Gable making out on a table. Red Dust is definitely worth a watch for any Old Hollywood fan. 

No Man of Her Own (1932)

“The girl who lands him will say no and put an anchor on it... But isn't it tough when all you can think of is yes?”

            Ladies, how many times have you ever dreamed of a man coming to your small town and taking you away from your boring life? *RAISES MY HAND REALLY FAST!* We all have there is no shame in admitting it. I live down by the Jersey Shore. There is nothing fun about living where I do. Most of the people I graduated high school with ten years ago are married with at least one kid. I did not even dry my hair or brush my teeth today! Give me a break I at least showered and put on a clean pair of sweatpants and t-shirt. Chick flicks and terrible chick shows have ruined my mind by implanting the cool dream of moving to New York City and finding Mr. Right. That would be somewhat cool but for me I would love to move to NYC just so I can have some fun and be around other humans. I am bored out of my misery! I would like to snag myself a man just to have someone to go places, have fun with, and make them watch some movies and shows. Besides not brushing my teeth or doing my hair over the weekends I work on this blog and lately marathoning Dr. Who (ROOOOOSSSSSE!!!). Pathetic right? Alright, TMI of my boring existence has been mentioned and I am sure you are ready to run away. I promise this post is about the Carole Lombard and Clark Gable film No Man of Her Own and my rambling has something to do with the story of it.

            Jerry Stewart (Gable) is a gambler and con artist with two other guys and a girl named Kay Everly (Dorothy MacKaill). Kay wants Jerry to stay with her and he tries to explain that he is not the kind of guy that stays around. Before he can leave there is a knock on the door. At the door is a man named Collins who was on the same boat as Jerry to and from Europe. Collins tells Jerry he is friends with the man he (Jerry) and his crew have just swindled and he is looking for a story to publish for his paper. With this information Jerry has to leave town and go hideout for a while somewhere.

            In the small town of Glendale lives a young lonely woman named Connie Randall (Lombard). She is beyond bored with her small town life and yearns for a man to come and sweep her off her feet for a life of adventure. The only thrill in Connie’s life is going to a cabin in the woods near a lake with a bunch of her friends on the weekend. There is a boy she had been seeing but he was not exciting enough for her. Before heading to the library where she works Connie plays a quick game of dice. She does not win and walks away. Jerry was standing near the cart when Connie walks up. He asks the guy at the cart who she is. Jerry heads to the library and pretends to want a library card. He has Connie “help” him find a book just to flirt with her. At one point he manages to make her get on a ladder so he can have a look at her legs. Connie tells him she has no interesting in going anywhere with him or seeing him again. Jerry overhears Connie tell another librarian how she likes him but would not want to go out with him even though she really does. Jerry waits all day in the library for Connie. As she closes the lights at the end of the day he walks the stacks and grabs her for a kiss. Connie is overwhelmed and responds by saying she will see him in church the next day.

            Jerry does go to church to following day and squeezes himself between Connie and her brother. They go up to the cabin by the lake together. They talk about things and the subject of marriage comes up. No shock, Connie and Jerry wind up getting married.

            The new couple heads back into the city. Jerry never told Connie that he is a gambler who is wanted by the DA. She gets him up early thinking he has a job to go to even though he had been out all night.

            Eventually Connie becomes wise to what Jerry really does. She makes him choose between her and gambling. She promises him she will wait for him when he is ready. He tells her to give him three months to find a job and packs her off to head back to Glendale. When Connie leaves Jerry turns himself into the DA and serves his three month sentence. While in jail, Jerry has his friend Charlie write cables that are supposed to be from him from South America to Connie. Charlie has even been taking Connie out and keeping her company. Charlie tells his friend that Kay and her mother are coming back to their apartment in the city to get it ready for him and that Kay is back in town as well and she is looking for some trouble.

            Connie calls the shipyard to see when a ship from Rio comes in. Someone tells her there is no ship. She is a bit puzzled but does not spend too much time on it. A call comes from the front desk saying that Kay is there and wants to speak to her. The two women talk about Jerry, naturally. Kay mentions how Jerry is doing time and finds out that Connie has no idea he has been in jail. That makes no difference to Connie she still loves Jerry. Kay takes the hint and leaves.

            When Jerry comes back the next day Connie just lets him go on with his story about being in Rio and listens to his tales with a smile on her face.

            I have to admit I had some high expectations for No Man of Her Own. Of course I know that Carole Lombard was the love of Clark Gable’s life and that this was their only film they made together. To me the film is like a Hollywood legend. I was a little disappointed with the story. I found it boring. It felt like there could have been more to the story. I will say that as much as I have that dream of finding a guy from a big city I would not want that guy to be like Larry who was a gambler and a liar no matter how well intentioned his lies were. Gable and Lombard worked well on screen together. I would not say they had a lot of screen chemistry but they worked. The scenes in the library where Larry is trying to flirt with Connie were great because Lombard gave Gable such attitude and was perfect when she huffed and walked away in a hurry. No Man of Her Own is absolutely worth seeing even if it was not that great.   

Comrade X (1940)

“You are the first American I have ever met with a soul. It has a strange effect on me”

            As the poster says Comrade X is “The Funniest Love Comedy Since ‘Ninotchka!’” Ninotchka had been made the year before Comrade X. Both have a similar plot and similar main characters but honestly there is no comparing the characters. Garbo was funny but she still seemed untouchable as the Russian Communist doing and sacrificing all for her country. Hedy Lamarr was hilarious and personable as Theodore a no nonsense train conductor doing all for her Communist duty for her country. Even Clark Gable plays the same role as Melvyn Douglas only Gable screams American values while Douglas just screamed western democratic values and freedom. Ninotchka to me is more of a comedy with some drama thrown in while Comrade X to me is much more the comedy.

            In Russia, a group of international reporters gathers together in the Kremlin. They are told about a person only known as Comrade X who is not allowed to leave the country. If they are found with Comrade X they will also be killed. American reporter McKinley Thompson (Gable) was supposed to be at that meeting instead he was out partying all night. He tells his friend Jane (Eve Arden) that there is no important news in Russia.

            McKinley goes to a funeral for a Russian official that had been killed. He notices another funeral is taking place and realizes they are rebels. A man pops out of the coffin and begins to shoot at the crowd of mourners. McKinley manages to get a photograph of the man in the coffin. He knows he can get into serious trouble having a camera around so he runs away to not only conceal his secret camera but to also develop it and send it back home before anything happens to the photograph.

            McKinley’s Russian friend Vanya tells him that his (Vanya’s) daughter is in trouble. His daughter is a Communist and he wants McKinley to take her out of the country. McKinley refuses he does not want any trouble with the Russian government. Vanya is forced to blackmail him by saying he will tells the police about his photographs and secret codes. Reluctantly McKinley agrees to the plan. He has to meet Vanya’s daughter on a street car where she is a conductor. She goes by the name Theodore (Lamarr) because in order to drive a name she had to change it to a man’s name. McKinley begins to sweet talk Theodore as soon as they meet. He drives with her to the end of the track where she is to leave the car for the next conductor. He tells Theodore about America and how she can help America’s women. McKinley almost got Theodore to go along with him until she turned him down. She is suspicious of him and will have him investigated. McKinley almost fools Vanya and leaves the country but Vanya knows he did not go through with his plan and will not let him leave. Theodore comes to the hotel claiming she has had him checked out and is ready to leave. She also springs it on McKinley that they have to get married in order to get out of the country.

            After they are made man and wife, McKinley takes Theodore up to the hotel room. Another woman is there. Neither one of them recognizes the other even though they know the other in some capacity. The two women start a brawl. All McKinley can do is stand on the sidelines and watch his wife and the other woman work out their issues.

            When Theodore is out of the room McKinley looks in her suitcase. He sees a framed photograph of a man. He realizes the man is the one who shot up the funeral. As he is walking out Jane comes walking in. McKinley tells her he and Theodore are now married. Jane is a little jealous she really liked McKinley. Jane has no idea how much of a Communist Theodore is. He tells Jane he is pretending to be a Communist but Theodore does not know that he is pretending. Eventually Theodore finds out that McKinley is not a Communist. She goes off the wall throwing things around the room and yelling. The secret police come. They take away his hidden camera in the radio. Vanya shows up. He tries to protect his daughter and tells the police that he is Comrade X. The police commissar does not believe Vanya for one second and has Vanya, along with Theodore and McKinley, into jail. McKinley goes to the commissar to tell him who shot at him at the funeral. The shooter is a man named Bastakoff. Theodore unfortunately adores the rebel.

            Bastakoff is now the head of the police. He asks McKinley to hand over the photographs he took of him. Bastakoff has some of his followers killed. He is not upset about having to do this because he feels they were stupid. Bastakoff says Theodore and Vanya are idiots for naively loving Russia. Fortunately he lets all three of the prisoners go. Bastakoff has some men follow McKinley. McKinley shakes the men off his trail. He gets himself, Theodore and Vanya on a train. Theodore is very upset about Bastakoff. She is upset with herself for believing in such a man who would have his own followers killed.

            The train stops at a military training camp. Theodore, Vanya, and McKinley manage to get into a tank. Theodore tells her father and McKinley she kind of knows how to drive a tank from going to night school. She tries to lead her tank away from the base but the new military tank trainees keep following her tank because the tank is the general’s. McKinley has Theodore drive the tank into Romania so they can surrender to the American consulate.

            McKinley’s plan worked. In the end all he, Theodore, and Vanya are at a Brooklyn Dodgers game.

            I absolutely adored Hedy Lamarr and Clark Gable in this film. Theodore was this staunch, stubborn, Communist that Lamarr played perfectly she was so fabulous and hilarious. The scene where she brawls with the other woman was hysterical. It was funny to watch Lamarr in this film because she was so beautiful and she always seemed to be put in dramas. Her comedic timing was really good too. This is the kind of role I like to see Clark Gable in. He was snarky and rude and funny. He was still a kind of tough guy only he was put into a funny yet serious situation. Think of Gable in It Happened One Night just toned down a bit and in a different situation and that is what he is like in this film. I do not think there was any chemistry between Lamarr and Gable but they just worked well here. Eve Arden plays Jane. I love seeing her in anything as soon as she opens her mouth no matter what she says is so funny because of her sarcastic tone of voice.

            Comrade X is so much fun to watch. It is like Ninotchka in the several ways I pointed out at the beginning of this post but the film is able to hold its own. Some scenes such as the tank were a little out of hand and silly but scenes like the one where Theodore and the other woman get into a brawl completely make up for the silly scenes. Comrade X is a film I highly recommend watching.