Saratoga (1937)

***SPOILERS*** More of a curiosity piece then anything else "Saratoga" turned out to be Jean Harlow's last movie dying on June 7, 1937 of kidney failure a the young age of 26 some six weeks before the film was released! With the movie 90% finished and the MGM studios was forced to use a stand in for Miss Harlow to finally finish the movie! That instead of re-shooting the entire film with another actress replacing her. As things turned out "Saratoga" turned out to be the biggest grossing MGM film of 1937. There was also in the film Lionel Barrymore as Grandpa Clayton who soon ended up in a wheelchair because of his severe arthritic condition.The film involves a round robin romance between socialite Carol Clayton, Jean Harlow, bookie Duke Bradley, Clark Gable, and Carol's fiancée Wall Sreet bigwig Hartley Madison, Walter Pidgeon. It's Duke who at first has all the cards by having the deed to Carol's father's Frank Clayton, Jonathan Hale, horse breeding farm. It was Frank who owed Duke $60,000.00 in bets that he lost to him who signed the farm over to Duke as collateral until he could come up with the 60 G's. As it turned out Frank died of a heart attack at the Saratoga Racetrack before he could pay Duke back and thus ended up losing the farm or racing stable,Brookvale Stables,to him for good.It's when Duke met Carol who was trying to buy her late father's stables back for him that he suddenly got the hots for her. It's was then that Duke, seeing a golden opportunity, tried to destroy Carol's relationship with Hartley by trying to bust him in a betting contest at not only at the Saratoga Race Track but a number of tracks, Belmont Pimlico Hialeah, up and down the East Coast. As we soon found out It was Hartley who in fact won some $60,000.00 off Duke betting with him over the years. And now Duke sees an opportunity to not only get his money back but end up stealing Hartley's girl Carol as well.As the movie builds up to the big race "The Hopeful Stakes" at Saratoga you soon completely forget about it in that by then Jean Harlow or Carol Clayton was history with only a stand in replacement filling in for her. As confusing as the film or horse opera was this made it even more confusing to follow. But it was the final racing sequences in it that kept you from falling asleep or just turning it off altogether.You can see right away the chemistry between Clark Gable and Jean Harlow which was so natural that it made you feel as if the two weren't acting at all. There was even a number of scenes in the film where Jean as Carol was suffering from a serious cold or flu that almost mimicked her real illness that in fact ended up taking her life.

Yes, the film is not great. The scenes when Jean doesn't appear or her double appears make the film lackluster and dull in those spots. However, the film gives glimpses of the "Forties" flavor and what great things Miss Harlow could have done had she only lived. Hattie McDaniel's singing in the club car is great (as far as the racist times would allow for that talented woman) and the scene where Miss Harlow smokes Gable's cigar while he hides under the sofa as Pigeon (as her fiancé) unexpectedly arrives at her room to speak to her is a fine bit and a few other moments in the film where Miss Harlow appear simply make the viewer all too aware of the great loss of the great comedic talent and the delicate beauty of the remarkable Jean Harlow. It would have been better to have her last film an excellent comedy (in the vein of "Topper" for which she was slated), but this film without her in it would have been totally forgettable- so it stands as a fair tribute to a great star.

'Saratoga' was Jean Harlow's last picture, and indeed suffered from a large amount of patching-up after her death mid-way through shooting (notice the scenes where her character is only present with her back to the camera, or is missing altogether). This serves to distract the viewer from the good points of her last movie (especially the scene where Harlow has to explain away the presence of a large cigar in her room; Gable of course hiding under the bed!). In the scenes which she did manage to shoot she is fabulous, although clearly not looking her best. Jean Harlow was probably the best sexy blonde comedienne of Hollywood's Golden Age, as testified by her marvellous work in Dinner at Eight, Libeled Lady, Riff Raff, and Bombshell. She lit up any scene she was in, and this movie is no exception. We can at least be grateful it wasn't ditched or recast, and that we have the snippets of her greatness within this fairly good movie.

When you watch this film, you are overwhelmed with sadness realizing that Jean Harlow died during production. Adding to that, Jean was never better than she is in this film. First of all, MGM finally found her 'look.' Her make-up is toned down and her platinum blonde hair is now a darker shade. She never looked lovelier. But what really is remarkable is her acting skills. She developed such a natural style and her comic ability was absolutely flawless.From what I've read, Miss Harlow was liked by all in the industry, and loved by those who were close to her. Dying a such a young age (26), one can only imagine how many more years her career would have flourished.Almost 65 years have passed since her death and she's still one of Hollywood's greatest stars.