Platinum Blonde

A decent 30's comedy with some great moments but some misfires as well. Loretta Young steals all her scenes but unfortunately there's not enough of them, and while Harlow and Williams are ok they don't always have the spark needed to make this stand out. The last 20 minutes are quite good though.

While this isn't as preachy as many of Capra's other movies, it still has a heavy grass-isn't-always-greener morality within. There's a huge suspension of belief that a newspaper guy who starts out hating high society would throw out his standards for a whirlwind love affair. It's a bit of an anachronism, but I kept thinking that the fast-talking wisecracks (which were generally funny) would have sounded better from Cary Grant.

84.50

Frank Capra #2

Funny love triangle with pointed observations about emasculation, journalists as fratboys, and the importance of puttering. One of the few love triangles I've seen where the ending is pretty up in the air.

The story is average about a working class guy marrying into high society and not wanting to fit in, but it had some excellent comic moments with Robert Williams in his only crucial role of his career (he would die just days after this movie was released). He was excellent at playing off his working class arrogance against the upper-class arrogance. Loretta Young was stunning. Jean Harlow was okay but a little out of place. I'm not sure how many high society girls blows smoke out of their noses.

Capra used to be a carnival barker, so, unsurprisingly, a lot of his movies are con jobs on the general public (aka the "marks"). _It's a Wonderful Life_, _Mr. Smith_, and his other famous ones are bullshit, but they're done with plenty of savoir faire; this is just bullshit. Movies like this are the reason that so many hate Hollywood movies

Robert Williams--who was on his way to become a big star when his appendix burst and he died of peritonitis just about the time this film opened--doesn't impress me much, and Jean Harlow is simply not credible as a socialite. Capra directs with style, though, and Loretta Young makes the most of her role (and is of course very beautiful).

A very sluggish first half hour (often coming across like filmed vaudeville), but once the triangle angle became apparent it started to work. Williams is a bit hammy in places (but then, the whole thing had a stagey feel); his insouciant charm mostly comes through though, especially when appearing with a radiant Loretta Young (it's too bad we lost him). Harlow is...well, Harlow; you either like her or you don't, I guess, and I usually don't (at least her presence serves to explain the title).