Harlow (1965) on Netflix
Teenager Jean Harlow comes to Los Angeles, pushed into show business by her mother and stepfather. Agent Arthur Landau mentors her, while studio mogul Richard Manley takes a personal interest.
- Netflix2.8/5
- IMDb5.5/101,280 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
As a teenager, Jean Harlow comes to Los Angeles, where her mother and stepfather push her toward picture work. She starts as an extra and bit player, supporting her stepfather Marino and her mother, Mama Jean. Agent Arthur Landau takes an interest in her and helps her secure a contract with Richard Manley's studio. Manley, a powerful executive, is drawn to the young actress and wants more than a professional relationship. Her first film receives a disappointing reception, and the studio lets her career stall. When Manley tries to add her to his list of conquests, Harlow rejects him and speaks her mind. Landau then looks for another studio where her prospects might improve.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Harlow (1965)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Fox announced in 1962 that Marilyn Monroe would play Jean Harlow in a lavish biopic under her new contract, but after Monroe's death the project went to Paramount, with Carroll Baker starring in the title role.
- Producer Joseph E. Levine bought Carroll Baker a platinum necklace studded with diamonds as a "peace offering" to persuade her to take the title role in his Harlow.
- To hit Paramount's June 1965 release date, Carroll Baker worked seven-day weeks, Angela Lansbury arrived two hours early for makeup, Red Buttons skipped lunches and Peter Lawford rehearsed late into the evenings with Baker.
- Carroll Baker was in the middle of an embittered feud with producer Joseph E. Levine, who was also her manager, when she took the title role; she had already agreed to star in a rival Columbia Pictures Harlow biopic, which enraged Levine.
- Filming began in February 1965 on Paramount's Harlow at the same time as a rival biopic with the same title and subject, starring Carol Lynley and produced by Magna Corporation.
- Before the 1965 films, actresses including Cleo Moore for Columbia Pictures and Jayne Mansfield for Fox were reported to have been cast as Jean Harlow in biopics that both fell through.
