Saratoga (1937)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

That was an excellent one.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Absolutely Fantastic

Ordinary comedy would have been a cinematic footnote and a stop gap for Gable and Harlow before their next scheduled pairing on loan to Fox for the much more worthwhile In Old Chicago if not for Jean's sudden death. Instead it ended up becoming the second most profitable film of 1937 and a notorious cash grab for Metro. Not really a bad film but hardly the best film on any of the actors resumes. Other than the ghoulish, rather easy, game of spotting the scenes filmed after Jean's passing with a stand-in the film is packed with great character actors and actresses doing good work. Of particular note is Una Merkel, sassy and smart as an old crony of Gable's. Jean's part is one that's far away from her more famous early persona as a brassy good time girl but in line with the more refined lady-like roles Mayer was moving her towards after Irving Thalberg's death and which she had been transitioning to nicely. Considering the fact that it's an incomplete performance she is fine in her role, she looks weary and a bit bloated throughout not surprisingly since unbeknownst to all her kidneys were failing. Her death actually caused great upheaval in many films that were in development at the time changing the course of many careers. She and Gable were to head over to Fox for In Old Chicago which proved a boon to Alice Faye and Tyrone Power. For their services Shirley Temple was to be loaned to MGM for the Wizard of Oz, when that fell through of course Judy Garland was cast pulling her out and Ann Rutherford in to the small part of Carreen in GWTW. Also among many other planned projects Maisie, originally planned as an A production but moved to the B unit after the loss of Jean, was allocated to Ann Sothern so successfully that it started her on a series that ran, between other films, almost ten years.

***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.

Not a great movie, it doesn't have the expected chemistry between Gable and Harlow, but many bits of trivia connected with it. It was released as I understand it after public pressure for another look at her. It ended up being her most financially successful film. I think that the cigar scene is one of her best, most understated comic moments.I don't know of another film finished after its star's death like this. For that alone it is a curiosity. The added footage is very obvious, comical yet macabre. And the ongoing bit about her being sick is equally macabre.As for the trivia, you have one of Lionel Barrymore's last ambulatory roles; longtime MGM contractee Walter Pidgeon in his first MGM role; Hattie McDaniel singing; The Wizard of Oz having breakfast with the Wicked Witch of the West; and Clark Gable playing probably the only nice bookie in the history of the movies (sort of nice, to Harlow's father at least).For Harlow at her best, go with Personal Property, Red Dust or Bombshell, but watch this for the trivia.

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.