Robert J. Maxwell It's 1933 in a unnamed city and prohibition is still in effect. People are still drinking homemade. "Scotch, eh? Glasgow or Brooklyn?" In fact, some of the most impressive features of this unimposing drama are in the snappy dialog. Not TOO snappy, even though this was shot pre-code, but just snappy enough.Jean Harlow is a tough urban babe, seduced by the reckless and cocky Clark Gable. A mix-up puts Harlow in a reformatory, convicted of having something to do with a crime of which Gable was the sole author. Most of the movie takes place within the confines of the reformatory. It's not nearly as depressing a milieu as those we see in period movies about men in the penitentiary. Harlow is ensconced in what seems more like a particularly strict boarding house or maybe a loose-limbed convent. She has four roommates, whose characters are nicely limned in.It's the depths of the Great Depression, see, and one of them is a communist who launches into ideological tirades against their damned sewing machines. Another was Harlow's rival for Gable on the outside. A third functions as a lumpy observer. The fourth is a sympathetic and helpful young black girl, Lilly Mae, without a hint of political correctness but also without screen credit. She's the most likable person in the movie, played by Theresa Harris, who was the affable waitress in "Cat People" and a maid in "I Walked With A Zombie".Harlow shortly turns out to be pregnant and when Gable learns of her predicament he's stricken with guilt. Gable manages to wangle a marriage while visiting Harlow in the reformatory and is arrested for his crime. Last shot, Gable and Harlow are released, happy to be with their little kid, kissing on the public street. The end.It's not bad actually. Gable is unbelievable while sobbing with guilt, but other than that the characters are pretty well drawn and the story involving. Harlow's performance is unusually subtle, for Harlow.

mark.waltz In a role which seems to have been inspired by Mae West, Jean Harlow is a good time gal down on her luck, hard on the men who pass through her doors, but ultimately searching for love to guide her. When con-man Clark Gable bursts through her doors (finding her in the tub!) after a scheme that has him in danger of being caught, she immediately falls underneath his spell, although denying it from the start. She does everything she can to suppress her real feelings, even giving rival Dorothy Burgess a response to a slap across the face (two in fact!) that Burgess will never forget and will have you in stitches. The first half of the film is a comic delight, filled with many great lines, such as one where Harlow snarls at Burgess, "You know you wouldn't be a bad looking dame if it wasn't for your face", but turns dramatic as Harlow faces time in a reformatory while carrying Gable's child.A gem of a supporting cast includes Stuart Erwin, Elizabeth Patterson, Vera Lewis, and Louise Beavers in a bit role. There's a sensitive storyline involving a black inmate and her preacher father which treats them with dignity and absolutely no stereotype, an important plot point in the last reel. Harlow gets to wear some outrageous outfits, including one that looks like an orchid on steroids.

Michael_Elliott Hold Your Man (1933) *** (out of 4) MGM tearjerker has a couple con artists (Jean Harlow, Clark Gable) falling in love but after an accidental murder they're separated. Gable takes off and Harlow ends up in a reform school where she learns she's pregnant but fears that she'll never see her man again. I really wasn't sure where this thing was going as it blends a strange mix of comedy with drama but in the end I found it quite touching. The first half plays as a comedy and gets a lot of laughs including a hilarious scene where Gable tries hiding from the police by getting in a tub and putting soap all over himself. There are plenty of pre-code moments mixed in with most of them coming from Harlow showing off various limbs. Gable is as good as always but it's Harlow who really steals the show. This is the first time I've seen her take on a dramatic role and she nails it perfectly. She's given several emotional scenes and she comes off very well. The ending is very dramatic and contains a beautiful message that comes across very well. It's also worth noting that there's a black preacher in the film and I think this is the nicest role I've seen a black actor play in this era of Hollywood. The stereotypes we normally see in this type of film are thrown out the window and this must have been one of the earliest films to show a black man in such a nice form.

Noirdame79 This movie is witty, watchable and utterly touching. And now often do you get to see Jean Harlow (or any actress of this era, for that matter) give another woman a swift punch in the jaw? (Twice!)After Harlow's Ruby is sent to a reformatory after getting mixed up with Gable's Edward Hall (he of that cheesy yet endearing crooked smile), her predicament becomes all the more complicated when she discovers that she is pregnant, and she's convinced that this rake has abandoned her, but in fact, her love has reformed him and he comes to see her, despite the fact that he will be arrested, and from the help of a minister, are married.The wonderful relationship that Harlow shares with her fellow inmates is second only to her electric chemistry with Gable, who was her most frequent leading man. Her cynical character is a perfect match for Gable's smooth-talking crook. What's not to like?"You know, you wouldn't be a bad looking dame - if it wasn't for your face!" Ruby cuttingly remarks to Gypsy, her rival. "If you're going to get that close to me, I'll have to open the other window!"Priceless.