A Mulher Parisiense dos Cabelos de Fogo

Most films made for prohibition era audiences painted the poor as virtuous and the rich as those who were keeping them down. This one turns that mainly Warner Brothers model on its head. Here it is the poor but beautiful office worker, Lillian (Jean Harlow), who sets her cap for her rich married boss, Bill Legendre (Chester Morris). She is persistent, because Bill is hard to break down. He has known his wife, Irene (Leila Hyams), since they were kids, and is really in love with his wife.

Bill caves a few time to Lillian's sexual heat, but he would never have left his wife for her. Lillian gets that, and is counting on the wife's pride to do the rest. It works, Irene leaves Bill and leaves the field to Lillian. But Lillian's undoing is that she cannot leave well enough alone, even after she is the second Mrs. Bill Legendre.

Harlow just fills this screen with her presence. She had been in other MGM productions for the last year or so, but this was her star making role. It's more than her beauty. This girl has "It" as much as real red head Clara Bow had it in the silent era. Una Murkel plays Jean's pal who seems content to sit on the sidelines and watch, but you get the feeling if she could pull something like this off she would. Henry Stephenson has a great comical role in this film. And look for Charles Boyer in a very small but important role as Stephenson's chauffeur.

I can't help but notice how similar this plot is to the production code film "The Women" - rich man loves his wife but likes sex with poor social climbing homewrecker with a plot that turns on the pride of the wife. I wonder if there is any connection?

At any rate, highly recommended plus it has a great hummable theme song that is even performed by a crooner at its midpoint - "Red Headed Woman".