Personal Property

1937
Approved
1h 24m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor in Personal Property (1937)

Romantic Comedy Screwball Comedy Comedy Romance

Raymond Dabney returns to his family after trouble with the law. He convinces the sheriff to give him a job watching the house and furniture of widow Crystal Wetherby without knowing she is ... Read allRaymond Dabney returns to his family after trouble with the law. He convinces the sheriff to give him a job watching the house and furniture of widow Crystal Wetherby without knowing she is engaged to his brother.Raymond Dabney returns to his family after trouble with the law. He convinces the sheriff to give him a job watching the house and furniture of widow Crystal Wetherby without knowing she is engaged to his brother.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Throughout the film, Jean Harlow wears the massive 152-carat star sapphire ring (also reported as an "85-carat" gem), a round cabochon, which was given to her by her then boyfriend William Powell, supposedly for their engagement. Star sapphire rings were very popular in Hollywood in that era, and Harlow's was said to be the biggest one owned by any film star. At one point during the film's production, Harlow lost her ring, removing it for a dish-washing scene and handing it to a makeup man. An all night search finally turned up the ring in an ashtray.

Goofs
While it is never explicitly stated, it can reasonably be assumed that Mrs. Dabney, like Mrs. Wetherby, is an American and thus her American accent is explainable; but no is reason given for why her eldest son speaks with a British accent and her youngest son speaks with an American accent. In one scene, Catherine even says that Ferguson (Raymond) could easily get a job in America as an English butler, which makes zero sense with Robert Taylor not even attempting to sound like an Englishman.

Quotes
Claude Dabney: Miss Briggs, how many years have you been making what for convenience I call my tea?
Miss Briggs: What's wrong with it this time, Mr. Dabney?
Claude Dabney: Why nothing... except that it tastes absolutely filthy.

Connections
Featured in The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)

Soundtracks
Aida
Written by Giuseppe Verdi
Excerpts played and sung at the opera

User reviews27

Review

Featured review

7/10

An okay film but see Jean in her better films

I have been seeing many of Jean Harlow's films thanks to the glorious T.C.M. In the past few months, I have caught The Girl From Missouri, Reckless, Dinner at Eight, Wife Versus Secretary, and Red Headed Woman. My opinion of her as a comedienne has definitely improved after seeing her growth and maturation as an actor. Actually, all the titles I mentioned are better than Personal Property.

As for this movie, Jean is charming as ever, but she does not exhibit the same sparkle as she had in previous films. She looks beautiful as always, but she does show a bit of the extra weight also exhibited in Saratoga. Of course, this was due to her kidneys failing, as her health was in serious and fatal decline.

The movie itself is a bit on the slow side, and I think Robert Taylor, though handsome, wasn't up to her level. I think part of the film fell flat due to his performance.

One thing that totally puzzles me is that in the movie Robert Taylor's family all have British accents except for him. He sounds totally American. What's the deal with that?

A piece of trivia: I noticed that in the film she wore William Powell's star sapphire ring, a sort of engagement ring.

If you are a Jean Harlow fan, this movie should be seen, but she's so much better in Red Headed Woman, The Girl From Missouri, and Bombshell, just to name a few.

It's sad to see that Jean Harlow is largely forgotten by so many in our society today. Read David Stenn's book Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow for superb information on her.