Sadly Over-hyped

Highly Overrated But Still Good

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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.

This romantic comedy has Jean Harlow billed over Clark Gable and the couple are a touch or two away from combustible. Sam Wood produces and directs. Con-man Eddie Hall(Gable)in hiding from his last sucker slips into the apartment of Ruby Adams(Harlow)...from that moment the flirting, the sharp banter and "come-hither" looks begin. A quick blackmail scheme involving one of Ruby's married admires backfires when the would be victim is punched out cold, real cold...like...dead. Eddie manages to escape during the confusion, but the platinum blonde Ruby is put away for a couple years. When Eddie finds out that there is going to be a little Eddie, he must find a way to reach Ruby in the reformatory. Eddie is determined to marry Ruby so their child will not be illegitimate. Others in the cast: Stuart Erwin, Dorothy Burgess, Garry Owen, Blanche Friderici and Barbara Barondess. Harlow and Gable made six films together and this movie shows why.

Jean Harlow and Clark Gable were a great on screen team and this may be their best movie together.Yes, Hold Your Man can be cheesy and predictable, but that's not what I love about the movie. I love seeing Harlow and Gable together and in this film they are simply wonderful. It is obvious that they really enjoyed working together and that is part of what makes this such a wonderful film.The witty dialogue, great script and attention to detail are the other things that make this such a good movie. I loved this movie the first time I saw it and on each subsequent viewing I always notice at least one new detail. To me, that is a mark of a great film.The dialogue and script are better than most movies from this time period (early 30's). I adore classic movies, but I admit that most of them are just average and at times don't hold my interest. Hold Your Man is one of the exceptions.This has a lot to do with the fact that Hold Your Man is a 'pre-code' movie. (The Hays code was not enforced until a year after Hold Your Man.) This movie could not have been made under the code. Well, it could have been made, but it would have been an entirely different story. Thank goodness the code was not enforced until 1934. Otherwise, we would have missed out on this gem.

Two of MGM's most memorable stars enjoy some snazzy scenes together in this somewhat uneven, but mostly entertaining, romantic film. Gable, a con man, has to hot-foot it from the police after a scam gone wrong and winds up in the apartment of Harlow, who's no slouch in the pilfering business herself, though she gets her dough from an array of men in her life. After an uneasy start, they become close and embark on a relationship, one that isn't above the odd con job, but, when one goes horribly wrong, Gable is on the lam again and Harlow is sent off to a reformatory for women! Here things get a little sticky as Harlow pines for Gable and he risks everything in order to see her. A gaggle of fellow inmates work overtime in order to reunite the couple as the police close in. Gable looks positively adorable here. He delivers his lines with confidence and panache, but also reveals many different shades as his character begins to regard Harlow as more than just another floozy. His big emotional scene is, perhaps, a bit beyond his range, but most of the time he's in fine form and shares sparkling chemistry with his leading lady. Harlow is equally fine. She has a boatload of one-liners and wisecracks and delivers them all with her wonderfully common and knowing persona. She doesn't skimp on the emotional aspects of her character, though. It's a strong performance with a lot of variety to it. She is filmed, however, with some astonishingly heavy soft focus for someone who was only 22 or 23! Erwin appears as one of Harlow's devoted suitors and Burgess (the real-life niece of Fay Bainter) is one of Gable's cast-offs. She and Harlow have some terrifically bitchy exchanges in the film along with some physicality. Notable for its time is the fairly prominent presence of Harris as a black inmate at the reformatory. Though she is depicted as rooming in a different area, she spends much time in Harlow's room and has a substantial role with no mention made of race. Her father in the film, played by Reed, also has a critical role, though that is one of the more saccharine bits of the storyline. A good example of how busy MGM's stable of supporting players were is Friderici as the head matron. She appeared in 15 films the year before this one and 10 this year before dying in December (and appearing in two previously-filmed 1934 films after that!) The vast difference between the lighthearted first half and the more soapy second half may disappoint some viewers, but fans of the stars will surely enjoy seeing them go through their paces regardless. It's not an overly long film and has many captivating facets to it. The quasi-happy ending would likely not be possible just a year later when the Production Code was fully functioning.