Such a frustrating disappointment

Perfectly adorable

One of my all time favorites.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Taken as a diverting bit of fluff, "Saratoga" is a pleasant film not worthy of the talents of its cast but easy on the eyes. The plot is in the screwball vein but lacking the manic intensity of the genre; it revolves around a bookie trying to save a horse farm by luring a rich "chump" to lose racing bets & finance the endeavor. Clark Gable, looking alarmingly thin, is the bookie and he delivers his standard performance. Scenery-chewing Lionel Barrymore and blustering Frank Morgan are on hand playing characters they perfected during their careers. Also on board are Una Merkel, Walter Pidgeon, and in a bit role Dennis O'Keefe. Unfortunately all of this is secondary to the only reason this film merits attention: it is the final film of legendary Jean Harlow. The tragedy of Miss Harlow has been well documented. She was literally dying while shooting this movie and it is a difficult film to sit through knowing this. In the final 20-25 minutes her character is clearly played by a double hidden behind binoculars, a large hat, or shot from behind. Nobody wanted to finish the movie after Miss Harlow passed away but there was such an outcry from her fans that the picture was completed by a heavy- hearted studio. Ironically it was her biggest hit film largely because everyone wanted to get a final glimpse of her. Her performance is not one of her best; she is lacking her usual energy & effervescence. But it is an incredibly poignant performance knowing the terrible physical pain she must have been suffering during the shoot. By all accounts Jean Harlow was an amazing individual; beloved by all and someone who valued the happiness of others over her own. She was more concerned about letting the cast & crew of "Saratoga" down than getting help for her illness. A class act to the end.

With the really A-List cast, you want this movie to be better than it is. Yet is it better than you expect. Why is that? The cast as there is no doubt here about Gable in this one.Based on a play, this movie sold a lot of tickets in New York when it was released because of the time and generation it was released in, plus New York was the biggest market then. For the greatest generation, Horse Racing and Saratoga were magic. Every August, the old tradition still goes on today. But then, Saratoga was a pilgrimage every August for folks who loved racing.The old track there and the August meetings were a magic atmosphere. Ironically, Hollywood already had the tradition of filming in other places and creating their own world. Most of this film was not done in Saratoga. What was being sold was the most magical track to racing fans then, and this cast.Even though Harlow died during filming, having Clark Gable as a nice bookie at the old Saratoga Raceway sold a lot of tickets in the 1930's. Harlow's untimely death added to the box office too, sadly.

Saratoga (1937) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A bookie (Clark Gable) takes a horse ranch from a friend who eventually dies but the man's daughter (Jean Harlow) does what she can to get it back. The troubled history of this film is certainly a lot more interesting than the actual film. Harlow died before the film was completed and apparently MGM was just going to put the film on the shelf but fans wanted it released so the unfinished scenes were eventually shot with a double who most of the time has her back to the camera. The scenes with the double come off pretty badly and they're rather obvious especially with the voice double. It's also rather eerie that there's a running joke in the film about Harlow being sick. As for the actual film, it's pretty disappointing due to the wonderful cast yet it still manages to be slightly entertaining. Both Gable and Harlow are good in their roles but neither do the best work of their career. The film really belongs to Lionel Barrymore who plays Harlow's uncle. He gives a wonderful comic performance and gives the film all of its laughs. Frank Morgan, Walter Pidgeon and George Zucco round out the cast.

This movie is a real treat for classic movie lovers! The star-studded cast includes Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Hattie McDaniel and Lionel Barrymore. It is especially interesting for all Gone With The Wind lovers to see Hattie McDaniel (Mammy) and Clark Gable (Rhett) work together two years prior to GWTW. Jean Harlow is absolutely beautiful and really shows her acting talent in this movie. It is bittersweet to watch though, considering this was Harlow's last film. The actress worked as long as she could until the physical pain of her illness became too much and she passed away at a very young age before filming completed. The stand-in scenes are very obvious, but fortunately doesn't take away from the magic that Ms. Harlow contributed and therefore set a tone for the movie.I love this movie, and highly recommend to anyone who wants a good storyline w/ wonderful star quality!!!