Saratoga was not a great film. It has some clever and witty moments, such as the scene where Harlow is caught smoking a cigar, but on the whole the film is not among the best work of the wonderful cast which includes: Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore and Walter Pigeon. Harlow died before she completed filming this movie after a supposed illness which lasted 10 days. Watching the film you can see how unenergetic she looks, how puffy and tired and knowing that she does not live to finish the film casts the film in a poor light. When Harlow died, it was reported in the press that the film would be scrapped and left unfinished....but Louella Parsons reported in the press a few days after Harlow's death that the public outcry had been so great that MGM had decided to release the film. Being realistic here, it is hard to believe that MGM would ever seriously consider scrapping the film....the film had already cost millions and had other big name stars in the film. Parsons reported that the role played by Jean Harlow would be filled by actress Rita Johnson, and that at the point in the filming where Harlow died, co-star Lionel Barrymore would film an introduction announcing that Harlow had passed and that the film would be completed by another actress. None of this happened. There was no intro by Barrymore, and the role was taken over by actress Mary Dees. Dees was described in the press as having been both a $55 a week dancer at Warner Brothers, and also was said to have been pulled from a picture that she was shooting at Paramount with Bing Crosby to finish the role.
It is laughable to see the new actress in the role. At the point at which Harlow dies in real life, her character on the screen seems to almost vanish too. When she is shown, she is shown from the back, or with binoculars to her face, or a laughable scene with Hattie McDaniels where she is wearing a huge hat with a wide gauzy brim which obscures her face. This all makes what already was not a stellar film, get even worse. It is hard to say how the film would have been had Harlow lived. There is no question that her role would have been much larger.
In a macabre twist, in the scene where Jean Harlow is being examined by the doctor played by George Zucco, the gown she is wearing, white and with puffy sleeves, was the gown she was buried wearing.
It is laughable to see the new actress in the role. At the point at which Harlow dies in real life, her character on the screen seems to almost vanish too. When she is shown, she is shown from the back, or with binoculars to her face, or a laughable scene with Hattie McDaniels where she is wearing a huge hat with a wide gauzy brim which obscures her face. This all makes what already was not a stellar film, get even worse. It is hard to say how the film would have been had Harlow lived. There is no question that her role would have been much larger.
In a macabre twist, in the scene where Jean Harlow is being examined by the doctor played by George Zucco, the gown she is wearing, white and with puffy sleeves, was the gown she was buried wearing.