Personal Property
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.
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- Cast:
- Jean Harlow , Robert Taylor , Reginald Owen , Una O'Connor , Henrietta Crosman , E. E. Clive , Cora Witherspoon
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Reviews
Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
The first must-see film of the year.
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Never viewed this Jean Harlow film where she stars as a widow with the name, Crystal Wetherby and Robert Taylor, (Raymond Dabney). Robert Dabney just comes home to his family after being in prison for six months for breaking the law and his brother and father are not pleased to see him come back home. Robert's mother is the only one who is happy to see her son and she wants to protect her son. The Dabney Family deals with ladies underwear and the business is not doing very well and Robert's brother wants to marry Crystal Wetherby for her money in order to save his business and he does not want anyone to know he had a brother who went to prison. It just so happens that Crystal is also broke and owes a large sum of money and she is being hounded by the bill collectors. Raymond Dabney is hired by a sheriff to collect the funds owed him and requires that Raymond stay in Crystal's home until the debt is paid. Crystal decides to have Raymond pose as her butler, but does not realize that Raymond is a Dabney and his brother wants to marry her. There is plenty of comedy and Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor burn up the silver screen together.
Too bad the Hays Code prevented this remake of "The Man in Possession" (1931) from being as saucy as the original, especially because there is some nice sexual tension between Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor here. Then, too, this version seems a bit padded, as if the writers or director decided that the film required more characters, more elaborate sets, more dialogue (sometimes funny, sometimes rather unnecessary) and a slightly more convoluted plot. Somehow it just doesn't gel.Interestingly, two actors who appeared in MGM's 1931 version play their roles again here: Reginald Owen as the gold-digging prospective bridegroom and brother Claude, and Forrester Harvey as the bailiff. I definitely enjoyed the sexiness of the Robert Montgomery-Irene Purcell version much more, however--see that one, if you can.
Personal Property was the last completed film of Jean Harlow and the only one she was teamed with Robert Taylor. She's an American married to an Englishman who died and left nothing to her, but debts. She's got bill collectors beating down her door. She figures an upper class accent is a guarantee of security, but tain't so Jean. She's set to marry Reginald Owen, who's family has a title, but little else. Their business has suffered some reversals and they need some quick capital themselves.Before this double calamity takes place, along comes Robert Taylor who is a black sheep in Reginald Owen's family as his younger brother. Through an incredible comedy of errors he winds up Harlow's bill collector and later butler.It's not a bad film, Harlow is great, she was sparkling and delightful and no trace of the illness that would claim her life while filming her last picture Saratoga.Taylor is oddly miscast though. I'm sure this was a part that was originally intended for Franchot Tone and he would have had just the right upper class touch. Taylor handles the comedy well, but Tone or Cary Grant would have made the film a classic. In fact Taylor's part and some of the film premise you can also find in My Man Godfrey with William Powell without the social commentary.Film buffs should see it for a once in a lifetime pairing.
This was directed by W.S Van Dyke the same guy who also directed the overrated The Thin Man and three of it's sequels. The movie stars Jean Harlow and this wasn't as good as some of her other comedies but better than some others like Saratoga. This was the only movie she made together with Robert Taylor. I always thought Taylor was overrated but he's pretty good in this movie. Taylor plays a man who just got out of prison for six months and his dad and brother want him gone now. The dad and brother own a business and it's doing pretty bad. Taylor then meets Harlow at a party and falls for her pretty quickly but she can't stand him. He follows her home and winds up getting a job as her butler and this is a pretty good comedy.