Born March 3, 1911, and gone June 7, 1937, at age 26, Elton John could have written "your candle burned out long before your legend ever did" for Jean Harlow. She remains a legend to this day and her performances, comedic, dramatic, naughty, or nice, are a joy to watch. There is so much written about her that I will not spend time reviewing her career, you can find information
here and her images are all over the web.
I have always thought that some images of Jean didn't do her justice. Her facial structures were made overly harsh when using the dramatic and stark lighting popular at the time. However, when done right...
Because there are so many images available, I have tried to post ones that may be less well known. You may have seen some of them, but hopefully there will be a few that are new to viewers.
Click on the images for a larger view.

Screen Play magazine, February 1931

Picture Play magazine, February 1931

British postcard

Publicity photo

Movie Classic magazine, September 1932
This picture, as I see it, suffers from the lighting.

Photoplay magazine, August 1932 - Artist: Earl Christie

Movie Classic magazine, September 1932 - Artist: Marland Stone

Photoplay magazine, July 1933
More Photoplay 1933 duotone experiments

Publicity still.

German postcard

Screen Play magazine, January 1934

Cigarette card from the 1935 Gallaher Film Partners series.

Movie Classic, November 1935 - Artist: Charles Sheldon
Also in my cover post of April 2008, but worth posting again - love this image.

Publicity still
Jean Harlow - What do you think - Allure?
6 comments:
Wow! I never realized how young she was when she passed! WOW!
Wonderful to see her how she looked when she wasn't cast as an evil woman who liked sex. I too would never have guessed she died so young. How?
As Lovely as they Come! Her entrance in HELL'S ANGELS (1930), still takes my breath away.
All those photos you have
presented are beautiful. I do
agree that sometimes with
harsh lighting she could look
quite hard.
Beautiful - that last one, especially. Seems to captures something essential about her.
Her story always strikes me as tragic - that illness she had, basically rotting from within - her horrific marriage - the issues with her mother - Amazing she was able to get as much done as she did, in her short life.
Thanks for this post.
Ann Sheridan was a vibrant village of well turned out Allure, Marilyn Monroe was a happy and sad sexy beachfront of Allure, and Lana Turner was the quiet and perfect country estate scent of Allure.
...But Jean Harlow was a grand mountain range of Allure, one which pulled a man past every dreamful anticipation of mind and body.
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