The Girl From Missouri (1934)

Escaping the confines of small town Missouri, an ambitious young woman (Jean Harlow) and her companion (Patsy Kelly) go to the big city to bag a millionaire for a husband while still holding on to her virtue. Directed by Jack Conway (LIBELED LADY), this inconsequential romantic comedy stands out for one reason and one reason only: Jean Harlow! She brings the full force of her appealing persona and star presence to the film. That it's not one of her better vehicles is beside the point. The plot of a small town girl trying to remain decent while the rich men she meets attempt to bed her with no marital bliss in mind is enough to incorporate suicide, false imprisonment and deception into its narrative yet sadly, as if realizing they were running out of time, the film makers suddenly give us a phony and rushed happy ending that isn't organic. Still, who watches movies like this for realism? If you're not a Harlow fan, you may find this all hard to take. Except for that rushed deus ex machina ending, I enjoyed it. With Franchot Tone, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Alan Mowbray and Clara Blandick.