Saratoga (1937)

A brash bookie (Clark Gable) is desperate to get back the money he lost when a Wall Street mogul (Walter Pidgeon) took him for $50,000. The opportunity arises when the daughter (Jean Harlow) of a late friend announces her engagement to the Wall Street millionaire. Directed by Jack Conway (TALE OF TWO CITIES), this was the last film of Jean Harlow who died before filming was completed. The last half hour of the movie has an obvious double playing Harlow's scenes with her back to the camera and an actress dubbing her voice. Eager to see Harlow's last film, the public made it a huge hit. As to the movie itself, sad to say, it's not very good and one could wish that Harlow had a better swan song. I'll be upfront and say I'm not big of racetrack movies so I found SARATOGA on the monotonous side but my bias aside, there's not much to recommend here other than the combined star power of Gable and Harlow (their sixth movie together). One can't help but wonder how Harlow's (just 26 when she died) career would have carried over to the 1940s. With Lionel Barrymore, Una Merkel, Frank Morgan, George Zucco, Dennis O'Keefe and Hattie McDaniel, who gets a chance to step out of her maid uniform and dress up for a change.