Starring: Carroll Baker, Peter Lawford, Red Buttons, Angela Lansbury.
Released only one month after the first version of HARLOW starring Carol Lynley, this screen biography of the popular female star of the 1930’s benefits from better production values and a more talented lead actress. An inordinate amount of time is devoted to the recently deceased Red Buttons while Lansbury and Vallone turn in competent performances as Baker’s conniving mother and stepfather. Baker is a much better Harlow than the competition’s vapid Lynley; she brings a complexity and compassion to the role that could have been stunning, given a better, less sensationalized, script. As far as the HARLOW war at the box office went, this version broke with Hollywood tradition and made more money than the previous effort.
Buy on DVD for $12.00
