SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Ploydsge just watch it!

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

josephmcgrath-62358 what a great movie. I just watched it on TCM. jean Harlow,and Clark gable were a stupendous combo. both of their character portrayals were right up their ally. both had a crusty edge to them. gene Raymond continued to be a actor I am impressed with every time I see him, in these older movies. he was also very good in a later movie Mr. &mrs. smith with Robert Montgomery,and Carole Lombard. he plays a great straight guy character,and very unassuming,almost naive. Mary Astor was great as the unfaithful wife, with more polish than the character Harlow played, but not as happy go lucky,and not street wise. Mary Astor was beautiful, and a great actor. she adapted well as the years advanced in Hollywood. her rolls were always perfect, with her advancement. she was a talented and very sophisticated lady in real life,and a accomplished author as well. her roll in Maltese falcon, and little women showed her diversity,as well as a movie that the title escapes me with Bette Davis, George Brent. I have enjoyed the tribute to Harlow.

GManfred Golden Age fans will love this one, a Pre-Code film that's much like a filmed stage play - in fact, it's based on a play which, by all accounts was even racier than the movie. It was made in 1932 and certainly couldn't pass muster after the inception of the Hays Office, but nowadays anything goes; odd someone hasn't tried. They would be hard-pressed, though, to find a better cast, especially the two principals. Gable and Harlow are perfect together, the animal magnetism fairly leaping off the screen. Gable was the very model of modern masculinity at the time, and Harlow his female counterpart.Some reviewers noted an element of racism woven throughout the picture, but they should give it a rest. The world in general and society in particular were vastly different from the modern PC era. Also of interest is the support cast, headed by Mary Astor, who admittedly was a better actress than Harlow but minus the manifest 'feminine wiles'. In a departure from more dignified roles, Donald Crisp plays vulgar drunk and to excellent effect.Have you seen it? If not, do so. It's well worth your time just to see how the 'pros' used to do it, inherent plot flaws notwithstanding.

wes-connors In Southeast Asia, rugged plantation owner Clark Gable (as Dennis "Denny" Carson) is annoyed to discover an overweight drunk in his rustic jungle home. He tosses the bum in a bed and discovers platinum blonde prostitute Jean Harlow (as Vantine Jefferson) laying there in the sheets. The two are mutually attracted and begin copulating when the camera drifts out of range. Shipwrecked and stranded, Ms. Harlow starts to imagine a commitment, but Mr. Gable states, "I'm not a one woman man." Gable next sets his sights on ladylike but lusty Mary Astor (as Barbara Willis), who arrives with her ailing husband Gene Raymond (as Gary Willis) for hunting and surveying. He is impressed with Gable's hunting prowess while she checks out her host's animal magnetism..."Red Dust" provided film-goers with the irresistible prospect of seeing Gable and Harlow saunter around half-naked (something acknowledged in the film's script). They still have the attraction, while Ms. Astor manages to hold most of her own during her time on screen. Stalwart character actors Tully Marshall and Donald Crisp are also nice to see – fully clothed. But giving them all competition for getting attention is Chinese housekeeper Willie Fung (as Hoy); originally good for a few chuckles, his character is almost jaw-dropping today, buck teeth and all. Also interesting is that Gable was still taking off his shirt and chasing women as "Red Dust" became "Mogambo" (1953) over 20 years later. Don't imagine Harlow and Astor would be asked to reprise their roles.****** Red Dust (10/22/32) Victor Fleming ~ Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Mary Astor, Gene Raymond

Steffi_P The creation of a star in classic Hollywood was not just a case of finding the right man or woman, it was about creating the right persona. Clark Gable had been in movies for several years by the time of this, his breakthrough picture, first as a bit player, then as a (usually villainous) supporting actor, before finally landing romantic leading roles. It wasn't necessarily that he took time to hone his abilities (although that was some part of it); it was more that it took a long time for everyone to figure out what kind of a guy he should be.Red Dust is in many ways the perfect romantic melodrama – a steamy exotic location, a jagged love triangle, sex that while passionate is never gratuitous, and of course the desirable lead performers. It's just the kind of setting to show Gable off at his best, allowing him to appear sweaty, unshaven and loose-shirted. Put this man in a tuxedo and he became decidedly boring, but in Red Dust he sizzles. The movie doesn't demand a great deal from him acting-wise, but he knows how to pose with an air of virility, and can carry a woman to bed without appearing rapey. Love interest number one, Jean Harlow, was never really an exceptional actress but she's at her most natural and laid back here. Love interest number two, Mary Astor, on the other hand matches Gable for sexual presence despite her well-mannered bearing. There's a lot of attraction in her ability to switch from propriety to passion. Her acting is also the best of any on display here.This was Gable's first pairing with director Victor Fleming, a craftsman whose approach really suited the manly star. Fleming's movies are all about constant movement. Actors will almost always walk as they talk. It stops the movie from ever seeming slow or dull. Fleming would coach his cast in some detail about how to act. Although Gable and Astor begin to realise their feelings for one another on a fast-paced trot through the jungle, he has them stop for a moment to give emphasis to important lines. He also has actors bark out their dialogue, and make every movement sharp, almost aggressive. And Fleming was a master shot composer, often juggling foreground and background, or knowing how to frame a really iconic moment like Gable and Astor's kiss.Although he'd had a number of leading roles before this, it was Red Dust that really sealed Gable's superstardom. His career as a desirable hero would have huge longevity, and I'm reminded of Lillian Gish's comment about the women in Hollywood ageing while the men stayed forever young. Before long Mary Astor would be playing middle-aged and increasingly minor characters, even though she remained very beautiful. Gable on the other hand continued to be a screen lover for more than two decades. When they came to remake Red Dust as Mogambo in 1953 the female roles were filled by hot young newcomers Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner. Gable, twenty-one years older, was still cast as the man they fought over.