double feature! ANIMAL KINGDOM/PLATINUM BLONDE

the animals sang, 'oh lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.' misunderstanding from the one you love is the theme of this 'double feature.'

both films deal with the world of letters. in 'animal kingdom', elegant and charming actor leslie howard plays a man with a mission. as a millionaire's son, he shuns dad's ideas and chooses to publish quality books. his one time love/best friend is played by ann harding. when i first discovered this actress i was amazed and confused. how did i not know of her before? she is artlessly beautiful and wears her gorgeous costumes like a model. in 'animal kingdom' her character remains loving and most importantly, truthful, when leslie gets married to a scheming women and begins publishing unimportant books just for the money.

myrna loy will forever be known as the sidekick/wife in 'the thin man' series of films. she is always excellent and played many great characters before her role as nick's nora. in this film her performance is as good as always, as the sweet and alluring wife with ulterior motives.

'platinum blonde' is not a jean harlow film per se. she is surely in this absolutely delightful film, but her role is simply a necessary part to keep our eyes focused on her main man. sure, she is great, she only ever is, but along with her lovely fellow actress loretta young, they are like satellites circling a planet named robert williams. you and i both never heard of this actor. i had to find out about him just to make sense of the fact that 'platinum blonde' is his only available movie. at the time of this film he was being heralded as the next big important star, but soon after robert died from appendicitis. 

as a newspaper reporter, he wears a crumpled hat, plays hand puzzles behind a screen with the only gal in the office, and never comes off as anything less than the grooviest guy ever. he is natural, easy going, unnervingly honest, and darling. the story of this 1931 charmer of a movie is simple: the 'one of the boys' beauty from work (loretta young) secretly loves him, assuming in time he'll figure it out. however, the reporter gets sent to the swell house of zillionaires who are involved in a scandal. he meets the rich daughter, they fall for one another, and after about a minute of marriage she wants him to change his ideas of how to make an honest living.   

this is a sadly common scenario in life. my cousin says, 'you get what you pay for.' the meaning is essential: see things as they are. if a woman falls for a guy who likes crumpled hats, stop trying to get him to wear garters.

both of the leading men in today's 'double feature' displayed effortless charm. their characters played an honest game, standing by their own rules, while mixing with a society doing it's best to make them play by theirs.  

photos: (top) animal kingdom's triangle: leslie howard, ann harding, myrna loy

(below) 'platinum blonde's' triangle: robert williams with jean harlow, robert williams with loretta young