Scarlett Johansson and Jean Harlow from Planck's Constant

The Shelf - profile and review: forbidden hollywood has an excellent review of a DVD set called
Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1 (Waterloo Bridge 1931 / Baby Face / Red-Headed Woman), Excerpt: What makes it Forbidden? Certainly with themes like marital infidelity, open sexuality of characters and attempted murder, you couldn't expect to get a pass from the Hays office. What really seem to get to them and to audiences was the unrepentant nature of the character. Or scenes like where Bill slaps Lili hard, and Lili turns back to him and laughs and says "Do it again! I like it!". Alrighty, then.

The early 30s before the Hays Code began to be enforced was a great period in Hollywood when "anything goes" was a ruling theme. Modern viewers would hardly get excited over the bra-less Harlow in the photo above, but since I have always been a dirty old man, even in my youth, it still excites me.

Jean died at age 26 from kidney failure which might have been caused by scarlet fever which she contracted as a teen. I mention this because I also had scarlet fever in my youth. Fortunately it did not lead to complications in my case. Jean Harlow died during the shooting of her last film, Saratoga, which was 90% finished and was completed with a body-double and voice-double. The film broke every box-office record and became the biggest hit of Harlow's career and the top grossing film of 1937 for MGM, most likely saving the studio during the depression.

Photo Credit: Meeker Museum

There were two competing films, both titled Harlow, released in 1965. Carroll Baker, pictured here, played Jean in the better version despite being more than ten years older than the age Harlow was when she died. Carol Lynley, closer in age was in the less successful version.

I was 20 when both of the biopics were released and naked photos of Carroll Baker were available to the discerning collector, and I can tell you that she was HOT! Today, we are barely excited by these images. And certainly no civilized man would be driven to rape and torture from this simple exposure of female flesh.

So far this has all been merely a prelude to the real purpose for this post: Suggesting that it's time for a remake of Harlow, this time with my favorite young actress, Scarlett Johansson. She has the right age, the looks, the hots, the bod, the lips, the eyes, and even the eyebrows for the role. Or am I wrong?