Bombshell (film)
Encyclopedia
Bombshell is a Pre-Code film directed by Victor Fleming
and starring Jean Harlow
, Lee Tracy
, Frank Morgan
, C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Forbes
and Franchot Tone
.
) is angry with her studio publicist E.J. "Space" Hanlon (Lee Tracy
), who feeds the press with endless fake scandals about her. Lola's family (Frank Morgan
plays her father, Pops Burns) and staff are another cause of distress for her, as everybody is always trying to scrape money from the actress. All she really wants is to live a normal life and prove to the public that she's not a sexy vamp but a proper lady. She tries to adopt a baby, but Hanlon, who secretly loves her, thwarts all her plans.
Lola decides she can't stand any more of such a life, and flees Hollywood. Far from the movie fluff, she meets wealthy and romantic Gifford Middleton (Franchot Tone
), who hates the movies and therefore has never heard about Lola and her bad press. They soon fall in love and Gifford proposes marriage. Lola is to meet her fiancé's snobby parents, but everything collapses when Hanlon together with Lola's family finds her, and tells the Middletons the truth. Lola feels hurt by the rude way Gifford and his parents dump her, and accepts Hanlon's suggestion to return to Hollywood with no regrets: it is, after all, her life. ... Little does she know that the three Middletons were all actors hired by Hanlon himself.
. The story satirizes the stardom years of Clara Bow
:
"Lola Burns" – Clara Bow
, "E.J. Hanlon" – B.P. Schulberg, "Pops Burns" – Robert Bow, "Mac" – Daisy DeBoe, "Gifford Middleton" – Rex Bell
.
Victor Fleming was Bow's fiancee in 1926.
The success of the film led to Jean Harlow being widely known as a "Blonde Bombshell".
Victor Fleming
Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with the Wind , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.-Life and career:Fleming was born in La Canada, California, the son of Elizabeth Evaleen ...
and starring Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Lee Tracy
Lee Tracy
William Lee Tracy was an American actor.- Early life :Tracy was born in Atlanta, Georgia.After graduating from Western Military Academy in 1918 he studied electrical engineering at Union College, and then served as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I. In the early 1920s he decided to work as an actor...
, Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
, C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Forbes
Mary Forbes
Mary Forbes was an English film actress. She appeared in over 130 films between 1919 and 1958....
and Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
.
Plot
Movie star Lola Burns (Jean HarlowJean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
) is angry with her studio publicist E.J. "Space" Hanlon (Lee Tracy
Lee Tracy
William Lee Tracy was an American actor.- Early life :Tracy was born in Atlanta, Georgia.After graduating from Western Military Academy in 1918 he studied electrical engineering at Union College, and then served as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I. In the early 1920s he decided to work as an actor...
), who feeds the press with endless fake scandals about her. Lola's family (Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
plays her father, Pops Burns) and staff are another cause of distress for her, as everybody is always trying to scrape money from the actress. All she really wants is to live a normal life and prove to the public that she's not a sexy vamp but a proper lady. She tries to adopt a baby, but Hanlon, who secretly loves her, thwarts all her plans.
Lola decides she can't stand any more of such a life, and flees Hollywood. Far from the movie fluff, she meets wealthy and romantic Gifford Middleton (Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
), who hates the movies and therefore has never heard about Lola and her bad press. They soon fall in love and Gifford proposes marriage. Lola is to meet her fiancé's snobby parents, but everything collapses when Hanlon together with Lola's family finds her, and tells the Middletons the truth. Lola feels hurt by the rude way Gifford and his parents dump her, and accepts Hanlon's suggestion to return to Hollywood with no regrets: it is, after all, her life. ... Little does she know that the three Middletons were all actors hired by Hanlon himself.
Cast
- Jean HarlowJean HarlowJean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
as Lola Burns - Lee TracyLee TracyWilliam Lee Tracy was an American actor.- Early life :Tracy was born in Atlanta, Georgia.After graduating from Western Military Academy in 1918 he studied electrical engineering at Union College, and then served as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I. In the early 1920s he decided to work as an actor...
as E.J."Space"Hanlon - Frank MorganFrank MorganFrank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
as Pops Burns - Franchot ToneFranchot ToneFranchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
as Gifford Middleton - Pat O'BrienPat O'Brien (actor)Pat O’Brien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.-Early life:O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets...
as Jim Brogan - Una MerkelUna MerkelUna Merkel was an American Tony Award-winning stage and film actress.-Life and career:Una Merkel was born in Covington, Kentucky, and grew up in Philadelphia and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928...
as Mac - Ted HealyTed HealyTed Healy was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. He is chiefly remembered today as the original creator of the Three Stooges, but had a successful stage and film career of his own.- Early life :...
as Junior Burns - Ivan LebedeffIvan LebedeffIvan Lebedeff was a Russian film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953.He was born in Ushpol , Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, on June 18, 1894, and died in Los Angeles, California, from a heart attack.He migrated to the United States in 1925 and in 1930 was recorded at...
as Hugo, Marquis Di Pisa Di Pisa - Isabel JewellIsabel JewellIsabel Jewell was an American actress most active in the 1930s and early 1940s.-Early life and career:...
as Lily, Junior's Girl Friend (as Isobel Jewell) - Louise BeaversLouise BeaversLouise Beavers was an African-American film and television actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films from the 1920s to the 1930s, most often in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Beavers was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American...
as Loretta - Leonard CareyLeonard CareyLeonard Carey was a British-born character actor who very often played butlers in Hollywood movies of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He was also active in television during the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his role as "Dusty" in the 1941 film, Moon Over Her Shoulder...
as Winters - Mary ForbesMary ForbesMary Forbes was an English film actress. She appeared in over 130 films between 1919 and 1958....
as Mrs. Middleton - C. Aubrey Smith as Mr. Wendell Middleton
- June Brewster as Alice Cole
Production
Bombshell is a pre-code screwball comedyScrewball Comedy
Screwball Comedy is an album by the Japanese band Soul Flower Union. The album found the band going into a simpler, harder-rocking direction, after several heavily world-music influenced albums.-Track listing:...
. The story satirizes the stardom years of Clara Bow
Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
:
"Lola Burns" – Clara Bow
Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
, "E.J. Hanlon" – B.P. Schulberg, "Pops Burns" – Robert Bow, "Mac" – Daisy DeBoe, "Gifford Middleton" – Rex Bell
Rex Bell
Rex Bell , born George Francis Beldam, was an American actor and politician. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada and a western movie star. Rex was born in Chicago and married actress Clara Bow in 1931. They had two sons, Tony Beldon and George Beldon, Jr...
.
Victor Fleming was Bow's fiancee in 1926.
The success of the film led to Jean Harlow being widely known as a "Blonde Bombshell".