For the first time on youtube.. Jean Harlow's singing originally for the soundtrack of Reckless. Only 2 takes were used in the final movie but it's interesting to hear her attempt more
THANK YOU for this fantastic upload! Who would ever DREAM that such a rare piece of show biz history existed?! Audio out-takes from a 1935 Jean Harlow movie, with aural production slates yet! Amazing!! Harlow knew she wasn’t a singer and her parts would be dubbed for the final film, but these rare snippets are an absolute TREASURE…!
So touching 😢 she had a lovely singing voice and so funny sad that she's was taken 2 soon 😢 had so much more to give brilliant Actress of the Era love her films 🎥
Very interesting, I’ve always liked ‘Reckless’ it’s one of my favourite Harlow movies (even though it was a total flop when released apparently) - its full of beautiful Art Deco sets, costumes etc Jean was adorable in the film but an odd choice as the lead in a musical because she really wasn’t much of a singer
Musicals were very popular around that time and she was very famous and the producers thought she would make a hit just because of it. On the other hand she seems to have had fun while making it.
@@JeanHarlowArchive Yes Jean was probably chosen because of her star power and nice chemistry with William Powell. I heard Joan Crawford was first choice for the role but Joan wasn’t much of a singer either so I guess it didn’t matter too much back then, there were only a couple of songs from her character in the movie anyway and Jean sounded ok on the (little) part of the title song she sang - the rest of it was dubbed by sound-a-like Virginia Verill. I suppose the 1940s is when MGM hit their stride with musicals and musical stars but ‘Reckless’ was a glamorous and fun early attempt at a big MGM musical.
I just did a documentary on Jean Harlow and I’m now a little sad that I didn’t see this sooner, because this is interesting time capsule that I wasn’t aware of. Her voice isn’t that bad, but I doubt she could handle the more operatic voice that Virginia Verill could do very well.
Thanks for weighing in! I've seen it actually i commented on it on my other account and even shared i did this channel but probably youtube marked it as spam! haha
She sounds "okay." I think she had enough of a voice to do her own singing if the studio would take the time out to teach her how to sing the lyrics. Some she sings just fine, others you can tell she doesn't know where to place the note - and that just takes direction. But I guess they felt they didn't need to invest that much in her since she packed such a wallop otherwise.
I forget what these tracks are called, but Harlow isn't actually trying to sing. She's mouthing the words onto film so the over dub singer, Virginia Verrill, can then lay down the songs for the real soundtrack by lip syncing Harlow. She had a good singing voice and could carry a tune. She was also naturally graceful and could dance, but she never trained or practiced these arts as the thinking of the day was this stuff should be dubbed by "better" singers or dancers. You can tell by the way she moves that she is graceful and could dance if they would let her. In "Reckless" she had to sing all the songs and dance all the moves so the doubles could match the songs and the scenes exactly to be dubbed into the final film.
Norma-jean Baker Mortensen was more Smart and was a visionair She thought about the success more than their peers who were Living With her in the flat That she shared With. When The others pin-ups and actresses slept early norma-jean ( Marilyn) Went to take singing lessons and dancing at night till midnight. And she took Literacy courses with UCLA Marilyn was more Smart than Jean Harlow But the difference IS That Jean Harlow wasnt seperated from her mother since she was a baby and didnt send to foster homes neither to The orphanage. Jean Harlow's mother hadnt a breakdown and didnt Finish into an Asylum and hadnt mental illness neither schizophrenia
Very unlikely, as Shearer was a technical head for MGM, credited in scores of their films as Recording Director. The voice heard is probably that of a Music Department production assistant; possibly Herb Stothart or conductor Victor Baravalle.
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These outtakes are interesting. "Reckless" had very bizarre musical numbers that defied logic and made little sense. David O'Selznick overproduced Harlow's musical numbers. The numbers were too big to fit in a theatre and were simply awful. I loved Jean Harlow but she fell flat in this musical attempt. She could not sing. She sang a few lines but was dubbed by Virginia Verrill. She could not dance. All her dancing is body shots above the waist. Her dancing feet were cut in and belonged to another dancer. Harlow was given "Mickey Mouse" dance steps which involved skipping and high kicks. A dance double did the kicks for her. Awful. Despite the musical misfires, "Reckless" is entertaining.
@@akrenwinkle lol, yeah, that commenter thinks his name is David O'Selznick instead of David O. Selznick. Maybe he thinks he was a Jewish Irishman lol....
@@retromoviefan944 This reminds me of an old Yogi Berra anecdote, true or not. Someone told Yogi, "You know, they just elected a Jewish mayor in Dublin!" (This was true, 1956.) Yogi: "Only in America!"
These are the outtakes where Jean actually sings! And yes for the movie they used another singer her name was Virginia Verrill because Jean wasn’t a professionally trained singer
