MovieChat Forums > Hold Your Man (1933) Discussion > Great little movie

Great little movie

posted 11 years ago by Godfrey2
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Just saw this again on TCM. Just a fun movie with Harlow and Gable et al giving it their best. Love, sex, crime, heartache, humor, song, repentance, forgiveness - it's got it all. And when Gypsy slaps Ruby and she responds by cold-cocking her, I just couldn't help but smile. Harlow could play it tough, sexy, funny, mad, sad, oblivious, flighty - you could really start to see her coming to understand acting.

I know there are plenty of critics of the 2nd half, but I just enjoy this every time it comes on.

[–] lavignebiz1 9 years ago

I saw this at an MGM Festival at Walker Art Center almost 40 years ago. While I was an undergrad journalism student, I had the pleasure and privilege of interviewing Peter Bogdanovich. At the time there were remakes of King Kong and A Star is Born in theaters. Bogdanovich said that you don't remake a classic, you remake a good story that wasn't made very well. Since then, I've been looking for movies like that, and Hold Your Man is one of them. It has a terrific story, but look at the credits: Sam Wood directed but didn't take credit for it. This indicates production difficulties and it was before Alan Smithee came into being.

I would love to see a remake of this. Others that could be remade: The film version of two Noel Coward plays, Design for Living and Private Lives were not made very well. Design for Living, in spite of an impressive cast, was laundered beyond recognition.

I will need to see Hold Your Man again.