Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow - Hardcover

Stenn, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385421575 ISBN 13: 9780385421577

Publisher: Doubleday, 1993

Synopsis

Using previously secret information and drawing on hundreds of interviews, a study of the life and career of Hollywood's legendary blonde bombshell solves lingering mysteries concerning the death of Harlow and her second husband, Paul Bern

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Reviews

Jean Harlow (1911-1937) reigned as Hollywood's original platinum blonde sex symbol in the years before her death from kidney failure at age 26. With this crisply written, well-documented biography, Stenn ( Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild ) seeks to reveal the woman behind the screen goddess and to resolve the controversies surrounding both her death and that of her second husband, studio executive Paul Bern. Stenn's psychological portrait of Harlow focuses on her domineering mother and on the actress's unfulfilled desire for a stable family life. His account of Bern's 1932 death by gunshot wound is convincing: he agrees with the official verdict of suicide, while giving credence to reports of Bern's sexual dysfunction and bigamy. Stenn's narrative of Harlow's own death is level-headed; while he explores the impact of her alcoholism on her life, he refrains from speculating on the cause of her drinking. This skillful biography leaves one wishing only that Stenn had discussed more fully Harlow's place in film and cultural history. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Rather winning life of Jean Harlow, with some revisions on the tale offered by Samuel Marx and Joyce Vanderveen in Deadly Illusions (1990)--and many fresh interviews plus a handful of new folks speaking out who have kept silent until now. Stenn (the well-received Clara Bow, 1988) gives a sympathetic, well-rounded Harlow--one immensely superior to the Harlow (1965) by Irving Shulman and Arthur Landau that prompted two scurrilous film bios back in the mid-60's--but he doesn't actually add much to the Harlow we already know. Aside from massaging the boot blows by Shulman and Landau, and cleaning up the suicide of Harlow's second husband, producer Paul Bern, this is more a refresher course than a set of discoveries. The big, definitive life is yet to be written, although most of Harlow's intimates are dead and still fresher material than Stenn's is not likely. The best qualities here are Stenn's attention to his subject's acting and the growth of her talent, and Harlow's often physical presence on the page, especially in her wacky nude scenes with studio photographers and at parties, and in Stenn's capturing of her shyness, the modesty at the core of the woman, which her nude moments only enforce. Yes, Jean Harlow, aided by her mother, would ice her breasts to a tight firmness and play scenes braless--but this was ``Jean Harlow'' the image and top moneymaker for MGM, not Harlean Carpenter, the towhead deep inside the image. The biggest villain in this bio is Mother Jean, ``who had slave-driven her [daughter] to stardom, sabotaged her marriages, squandered her money, and sacrificed her happiness.'' Harlow, going by Stenn, was marked for early death when her mother, a Christian Scientist, didn't have Jean properly diagnosed at 15 for the nephritic infection that killed her at 26. Between takes, a platinum Venus sits firmly on your lap, knitting socks. (Sixty photos) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This is a scholarly yet magnetically readable study of one of the silver screen's legendary stars. Stenn's admirable research has uncovered many new documents and startling facts about Harlow from those who knew her, and his analysis of this information provides the account with lasting value. Stenn tells an incredible story, highlighting Harlow's manipulative family, tragic marriages, "name" friendships and liaisons, studio intrigues, and, finally, addictions, obsessions, and mysterious and untimely death. In the end, we realize that Harlow was the star in her own life's tragedy. Although Stenn portrays her in an unabashedly sympathetic light, he is not afraid to confront unsavory events head-on or to offer keen insight into conflicting perspectives. Of special interest to circulating libraries, particularly since Stenn acted as a consultant for Turner Broadcasting's recent television documentary on Harlow. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/93.
- Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, N.J.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385421575
• ISBN 13: 9780385421577
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 370