The Red-Headed Woman

I recently watched the 1932 comedy The Red-Headed Woman on DVD with some friends, picked randomly from a collection of pre-Code films. The term pre-Code refers to the period of Hollywood movies made prior to the Hays Code, cinema industry guidelines for censorship which impacted the American studio production from 1938 all the way through to 1968.

The story of the movie follows the fortunes of Lillian "Lil" Andrews, a young woman who is looking for a husband to advance herself financially and socially - and not necessarily one who isn't already taken. Lil decides to target her comfortably off married boss, William, whom she visits at his house under a pretext of bringing mail from the office whilst his wife, Irene, is away on a trip. Lil persistently makes advances to William who, after an initial rejection, finally gives in. Irene then comes home early only to discover William with Lil.

This sets the scene for the inevitable events which lead to William getting divorced from Irene and quickly remarried to Lil. Lil, we discover, isn't just content with the affection and the material comfort of her relationship with William but also wants the social recognition. Bill is initially reticent about introducing his new wife to his upper class friends. When he finally agrees to host them for a seemingly successful cocktail party, Lil finds herself subsequently humiliated as the guests leave after a short time only to go straight to visit William's ex-wife, now living across the street, who is holding her own drinks reception. But Lil has new plans to leave William and upgrade to a rich coal magnate, Charles B. Gaerste, whilst at the same time taking a lover, Albert, the magnate's French driver.

So what is so shocking about this film ? It is true that there are certain shots of Jean Harlow in some semi-transparent costumes but there is no nudity and certainly no sex. There is no violence and there is also no swearing. What might make this film unsettling for a certain type of viewer at the time would be the depiction of a woman who knows what she wants and doesn't care what she has to do to get it. But the film goes further and doesn't seek to punish Lil for her actions, instead the viewer finds her endearing and wants her outrageous plans to succeed. At the same time, the movie delights in the skewering of the hypocritical bourgeois world of William, Irene and their entourage who treat Lil as a lower class upstart.

Harlow combines a rare skill of incarnating a sexy lead with perfect comic delivery, transforming a funny script into a hilarious production. Even the famous French actor, Charles Boyer, in the minor supporting role of Albert, knows to play second fiddle and let Harlow dominate the scenes for maximum impact.

This is no moral tale, even though there is a funny twist. In this way, The Red-Headed Woman is a subversive story for a puritanical America - mocking traditional marriage and celebrating 'the other woman'.

Something that might worry the censor far more than sex and violence ever would.