I should warn you up front that to like this movie, you'll have to overlook some serious racism, both in the horribly stereotypical portrayal of an Asian servant referred to as 'boy' (who unfortunately appears many times), as well as in the depiction of the native workers on a rubber plantation in Indochina as lazy and unintelligent 'coolies'. You will have to mentally block that out of your mind, stifle your disgust, or chalk it up to the times. There is also a fair bit of sexism as well.Clark Gable is in one of his usual roles, the tough guy with loose morals, and Jean Harlow is a prostitute he has a one-night stand with. The prim and proper Mary Astor and her sick husband Gene Raymond arrive on the plantation, and Gable has his eyes on her from the start. Harlow has returned as well, but instead of complicating things, her presence serves as sassy comic relief. Gable sends Raymond away on a difficult assignment so he can seal the deal with Astor, but the resulting affair brings about emotions that are hard for him to deal with – love with Astor, guilt towards Raymond. Harlow and Gable have good chemistry, but I thought it was matched (if not surpassed) by what he shares with Astor. Harlow of course has the famous scene bathing in a rain barrel, but the scene which has Gable carrying Astor through monsoon rains and then kissing her for 17 seconds is far steamier. It's the rain barrel that drew all of the attention, however, and Harlow's natural charm does shine through. The dialog is engaging and this is a good pre-Code picture that will hold your attention. Just be prepared to cringe at times because of the racism.

Brilliant cinematography for this period, iconic pre code banter for this period and outstanding performances by Mary Astor and Jean Harlow, two of the period's leading ladies alone assure this famous film a Hollywood classic. Clark Gable, Gene Raymond and Donald Crisp are the three leading men who perform up to the task but are certainly no match for the star women especially when Harlow and Astor have the camera to themselves. The plot is an oft repeated one of the period. A European couple whose husband is ill and whose wife is prim and proper travel to an exotic location on which they confront in melodrama a hard boiled work site manager and a hard boiled dame on the run.

Golden Age fans will love this one, a Pre-Code film that's much like a filmed stage play - in fact, it's based on a play which, by all accounts was even racier than the movie. It was made in 1932 and certainly couldn't pass muster after the inception of the Hays Office, but nowadays anything goes; odd someone hasn't tried. They would be hard-pressed, though, to find a better cast, especially the two principals. Gable and Harlow are perfect together, the animal magnetism fairly leaping off the screen. Gable was the very model of modern masculinity at the time, and Harlow his female counterpart.Some reviewers noted an element of racism woven throughout the picture, but they should give it a rest. The world in general and society in particular were vastly different from the modern PC era. Also of interest is the support cast, headed by Mary Astor, who admittedly was a better actress than Harlow but minus the manifest 'feminine wiles'. In a departure from more dignified roles, Donald Crisp plays vulgar drunk and to excellent effect.Have you seen it? If not, do so. It's well worth your time just to see how the 'pros' used to do it, inherent plot flaws notwithstanding.

RED DUST (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1932), directed by Victor Fleming, is a red hot movie featuring the steamy collaboration of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in their first starring roles together. Having been featured in secondary roles opposite Wallace Beery in the crime drama, THE SECRET SIX (MGM, 1931, RED DUST establishes Gable and Harlow, with their italic labeled names above the title, as the latest box-office draw. Coming in the wake of jungle related stories as TRADER HORN (1931) and TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932), or Harlow's floozy character somewhat inspired by W. Somerset Maugham's own Sadie Thompson lifted from RAIN (United Artists, 1932), RED DUST, set in a remote location of Indo-China, no doubt was a huge success at the time. Watching the chemistry between Gable and Harlow shows the reason why.Taken from the play by Wilson Collison, the plot revolves around Dennis Carson (Clark Gable) in charge of a rubber plantation assisted by McQuarg (Tully Marshall) and Guidon (Donald Crisp). Upon their return from Saigon by boat, Carson encounters Vantine (Jean Harlow), a tough talking blonde babe of questionable background ("I'm not used to sleeping at night") eluding the Saigon police, found on the bed of the drunken Guidon. Carson, ("I've been looking at her kind ever since my voice changed"), allows Vantine ("Pollyanna, the Glad Girl") to remain on the plantation headquarters until the next boat arrives. Though they have a rocky start constantly arguing, Dennis and Vantine soon come to mutual terms. As Vantine leaves on the next boat, Dennis goes to greet Gary Willis (Gene Raymond), a young engineer to be his new assistant. Aside from being stricken with fever, Gary surprises Dennis by introducing him to his new bride, Barbara (Mary Astor). Later, due to the boat getting stuck in the mud, Vantine returns to the plantation and Dennis' life. After Gary recovers from his illness, Dennis sends him away on assignment assisted by McQuarg and Guidon to supervise the construction of a jungle bridge. In the meantime, Dennis, having already had a relationship with Vantine, finds himself doing the same with Gary's wife.If the plot sounds overly familiar, in true Hollywood essence of "great movies are not made, they're remade," the basis of RED DUST reappeared in CONGO MAISIE (MGM, 1940), the second of the "Maisie" series starring Ann Sothern, and officially remade more famously as MOGAMBO (MGM, 1953) with the much older Clark Gable repeating his original role with different character name. Stretched out to nearly two hours as opposed to the original's 83 minutes, MOGAMBO, set in Africa, has Ava Gardner ("Honey Bear") and Grace Kelly (Linda) in the Astor and Harlow roles. MOGAMBO proved to be Gable's last great motion picture for MGM before leaving his home-based company after 23 years of service. The advantage MOGAMBO has over RED DUST is the fact that MOGAMBO does not have the studio bound with stage origin feel to it, yet, greatly benefits in both Technicolor and actual location shooting in Africa. The advantages RED DUST has over MOGAMBO is the fact the movie is very much pre-code, with situations and toned-down vulgar talk between Harlow and Gable. Other classic Harlow moments include her bathing in a barrel of drinking water; reading Peter Rabbit stories to Dennis; and her presentation of a tough girl with a heart of gold. With Harlow having a reputation of not being such a good actress, under Victor Fleming's direction, she's actually quite effective here as well as alluring. Mary Astor as the dignified wife who falls into Gable's charms, comes off as second best. Gene Raymond is acceptable as the young man who looks up to his employer, but clueless to what's happening behind his back. With a small assortment of players listed in the cast, there's also Forrester Harvey as Limey, and Willie Fung assuming his usual stereotypical broken English speaking Chinese ("Ah lite") for comedy assurance.Though the leading players prove more favorable than the title of RED DUST (RED LUST might have been more like it), the film itself is a classic in its own right. As in situations of remakes versus originals, it does leave the old question as to which movie is better, RED DUST or MOGAMBO. Distributed to home video in the 1980s, and later into DVD decades later, RED DUST continues to entertain whenever broadcast, sometimes on a double bill with MOGAMBO, on Turner Classic Movies. (***)