Red Dust (1932)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Veronique K

  
  if you could tolerate sexism and racism without taking them into account too seriously, you might emancipate yourself to indulge in the gable-harlow "red dust"....the mode of gable-harlow screen romances would be that the slicitous harlow desperately courts the handsome but… More
  if you could tolerate sexism and racism without taking them into account too seriously, you might emancipate yourself to indulge in the gable-harlow "red dust"....the mode of gable-harlow screen romances would be that the slicitous harlow desperately courts the handsome but crude gable who disregards this aphrodite-like blonde bombshell but enamoured of the other brunette upper-class prim fairlady who seems to have a crush on him that helps to uplevel his selfism. such pattern also repeats in "china seas", but only this time our stingently coy brunette mary astor has some depth by her delicately tormented conflict of adulterous passion and virtuous guilt. (as gable's typical brunette love interest, astor distinguishes herself with such mental complexity much more than rosalind russell in "china seas") gable always dismisses harlow by shutting at her rudely meanwhile has no objection to acquiant himself with her bedside curtain.(which means he disrepects her but sex with her anyway) however, the intensely lovelorn harlow would always endure his musculine vulgarities (which he makes no attempt to conceal from her) like a good little woman with her own bawdy prole demeanors such as uttering obscenely humorous quib lines. male audience then had an affinity with gable's character that might be due to their own sense of priviledged gender concepts beautified by gable's dashing good looks and his redundancy of female admirers but also identified with his savage roughness and his abusive manners. he has the vices american audience's fond of and also the shrewd manliness approved by men in general that makes him the so called "diamond in the raw" which is the good-looking sexy beast who takes what he wants egoistically like men assume themselves to be. he proves his competence of male charm by successfully seducing the genteel wife but toss her aside once he finally yields to the bourgeois concern of nobility. he loves and runs, eventually even rewarded with a glamour beauty as compensation. additionally, the way those characters treat asian coolies is a vital proof of racism then...when astor gives a line like "how could you treat my husband like one of those coolies" or implicitly deeming them as "animals" or "civilized barbarians" constantly with a goofy smirks on their cheeks. when it comes to the entertainment level, it's still a well-performed flick with engrossing melodramtic clashes between characters that appease audience's salacious want but also concede to the righteously happy ending without intruding the moralistic bourgeois mass.

• jay n

  
  jean and clark have a great time here and so do you.

• Walter M

  
  In "Red Dust," Dennis Carson(Clark Gable) owns a rubber plantation in Vietnam that he runs with his pal McQuarg(Tully Marshall). Along with the usual problems of too much rain or not enough rain in that part of the world, not to mention the large tiger that has his eyes on… More
  In "Red Dust," Dennis Carson(Clark Gable) owns a rubber plantation in Vietnam that he runs with his pal McQuarg(Tully Marshall). Along with the usual problems of too much rain or not enough rain in that part of the world, not to mention the large tiger that has his eyes on the parrot, that make such a business proposition risky and occasionally even gives Carson thoughts about leaving, now he has to deal with Vantine(Jean Harlow) who does not sleep that much at night.(Hint. Hint.) At first, they argue but eventually find peace together. Just as she is leaving on the same boat that is bringing in Gary Willis(Gene Raymond), the new engineer, he finds that along with tennis rackets, he is bringing along a wife(Mary Astor). "Red Dust" is a robust and old fashioned entertainment that transcends its soap opera structure by sheer star power alone. The central message is that one should not always go by first impressions and how people can surprise you, especially in the relationship between Carson and Vantine. However, I know this may be unfair with about eight decades of hindsight but it is disappointing that director Victor Fleming does not heed this same advice when it comes to the natives, going by Carson's and Willis' observations alone of how lazy they are.

• monty h

  
  A dynamite movie involving three screen legends: Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and Mary Astor. Gable is Denny Carson, who runs a rubber plantation in Indo-China with a tight fist. Along comes Lily Vantine (Ms. Harlow) who just lights up the screen with her explosive persona. Lily explains… More
  A dynamite movie involving three screen legends: Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and Mary Astor. Gable is Denny Carson, who runs a rubber plantation in Indo-China with a tight fist. Along comes Lily Vantine (Ms. Harlow) who just lights up the screen with her explosive persona. Lily explains she had to leave the states because of certain complex issues. All Denny sees is her trampish looks and the two become attached fairly quickly. But that relationship is put under pressure when Gary Willis arrives with his wife Babs (the terrific Astor) to begin work on the plantation. Denny is immediately attracted to Babs and thus a love triangle is formed. Babs husband is totally unaware of what's going on and to be fair he is under the weather with a fever when they first arrive there. Red Dust is one heck of a movie. I know some people complain of the racial overtones but this movie is set in 1932 so just keep that in mind when watching it. As far as performances go, all three leads are sensational. Gable is definetly a man's man in this one. Holding the screen with all his macho swagger he can muster. Jean Harlow is funny all the way through. She spits out lines with rapid fire regularity. And Mary Astor brings a little class to the proceedings. And believe it or not she has one scene where she manages to out-sex Ms. Harlow. After being caught in an unexpected rainstorm, she gets soaked and is carried back to the house by Gable. In that one instant she gives off so much sexual energy, you can feel it coming off the screen. Red Dust is a solid film that delivers action, humor, passion, and some great acting. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vantine: You can check the wings and halo at the desk. Dennis Morgan: I'll be right up.