MGM's madcap 1933 comedy Bombshell was initially conceived as a mockumentary satirizing Clara Bow's private life but it sure mirrors plenty in star Jean Harlow's off camera situation: a workhorse studio, a relentless publicity department, and a parasitic family swiping Jean's earnings faster than she could bring them in. On its own the film is frequently hilarious but if one understands the parallels to Jean's personal life the picture takes on a more melancholy tone. Taken at face value Bombshell is a scathing critique on the exploitative nature of Hollywood and the price one pays for being in the public eye.
Lola Burns (Harlow) is the top star for a fictional movie studio who works like a mule to fill her employers coffers while having her personal earnings misappropriated by her scheming army of parasites. Studio Publicity Man "Space" Hanlon (Lee Tracy) secretly loves her but spends his time making her miserable with phony sensationalist stories promoting her to the masses; an "ends justifies the means" philosophy. While Lola's career benefits from the press coverage her private life is a shambles. The relatively plotless story follows her around as she struggles to figure out what makes her happy while her naive nature allows her to be hoodwinked at every turn.
Bombshell was ahead of its time time with its frantic, screwball structure. The characters are forever yelling at one another and the dialogue between them frequently overlaps. Thanks to the superb diction and timing of professionals like Miss Harlow, Tracy, and Pat O'Brien every word is intelligable and the film spins like a pinwheel. While contemporary audiences may be turned off by the nonstop shouting the movie abounds with great dialogue.
Jean Harlow gives one of her best performances as a simple girl trapped by her sexy film image. She is so natural in the role that one can easily get the impression she's playing herself; Miss Harlow certainly knew the trappings of being Lola Burns all too well. Even more than that she proves herself to be an underrated actress and a skilled comedienne; her sense of timing and ability to rattle off dialogue like a machine gun is truly impressive and often hilarious.
Lee Tracy is certainly masterful at firing off lines as well but his character is difficult to embrace; he is an expert at generating publicity at the expense of Lola's feelings. While he knows the types of freeloading bums Lola relies on he allows her to be put through the ringer for the sake of promotion. Plus with so much pancake makeup and lipstick he looks like a drag queen with his wig off.
Pat O'Brien, taking a break from a Warner Brothers, is on hand to lend his impeccable staccato delivery to the proceedings in a small, ill-defined, and ultimately superfluous role. Other than Tracy he's the only one who sees Lola's entourage as the vultures they are and is refreshing with his blunt honesty. If they eliminated his character and gave him the Lee Tracy role the film would have been better off.
The rest of the main supporting cast are saddled with one-dimensional and frequently irksome characters. Frank Morgan portrays Lola's blustering, drunken father and is absolutely impossible to tolerate with his relentless mugging and throat-clearing; a performance that has not aged well. Speaking of not aging well is Ted Healy as Lola's freeloading brother(!); another irritating character who, thankfully, is not around long. Franchot Tone shows up near the end as a supposedly rich dandy pursuing Lola with a cringeworthy arsenal of overly romantic patter. When he is later revealed to be a ham actor out to deceive her Tone's performance makes more sense although it sure says little about the type of man Lola wants for herself.
Bombshell emerges as an entertaining star vehicle for Jean Harlow and reportedly the personal favorite of her films. The autobiographical nature of the narrative couldn't have been lost on her and she effortlessly absorbs the character of Lola Burns making her both hilarious and touching. The enduring appeal of Miss Harlow is encapsulated by this film: while being undeniably beautiful and sexy she possesses vulnerability that makes her relatable and, to the romantic dreamer, potentially attainable. The fact that nearly everyone else in the story comes off as detestable opportunists is an unfortunate side effect but will not detract from the enjoyment. In closing take note of how the writers had a field day excoriating every character except the head of the fictional studio; clearly they drew the line at satirizing LB Mayer!
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