Goldie (1931) User Reviews (7)

Just two guys pounding each other until a girl breaks them up

[max von meyerling · 5/10 · 4 December 2006]

In the opening credits of GOLDIE there is an overwhelming image of Jean Harlow even though she isn't billed first or second. Warren Hymer and Spencer Tracy are equal first billed but it was clear who the studio thought was the going concern. Tracy and Harlow would wind up at MGM in a few years. Hymer would never again be given the chance to carry a picture in what is virtually the lead role. His was too much of a one note shtick, under a cartoonish "dees, dems and doeze" accent, playing absolute zero I.Q. He would go on to play support all around Hollywood in more than a hundred film in the next 15 years. In Hollywood physiognomy is destiny and even though I believe he owned an advanced university degree (as did another notorious screen dummy Nat Pendelton) he was typed as an idiot, playing dumb to several real life morons with leading man looks.

The story is a well worn sub-genre of the era- the battling rivals going through the world drinking, brawling, womanizing and punching each other senseless. The buddy/rivals who fight and drink and womanize are echoes of the great hit WHAT PRICE GLORY which spawned sequels and a raft of imitators. One neat variation in GOLDIE is the fact that Tracy dislocates his middle finger (!) when punching somebody. They're sailors and every town Hymer arrives in the look for girls is ruined because his target for the evening has been branded (!!) with Tracy's ID, an anchor in a heart tattoo. The fatted calf presumably being blemished, Hymer moves on, unsatisfied. They finally meet up and there is a titanic running fight, after which they bond as best buddies. As Howard Hawks has said, every Great American film is a love story between two men. Well this is far from being a great film (Fox, per Variety, opened the film in Brooklyn and not Manhattan).

Harlow doesn't make her entrance until half an hour into the film. She plays an out and out tramp. The phrase is actually uttered: The lady is a tramp. (I wonder if Rogers and Hart saw this?) According to the contemporary Variety review this was the first time the word was uttered to denote a whore in pictures. Harlow is a high diver (200 feet into three feet of water!!!) A reputedly unbilled (the final credits are missing) George Raft plays a pickpocket. He went on to be a big star for Paramount. What were they thinking at Fox? It was obvious that Harlow had star quality which is why her role must have been beefed up and the visuals of the opening credits done the way they were. Still they lost her.

Harlow's first instinct is to roll Hymer for his bankroll but is forced into playing the long con because Tracy knew her way back when she was working her thing in Coney Island. In fact she bears his mark. She wants to get it on with her old flame who punches her out for her advances. She tell Hymer that it was Tracy who assaulted her. What a surprise. A woman manages, once again, to come between two men but it all ends happily in the end. The men are reunited. Harlow ain't around at the end and Tracy has saved Hymer's bankroll.

The opening constitutes a voyage around the world but all ports seem to be uniformly ugly. Not just the crude sets but even the inserted stock footage. Most of the action takes place in Le Harve, I guess, but you wouldn't know it as one outdoor shot is played against California style Spanish Colonial architecture complete with tile roofs.

How DID Warren Hymer's character get in and out of Stalinist Russia?

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 26 June 2019]

I saw a very poor print of this movie - bad visually and bad audibly, and it seems it is missing the first few minutes. But that is better than nothing.

This film tended to disappoint, but then I have to give it a break since I am viewing it with the benefit of hindsight. Here you have Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow, two of MGM's brightest stars of the 1930's, and I instantly thought of them together in "Libeled Lady" five years later. That film this is not.

A sailor (Warren Hymer as Spike), has an address book full of the names of girls all over the world and what is good about them. Spike tries them all, but he keeps finding the same tattoo marking them for some other man and walking out in disgust. Finally, Spike finds out that the man who tattooed them is Bill (Spencer Tracy), another sailor who has been getting the best of him - and to be fair that is not a difficult affair - all over the world. The two have a fist fight but then become fast friends.

And then one night at a circus Spike sees Goldie (Jean Harlow) performing, and he is enamored all over again. Bill warns Spike against her, but is he just trying to get her for himself or is his friendship true? Watch (if you can find a copy) and find out.

There is just not nearly enough Spencer Tracy or Jean Harlow in this film and too much Warren Hymer, whose schtick I can only take in small doses. He is second billed under Tracy and probably gets the most screen time. Jean Harlow doesn't even appear until halfway through the film. Finally what Tracy you get is the wise guy he usually played before he left Fox for MGM and became the voice of integrity in most of the films he was in from that point forward.

What good can I say? Maybe it's a tribute to Tracy's acting acumen that I believe he is a near illiterate schmoe here and I also believe his roles over at MGM. Also, I think this might be the first film role where you see a bit of Jean Harlow's screen persona beginning to emerge. In Hell's Angels her part was overdone due to Howard Hughes' warped view of the trustworthiness of women. In Public Enemy she is playing a Texan in Chicago with a New York accent (????) but here you see that "tough dame" emerge that was so well done just a few months later. For this it is worth seeing and for those reasons I recommend it.

Just one more thing - towards the beginning Spike is in Odessa romancing a Russian girl. I have no idea how as an American he managed to traipse around Stalinist Russia without being apprehended by the secret police. Maybe it was because, in the words of HBO's Chernobyl, he "came off like a naive idiot. Naive idiots are not a threat."

Jean Harlow In a Happhazrd Remake

[Deloreanguy79 · 6/10 · 1 September 2018]

Jean Harlow is my favorite actress of all time,if I could travel back in time and make a play for her I would, so it kills me to say Goldie (1931) Just isn't very good. And it's not her fault. This is a remake of a much better movie called A Girl in Every Port (1928) staring Louise Brooks & Robert Armstrong. Sadly Goldie is Uneven and pumped full of forced comedy that just doesn't work. Jean & Spencer Tracy do their best but they are given a lesser version of a much better movie concept. If you can find a copy (Like I did) the quality of the print shot off a film festival screen many years ago doesn't help the experience. But it still has value because Harlow & Tracy always gave their all,even in a lesser film. Only for Jean Harlow or Spencer Tracy mega fans.

A real bonanza for Warren Hymer fans

[wmorrow59 · 3/10 · 29 March 2006]

Underneath the opening credits of this film there is a striking portrait of the gorgeous young Jean Harlow, barely out of her teens, grinning into the camera. You'd better take a good look while you have the chance, because she won't be back until the picture is half over, and while you wait you'll have to deal with the tiresome comedy of Warren Hymer.

Who, one might ask, is Warren Hymer? He was a big lug who played character parts in movies of the '30s and '40s, usually small roles as boxers, convicts, thick-witted sidekicks, etc. As a colorful member of the ensemble he was fine, sometimes a stand-out, but as the comic lead in 'Goldie' he's a dud. It isn't the actor's fault, he's obviously trying his best, but he's stuck with a one-note character, his material is weak and obvious, and the laughs are sparse. Hymer plays a dim-bulb sailor named Spike who lands in lots of exotic if seedy-looking ports, everywhere from Odessa to Rio. (All these locations bear a suspicious resemblance to the Fox back lot, slightly redressed for each sequence, but no matter.) Spike is on the prowl for a girlfriend, but it seems that every woman he finds has already been claimed, so to speak, by a fellow sailor named Bill. Of course Spike and Bill eventually meet up, and fists fly. Just as inevitably, they quickly become pals.

This film was a talkie remake of Howard Hawks' late silent A Girl in Every Port, which was heavily influenced by the huge success of the prototypical "battling buddy" flick What Price Glory? The latter was a smash hit that spawned zillions of imitations, service comedies in which a pair of two-fisted he-men (Marines, sailors, or whatever) get into scrapes, battle over women, etc. But while What Price Glory? was based on a terrific play by Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings, chock-a-block with crackling tough-guy dialog, few of the imitations were so well written. A Girl in Every Port holds up quite well, and Hawks considered it his favorite silent feature, but unfortunately he wasn't available to direct this remake.

And that brings us back to 'Goldie.' I was lured to this film by the fascinating cast: Jean Harlow takes the role played by Louise Brooks in the silent version, and Bill the rake is played by none other than Spencer Tracy, only 31 years old and fresh from Broadway. (George Raft is on hand too, briefly, as a pickpocket.) But this movie was made long before Tracy's familiar screen persona had been developed, and viewers familiar with his later work will be surprised at the macho tom-cat he plays here. Viewers unaccustomed to films of the Pre-Code era may also be startled by the recurring plot motif concerning the tattoo "brand" Tracy leaves on each of his conquests, and by the blunt usage of the word "tramp" to describe Harlow's character. When he isn't loving 'em and leaving 'em, Tracy is mostly reduced to playing straight man for Hymer, who dominates the story's first half. And while we wait for the leading lady there's lots of male bonding stuff, i.e., boozy brawling in saloons, and philosophical talk about how dames ain't on the level. When Jean Harlow finally shows up she's a sight for sore eyes, but like Tracy she hadn't yet fully come into her own as a screen presence. In these early appearances Harlow, though undeniably vibrant, often seems unsure of herself. Here she plays a high-diver in a Calais carnival, and looks very fetching indeed in her bathing suit. She and Tracy have a couple of decent scenes together towards the end, but by that point the show's practically over.

For a great Harlow-Tracy pairing I can recommend Libeled Lady, a terrific comedy made five years after this one. Fans interested in their earlier work might want to give this one a look, but will most likely be disappointed. I wish both leads had been granted better material, and more of it. As for Warren Hymer -- well, nothing personal, but he's not my cup of tea, not here anyway.

Golden Opportunity.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 7/10 · 23 January 2014]

2 Years ago:

Arriving home late one night,I decided to take a look at what was being shown on TV,and was pleased to find that BBC4 was screening the last 30 minutes of a movie starring Jean Harlow called Hells Angels.With there being nothing else at all on TV,I decided that despite missing most of the movie,that I would watch the final half hour of the title.

As the credits came up on the screen,I found myself very interested in taking a look at Jean Harlow's list of credits.Taking a look at Harlow's IMDb page,I ended up stumbling upon an early credit of hers called Goldie.Due to Harlow still being a pretty big name,I initially expected all of her work to be freely available on DVD/VHS.To my surprise,I discovered that along with Goldie not being out on any format,that a number of sites were claiming the title to be lost,which led to me having to give up on every being able to see the film.

Late 2013:

Talking to a fellow IMDb'er about rare/lost titles that we were both searching for,I was shocked to learn that a solo revival screening of Goldie had taken place,and that someone had filmed the screening!.With this appearing to be the only possible option to see the movie,I excitingly got myself ready to how golden Goldie really is.

The plot:

Traveling around the world in the navy with his friend Bill,Spike Moore finds his attempts to get together with a women to become increasingly frustrating,due to each of the women having a tattoo which shows that Bill has got to them first.

Visiting a circus during an away journey,Spike finds himself becoming head over heels in love,when he catches a glimpse of a stunning circus performer called Goldie.Quickly getting together with Goldie,Spike decides to show the girl on his arm off to his friend.As Moore gleefully shows his girlfriend off,Bill begins to fear that Spike will soon spot his tattoo on Goldie's arm.

View on the film:

Entering the film, (which instead of being the 68 minutes that IMDb lists,ran for 60 minutes) Jean Harlow dazzles, (or in this case splashes!) across the screen as the title,with Harlow's gorgeous appearance making the difficult circumstances that I viewed the movie in something that was easy to overlook.Along with her appearance,Harlow also gives the movie a real shock of energy,by brilliantly revealing Goldie to be a conniving hart-let whose prepared to use any games,in order to get a handful of cash.

Joining Harlow,Spencer Tracy and Warren Hymer give a good double team performance as Bill and Spike Moore,with Hymer show Spike to be someone who falls for any women that gets in his sight,whilst Tracy gives the film a dollop of slap-stick fun as the "expireanced" Bill.

For the first half of Gene Towne's, (who would later write the Fritz Lang film You Only Live Once) and Paul Perez screenplay the movie initially appears to be a lighthearted buddy Comedy,with Bill and Spike slapping each other around,as Spike discovers that hes unwillingly playing catch up with Bill.

Once Goldie enters the movie,the title takes on an unexpectedly darker direction,which along with including some rather surprising twist that show how far Goldie's willing to go for cash,also includes some rather shockingly unexpected moments involving women beating,which leads to this very interesting film being one which shows that all that glitters isn't Goldie.

The telltale tattoo

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 23 December 2013]

It took a long time, but I think I've finally seen the worst Spencer Tracy movie ever on screen. I'm betting Spence's family has put the breaks on restoring Goldie which looks as if it is in bad need. In a way it's a tribute to him as an actor that the same guy who could play Father Flanagan and Thomas Edison could wind up in a part that has him as an illiterate. Of course next to Warren Hymer, Tracy is practically a high school graduate.

Tracy and Hymer play a couple of sailors and Hymer keeps winding up dating girls who he finds in a lost black book and all of them have this telltale tattoo on their person. About 20% of the film through he finds fellow sailor Tracy and Hymer who swore he'd knock the tattooer's block off becomes his pal.

After these two illiterates have a couple more knockabout adventures Hymer meets Goldie who is played by Jean Harlow in what is probably her worst film. She's as good as her name, a gold digger and Tracy does his level best to educate Hymer on that fact. I leave it to your imagination as to how he does it.

Maybe had I seen a pristine restored print I might have liked Goldie better, but I doubt it. It's a very unfunny comedy and Tracy shows not a hint of the amazing talent he was. Ditto for Harlow though she is beautiful. In order to like Goldie it would help to be president of the Warren Hymer fan club.

Harlow would soon go to MGM and later on so would Tracy where they would make two more films together, Riff Raff which is better than Goldie, but along the same line and Libeled Lady one of the finest screen comedies ever done.

For confirmed fans of both Tracy and Harlow only.

The 3 Leads Shine Through a Weak Script

[darkcollins · 7/10 · 10 November 2015]

I sought out this film because I'm a big Warren Hymer fan (yes, we exist). It's nice to see him in a leading role with Spencer Tracy (they'd go on to make several more films together, all of which are better than this one) and Jean Harlow when she was beginning to get noticed in Hollywood.

The script for this remake is quite weak but the three leads do their best to elevate the material they're working with. The original Howard Hawks film "A Girl in Every Port" is slightly better because the characters are more real and the story is less hateful towards women in general. There's even a scene in the original film (missing from this remake) where the two friends come together to help a single mother and her child. Here, Harlow manages to be much more scheming and outright evil than Louise Brooks.

Hymer's best moment comes towards the end when he learns the truth about Goldie and the realization of betrayal hits him. It's a shame that Warren Hymer became typecast as a thick-headed goof (he graduated from YALE) after the Hays Code came into effect because his Pre-Code output contains impressive performances (Sinners' Holiday, Men Without Women, Up the River, One Way Passage, Madison Sq. Garden, I Love That Man). This particular film isn't his best work but if you enjoy him in other films, it's likely you'll enjoy him in this one too.

I'd really like to see "Goldie" shown on TCM, Fox Movie Channel or released through Fox Cinema Archives manufacture-on-demand line of DVDs. If you see it's being screened in your local revival movie house, check it out for curiosity's sake.