Watch Hold Your Man For Free

Wonderful character development!

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Love conquers all. That includes reality as defined in this pre-Code tearjerker. I would sympathize with the moral if the end weren't exaggerated into such a pile of mush. As others point out, the first half is sprightly as Gable and Harlow work the shady side of life. But then Gable accidentally kills a guy, while Harlow gets nabbed for a con job. So it's off to the hoosegow for both. Actually Gable drops out, while we follow Harlow's jaunt in a military- type slammer for women. Babes behind bars it ain't. The girls get to wear shapeless smocks, presided over by a bunch of long black crows (Patterson, et al.). One thing this segment proves—women can march from here to there in lockstep as well as men. Some pre-Code highlights—Harlow in a gown unruffled by underwear; an actual socialist loudly denouncing the "system"; an unmarried Harlow with-child after an undisguised night with Gable; a peek-a-boo with Harlow in the bathtub. And though it's not pre-Code, the black minister and his inmate daughter rise above stereotype of the day. In fact, Theresa Harris is so winning as daughter Lillie Mae, she nearly steals the show. I can see why she had such a long career, even if mainly as menials.The movie's a good look at MGM's golden twosome in their prime. And if the material falters, the stars manage to shine. So fans should be happy, despite the soggy ending.

This romantic comedy has Jean Harlow billed over Clark Gable and the couple are a touch or two away from combustible. Sam Wood produces and directs. Con-man Eddie Hall(Gable)in hiding from his last sucker slips into the apartment of Ruby Adams(Harlow)...from that moment the flirting, the sharp banter and "come-hither" looks begin. A quick blackmail scheme involving one of Ruby's married admires backfires when the would be victim is punched out cold, real cold...like...dead. Eddie manages to escape during the confusion, but the platinum blonde Ruby is put away for a couple years. When Eddie finds out that there is going to be a little Eddie, he must find a way to reach Ruby in the reformatory. Eddie is determined to marry Ruby so their child will not be illegitimate. Others in the cast: Stuart Erwin, Dorothy Burgess, Garry Owen, Blanche Friderici and Barbara Barondess. Harlow and Gable made six films together and this movie shows why.

Hold Your Man (1933) *** (out of 4) MGM tearjerker has a couple con artists (Jean Harlow, Clark Gable) falling in love but after an accidental murder they're separated. Gable takes off and Harlow ends up in a reform school where she learns she's pregnant but fears that she'll never see her man again. I really wasn't sure where this thing was going as it blends a strange mix of comedy with drama but in the end I found it quite touching. The first half plays as a comedy and gets a lot of laughs including a hilarious scene where Gable tries hiding from the police by getting in a tub and putting soap all over himself. There are plenty of pre-code moments mixed in with most of them coming from Harlow showing off various limbs. Gable is as good as always but it's Harlow who really steals the show. This is the first time I've seen her take on a dramatic role and she nails it perfectly. She's given several emotional scenes and she comes off very well. The ending is very dramatic and contains a beautiful message that comes across very well. It's also worth noting that there's a black preacher in the film and I think this is the nicest role I've seen a black actor play in this era of Hollywood. The stereotypes we normally see in this type of film are thrown out the window and this must have been one of the earliest films to show a black man in such a nice form.

The first scene is pretty good when Clark Gable tries to con a guy out of 50 bucks but the movie just goes downhill from there. The guy Gable tried to con finds he's a fake and chases after him with a cop. Gable runs into an apartment building and hides in Jean Harlow's apartment. Harlow agrees to hide him out even though she doesn't know who he is. He leaves and she wants to see him again so she's always hanging out at his restaurant. They meet again and begin going out but Gable is arrested in a con gone bad and pretty soon Harlow gets arrested too. Right before Gable was arrested they were about to be married. Both Gable and Harlow are pretty good and they worked several times together.