March 26, 1934: on a break from filming The Girl from Missouri, Jean takes a stroll on the lot and visits a nearby soundstage. In production was Manhattan Melodrama, starring her good friend Clark Gable, and soon-to-be friend Myrna Loy.
Jean makes the rounds, and is snapped chatting with Gable; Leo Carrillo and W.S. Van Dyke, director; and the third star of the film’s glimmering trifecta, William Powell.
MGM press releases would claim Powell and Harlow met for the first time after these photographs were taken, given Jean was still married to Hal Rosson. She wouldn’t announce their separation until early May. The negatives disprove publicity, as they’re very clearly dated March 26. Powell later said he didn’t have any dates with Jean until he was “sure she was leaving Hal”.
Manhattan Melodrama was historic in more ways than one. Not only did it introduce William Powell to Jean Harlow, it introduced him to Myrna Loy. Myrna talks about their initial meeting on set in her autobiography. Immediately after, the pair were chosen for another film that would rise to incredible heights: The Thin Man.
Manhattan Melodrama is also the only vehicle in which Carole Lombard’s husbands are costarred. Most famously, the film has an inextricable connection to a historical event; on the evening of July 22, 1934, John Dillinger left a Chicago showing of Manhattan Melodrama and was killed in a shootout with the FBI.
Powell and Harlow remained sweethearts, albeit tumultuously, until her death just over three years later. Their romance was exploited onscreen in Reckless (1935). Production began just eight months after these photos, in November 1934.
Powell and Loy would go on to make thirteen more films. One was Libeled Lady, Jean’s second and only other appearance with her beau.
Trivia: This same day, Joan Crawford posed for Sadie McKee publicity pictures on the lot. Lots going on at MGM that day!
Harlow Heaven 