A pair of “candids” (i.e. obviously posed pictures) of a lovely Jean Harlow taking a stroll on the MGM lot, 1933.
A creature of habit, she’s yet again wearing a dress you can spot multiple times in different portraits from this era, as well as her usual tennis shoes. (Apparently Louis B. Mayer was not a fan of Jean loafing around in these off the set.)
Swipe to see a second photo in which Jean is joined on her walk by two MGM heavyweights—none other than her boss, Louis B. Mayer, and menacing studio “fixer” Eddie Mannix. (This photo is completely candid and she just happened to meet up with these guys on the lot, right? Just good old pals? Remember how Eddie had a principal role in obscuring Paul Bern’s suicide? No studio obligation detected here whatsoever.) This print is signed to Jean from Eddie, though, so obviously there was some level of friendliness.
Anyway, funnily enough, this signed second photo belonged to Harlow’s one-time agent Arthur Landau, the scandalous little sellout who sold his “memories” of her to Irving Shulman when he went broke. In turn, this picture was published in “Harlow: An Intimate Biography” (the page in question pictured third). This is one of only a few pages in that book that have a slightly higher status than toilet paper.
Random note, and predictable at that: I just love the way this woman dressed. I think it’s the perfect combination of casual and chic that does it for me.
Harlow Heaven 