Saratoga (1937) User Reviews

Pleasant film that becomes more of an curiosity toward the end

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 9 January 2006]

Jean Harlow and Clark Gable teamed up for the last time in this light film, "Saratoga," about a young woman, her wealthy fiancée (Walter Pidgeon), and the horse breeding farm deeded to a bookie (Gable) to pay off a gambling debt. Harlow wants to handicap horses and lay bets to pay off the marker, and Gable wants to take her boyfriend on a long ride to poverty by taking his bets.

I can't imagine how disheartening it was for the actors, director, and crew to have to finish the film after Jean Harlow's untimely death. Unfortunately, the film for viewers soon becomes how they camouflaged the fact that her stand-in and a vocal imitator completed the picture. Most disconcerting is a large party scene, where the internal sections feature the stand-in, and the external ones on the terrace are with Harlow. All of the race track scenes were obviously done last, with the stand-in hiding her face with binoculars. And there is one scene where she is completely covered with a picture hat. The character's only appearances at the end of the film are at the race track and, back turned, in the race track office. The ending shot is actually from an earlier scene, or it was done at the same time the earlier scene was filmed.

Despite being ill during the production, Harlow is wonderful in her final role and she and Gable have excellent chemistry. She truly was one of the great screen presences, just delightful in every way. Walter Pidgeon is young and handsome, and despite having to say "I love ya" dozens of times, Gable is likable, relaxed, and handsome. It just all seems very disjointed. And very sad.

You'll want to see it IF you're a Harlow fan.....

[scottysrule · 7/10 · 23 March 2006]

Yes, the film is not great. The scenes when Jean doesn't appear or her double appears make the film lackluster and dull in those spots. However, the film gives glimpses of the "Forties" flavor and what great things Miss Harlow could have done had she only lived. Hattie McDaniel's singing in the club car is great (as far as the racist times would allow for that talented woman) and the scene where Miss Harlow smokes Gable's cigar while he hides under the sofa as Pigeon (as her fiancé) unexpectedly arrives at her room to speak to her is a fine bit and a few other moments in the film where Miss Harlow appear simply make the viewer all too aware of the great loss of the great comedic talent and the delicate beauty of the remarkable Jean Harlow. It would have been better to have her last film an excellent comedy (in the vein of "Topper" for which she was slated), but this film without her in it would have been totally forgettable- so it stands as a fair tribute to a great star.

Farewell To a Beloved Star

[boscopa-1 · 5/10 · 24 September 2013]

Taken as a diverting bit of fluff, "Saratoga" is a pleasant film not worthy of the talents of its cast but easy on the eyes. The plot is in the screwball vein but lacking the manic intensity of the genre; it revolves around a bookie trying to save a horse farm by luring a rich "chump" to lose racing bets & finance the endeavor. Clark Gable, looking alarmingly thin, is the bookie and he delivers his standard performance. Scenery-chewing Lionel Barrymore and blustering Frank Morgan are on hand playing characters they perfected during their careers. Also on board are Una Merkel, Walter Pidgeon, and in a bit role Dennis O'Keefe. Unfortunately all of this is secondary to the only reason this film merits attention: it is the final film of legendary Jean Harlow.

The tragedy of Miss Harlow has been well documented. She was literally dying while shooting this movie and it is a difficult film to sit through knowing this. In the final 20-25 minutes her character is clearly played by a double hidden behind binoculars, a large hat, or shot from behind. Nobody wanted to finish the movie after Miss Harlow passed away but there was such an outcry from her fans that the picture was completed by a heavy- hearted studio. Ironically it was her biggest hit film largely because everyone wanted to get a final glimpse of her. Her performance is not one of her best; she is lacking her usual energy & effervescence. But it is an incredibly poignant performance knowing the terrible physical pain she must have been suffering during the shoot.

By all accounts Jean Harlow was an amazing individual; beloved by all and someone who valued the happiness of others over her own. She was more concerned about letting the cast & crew of "Saratoga" down than getting help for her illness. A class act to the end.

Mostly trivia

[daryl42 · 23 May 2002]

Not a great movie, it doesn't have the expected chemistry between Gable and Harlow, but many bits of trivia connected with it. It was released as I understand it after public pressure for another look at her. It ended up being her most financially successful film. I think that the cigar scene is one of her best, most understated comic moments.

I don't know of another film finished after its star's death like this. For that alone it is a curiosity. The added footage is very obvious, comical yet macabre. And the ongoing bit about her being sick is equally macabre.

As for the trivia, you have one of Lionel Barrymore's last ambulatory roles; longtime MGM contractee Walter Pidgeon in his first MGM role; Hattie McDaniel singing; The Wizard of Oz having breakfast with the Wicked Witch of the West; and Clark Gable playing probably the only nice bookie in the history of the movies (sort of nice, to Harlow's father at least).

For Harlow at her best, go with Personal Property, Red Dust or Bombshell, but watch this for the trivia.

A horse racing movie from racing's golden age

[rwestjr606 · 7/10 · 28 January 2012]

Corny? Sure. Dated? A big part of this movie's charm. Of course, the fact that this was Harlow's last movie makes it worth watching for this reason alone but the fascinating repartee between Gable and her throughout the film is hugely entertaining. For racing fans, the scenes of old Hialeah and Saratoga race tracks shows the days when having a bet on a horse race was the only legal way to gamble. In those days, next to baseball, horse racing was the most popular sport in America and the scenes of huge crowds are a testimonial to that fact. In fact, this movie is a chronicle of American sporting history and unlike the recent horse racing films, "Seabiscuit" and "Secretariat", it is able to show the real glory of horse racing and the elite who were able to own and breed these most noble of animals.

An Aura of Sadness

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 2 February 2012]

Although Saratoga is a lighthearted comedy about the horse racing game set in that former pleasure town of the rich and famous with the death of Jean Harlow while filming this movie it carries an aura of sadness that at least for me is impossible to overcome.

It's an average film and not anything close to what I believe Harlow's best work on screen in such items as Libeled Lady, The Girl From Missouri, Dinner At Eight, and Red Dust. Still her final film was with her most frequent screen partner and one whom she had great chemistry with.

Clark Gable plays a bookmaker who has some big IOUs from Jean's father Jonathan Hale who dies and passes those on to his daughter. Jean has an easy out if she marries wealthy Walter Pidgeon who's panting hot and heavy for her. But she eventually sees Gable is the one for her.

What is also sad is that Harlow for whatever reason kept going when it is obviously apparent she's suffering from the undiagnosed uremic poisoning that eventually killed her. That's a separate issue from the legendary story that her mother's Christian Science beliefs prevented her from seeking the medical treatment that would have saved her life. Maybe she should have been replaced and the film re-shot, who can know about these things?

Jean Harlow was the subject of a couple of lurid films based on Irving Schulman's book about her life that came out in the Sixties. By all accounts I've read about her from her contemporaries, Jean Harlow was a kind and gracious woman who was generous to a fault and always willing to help a newcomer. I would recommend reading Rosalind Russell's autobiography Life Is A Banquet where she talks about how Jean helped Russell the rookie on the set of China Seas.

So this review is dedicated to Jean Harlow and for all the great performances she had in her that we were never destined to see.

This nag's a bit of a gluefoot

[jjnxn-1 · 7/10 · 20 August 2013]

Ordinary comedy would have been a cinematic footnote and a stop gap for Gable and Harlow before their next scheduled pairing on loan to Fox for the much more worthwhile In Old Chicago if not for Jean's sudden death. Instead it ended up becoming the second most profitable film of 1937 and a notorious cash grab for Metro.

Not really a bad film but hardly the best film on any of the actors resumes. Other than the ghoulish, rather easy, game of spotting the scenes filmed after Jean's passing with a stand-in the film is packed with great character actors and actresses doing good work. Of particular note is Una Merkel, sassy and smart as an old crony of Gable's. Jean's part is one that's far away from her more famous early persona as a brassy good time girl but in line with the more refined lady-like roles Mayer was moving her towards after Irving Thalberg's death and which she had been transitioning to nicely. Considering the fact that it's an incomplete performance she is fine in her role, she looks weary and a bit bloated throughout not surprisingly since unbeknownst to all her kidneys were failing.

Her death actually caused great upheaval in many films that were in development at the time changing the course of many careers. She and Gable were to head over to Fox for In Old Chicago which proved a boon to Alice Faye and Tyrone Power. For their services Shirley Temple was to be loaned to MGM for the Wizard of Oz, when that fell through of course Judy Garland was cast pulling her out and Ann Rutherford in to the small part of Carreen in GWTW. Also among many other planned projects Maisie, originally planned as an A production but moved to the B unit after the loss of Jean, was allocated to Ann Sothern so successfully that it started her on a series that ran, between other films, almost ten years.

Jean Harlow at her finest!

[Patrick-96 · 6/10 · 23 May 2001]

When you watch this film, you are overwhelmed with sadness realizing that Jean Harlow died during production. Adding to that, Jean was never better than she is in this film. First of all, MGM finally found her 'look.' Her make-up is toned down and her platinum blonde hair is now a darker shade. She never looked lovelier. But what really is remarkable is her acting skills. She developed such a natural style and her comic ability was absolutely flawless.

From what I've read, Miss Harlow was liked by all in the industry, and loved by those who were close to her. Dying a such a young age (26), one can only imagine how many more years her career would have flourished.

Almost 65 years have passed since her death and she's still one of Hollywood's greatest stars.

Saratoga....excellent film!

[Rhondaluvsclassics · 8/10 · 16 November 2006]

This movie is a real treat for classic movie lovers! The star-studded cast includes Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Hattie McDaniel and Lionel Barrymore. It is especially interesting for all Gone With The Wind lovers to see Hattie McDaniel (Mammy) and Clark Gable (Rhett) work together two years prior to GWTW. Jean Harlow is absolutely beautiful and really shows her acting talent in this movie. It is bittersweet to watch though, considering this was Harlow's last film. The actress worked as long as she could until the physical pain of her illness became too much and she passed away at a very young age before filming completed. The stand-in scenes are very obvious, but fortunately doesn't take away from the magic that Ms. Harlow contributed and therefore set a tone for the movie.I love this movie, and highly recommend to anyone who wants a good storyline w/ wonderful star quality!!!

She may be dead, but she's still under contract.

[F Gwynplaine MacIntyre · 7/10 · 15 September 2005]

'Saratoga' was one of Hollywood's biggest box-office hits of 1937, but an explanation is in order. The film was scheduled to star MGM's popular team of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, but Harlow died suddenly (of uraemia, aged only 26) while 'Saratoga' was in production. Her fans demanded that MGM honour Harlow's memory by completing the movie; when it was released, hordes went to see 'Saratoga' and bid farewell to their platinum blonde. Ironically, this movie made far more money (on the strength of Harlow's death) than it would have been likely to earn had she lived to complete it.

'Saratoga' is a comedy, yet a weird morbidity hovers over this film. Harlow's character's father is played by Jonathan Hale, who later committed suicide. Gable has a bizarre scene in a racehorses' cemetery, appropriately spooky. (Although the gravestones are too close together.) The scenes left unfilmed at Harlow's death were completed with three different actresses doubling for her: a body double, a face double, and a voice double dubbing her dialogue. The doubling is laughably inept, even by 1937 standards.

Several film critics have claimed that we'll never know how great 'Saratoga' would have been had Harlow completed it. That's rubbish, that is. For the first two-thirds of the film -- with the possible exception of one shot in which she pushes her way through a crowd of punters, with her back to the camera -- it's clear that Harlow did all of her own scenes. By the two-thirds mark, 'Saratoga' has failed to register as a classic on the level of 'Red Dust' or 'Dinner at Eight'. There's nothing in the film's first five reels to indicate that this movie would have attained greatness if only Harlow had completed it. This is just one more Gable/Harlow comedy: an enjoyable one, but nowhere near so good as 'Red Dust' or even 'Bombshell'.

I find it intriguing that all of Harlow's doubled sequences are in the last one-third of the movie, as this indicates that 'Saratoga' was shot roughly in sequence. Ironically, the last line that Harlow speaks on screen (two-thirds into this movie) is 'Good-bye'. From here to the last reel, her character is strangely taciturn, always holding field glasses or some other object in front of her face so that we can't get a good squizz at the unconvincing double (actress Mary Dees). Harlow's character appears to have been written out of some late scenes in which one might expect her to appear. But the very last shot of the movie reveals Harlow herself, with Gable and Una Merkel, reprising a song from earlier in the movie: 'The Horse with the Dreamy Eyes'. I wonder if this shot was repositioned from earlier in the film, in order to ensure that the movie would end with a close-up of the real Jean Harlow.

I always find Una Merkel deeply annoying, and here she's worse than usual. She does a bump-and-grind routine, thrusting her pelvis towards us while glancing indignantly backwards over her shoulder, pretending that she's been shoved forward by someone standing behind her. Get some voice lessons, Merkel.

Gable's character is identified as a 'bookie', which may surprise modern viewers in America. Gable is portraying what is known in Britain as a 'turf accountant'. These are independent bookmakers who lawfully take bets at a racetrack, without participating in the pari-mutuel pool. Such people no longer exist Stateside but were carefully vetted by racing commissions in the 1930s. One of the rules for their profession was that a bookie could not own shares in a racehorse. In 'Saratoga', deep-pockets Gable buys a thoroughbred as a gift for Lionel Barrymore, playing Harlow's grandfather. If a bookie had tried this in real life, there would have been legitimate protests of a conflict of interest.

Gable is his usual sly rogue here, with an amusing running gag in which he keeps telling various men and women: 'I love ya.' The payoff is clever. These shots were edited into a very funny montage in 'That's Entertainment, Part Two'. 'Saratoga' benefits from MGM's usual high production standards, and an excellent supporting cast ... including Charley Foy, Margaret Hamilton, Hattie McDaniel, Frank Morgan (less annoying than usual) and MGM's stalwart character actor Cliff Edwards. I enjoyed 'Saratoga' and I'll rate it 7 out of 10 ... but it's hardly a classic, and I'm confident that it would not have been one even if Harlow had completed it.

Not a Fitting Epitah for Harlow

[sbibb1 · 4/10 · 24 July 2006]

Saratoga was not a great film. It has some clever and witty moments, such as the scene where Harlow is caught smoking a cigar, but on the whole the film is not among the best work of the wonderful cast which includes: Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore and Walter Pigeon. Harlow died before she completed filming this movie after a supposed illness which lasted 10 days. Watching the film you can see how unenergetic she looks, how puffy and tired and knowing that she does not live to finish the film casts the film in a poor light. When Harlow died, it was reported in the press that the film would be scrapped and left unfinished....but Louella Parsons reported in the press a few days after Harlow's death that the public outcry had been so great that MGM had decided to release the film. Being realistic here, it is hard to believe that MGM would ever seriously consider scrapping the film....the film had already cost millions and had other big name stars in the film. Parsons reported that the role played by Jean Harlow would be filled by actress Rita Johnson, and that at the point in the filming where Harlow died, co-star Lionel Barrymore would film an introduction announcing that Harlow had passed and that the film would be completed by another actress. None of this happened. There was no intro by Barrymore, and the role was taken over by actress Mary Dees. Dees was described in the press as having been both a $55 a week dancer at Warner Brothers, and also was said to have been pulled from a picture that she was shooting at Paramount with Bing Crosby to finish the role.

It is laughable to see the new actress in the role. At the point at which Harlow dies in real life, her character on the screen seems to almost vanish too. When she is shown, she is shown from the back, or with binoculars to her face, or a laughable scene with Hattie McDaniels where she is wearing a huge hat with a wide gauzy brim which obscures her face. This all makes what already was not a stellar film, get even worse. It is hard to say how the film would have been had Harlow lived. There is no question that her role would have been much larger.

In a macabre twist, in the scene where Jean Harlow is being examined by the doctor played by George Zucco, the gown she is wearing, white and with puffy sleeves, was the gown she was buried wearing.

A Photo Finish

[lugonian · 8/10 · 9 April 2011]

SARATOGA (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937), directed by Jack Conway, is a lighthearted comedy with some sadness attached to it. Jean Harlow, it's leading lady, never reached the finish line for this one, having died before completion got underway. Cast for the sixth and final time opposite Clark Gable, this was easily their breeziest assignment together. Walter Pidgeon, making his MGM debut, rounds out the trio playing the other man competing for his girl's affections.

With full indication of a horse racing story, the film's introduction starts off with the camera capturing the full view of racing hoofs as jockeys ride up the racetrack before the rising dust covers the screen as the credits roll to upbeat swing music of unseen vocalist belting out its title tune. Fade in begins at Saratoga's Brookvale Farm where Grandpa Clayton (Lionel Barrymore), a horse-breeder, is disappointed that his son, Fran (Jonathan Hale) has sold off his stallions to banker Ed Kenyon to cover up his financial losses. Because Clayton owes $60,000 back debt to best friend and bookmaker, Duke Bradley (Clark Gable), he offers him the mortgage deed to his property as security. Clayton's daughter, Carol (Jean Harlow), while in London, has become engaged to Hartley Madison (Walter Pidgeon), a wealthy New York stockbroker who had taken Duke for $50,000 at Belmont. While at the races, Clayton suffers a fatal heart attack shortly after Carol's return. As Carol calls for Duke to sell her back the farm, he refuses so not to foreclose on her grandfather. Intending on having Hartley give her the money to pay off Duke, Duke has other plans on getting back his losses. Regardless of trying to outbid the rich "sucker" at both auction and racetracks, Carol arranges in keeping Bradley one step ahead of Duke.

Taken from an original screenplay by Anita Loos and Robert Hopkins, the plot revolving around a snobbish girl engaged to a millionaire and becoming attracted to a smooth talking bookie was typical movie-making in the 1930s. Considering the plot being ordinary, the winning combination of Gable and Harlow makes SARATOGA all its worth. With the finished product not going according to plan due to Harlow's untimely death, how the writers managed to work around her character is more interesting than the story itself. Aside from extended use of supporting players Una Merkel (Fritzi, Duke's old flame), and Frank Morgan (Jesse Kiffmeyer, Fritzi's jealous husband allergic to horses), there's also noticeable out-takes revolving around the real Harlow and those featuring her double with face covered by large hats and camera capturing her discreetly from the back. The frequent mention of Carol's illness was certainly an excuse by not keeping her in full view. One surviving scene where Harlow's Carol, examined by Doctor Hanerstein Beard (George Zucco), constantly telling him, "I'm perfectly well. There's nothing the matter with me," comes across as too close for comfort, considering the actual circumstances of her being gravly ill during filming.

On the lighter side, Harlow demonstrates her flare for comedy in a memorable scene where she claims to have picked up cigar smoking to avoid any detection of Duke's presence in her room (who's hiding underneath her bed) from her fiancé' Bradley, after noticing the burning cigar resting on her ashtray. Gable comes across as very likable through his constant catch phrase to everyone, male or female, "I love you." When Carol uses it on Duke, he replies amusingly, "Hey, what are you trying to do, steal my gag line?" In between the battle of wits come song interludes by Walter Donaldson, Robert Wright and Chet Forrest: "Saratoga" (sung by Grace Saxon and the Four Esquires); "The Horse With the Dreamy Eyes" (sung by Cliff Edwards, Una Merkel, Clark Gable and Hattie McDaniel); "Saratoga" and reprise of "The Horse With the Dreamy Eyes." The Horse song, set on the "The Racing Special" train bound to and from Miami, is noteworthy as one of the rare cases where Gable participates in a song, and quite good at that.

Rounding out the cast of co-stars include Hattie McDaniel as Rosetta Washington, Harlow's maid; Cliff Edwards as "Tip" O'Brien; Frankie Darro the jockey, Dixie Gordon; and Margaret Hamilton appearing as the homely woman on the train seated next to Jesse (Morgan), founder of Harriet Hale Beauty Cream. Lionel Barrymore, a reliable actor, is nearly unrecognizable with his Claude Gillingwater Sr.-type performance playing the aging grandpa sporting silver hair and droopy mustache.

Regardless of title, not every scene takes place in Saratoga, but at Tropical Park in Miami, Florida, and at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Highlighting with a horse race sequence between Moonray and Dubonnet leading to a photo finish, SARATOGA concludes with its own photo finish with that of Jean Harlow (1911-1937) in a fond farewell to her work. To echo those words of Gable's Duke Bradley, fans would gladly say, "Jean, we love you." Formerly available on video cassette in the 1990s, SARATOGA is certainly a sure bet whenever presented on Turner Classic Movies. (*** markers)

well worth watching if you are a film buff

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 15 July 2005]

This was the last film that Jean Harlow appeared in during her brief career. You might notice I wrote "appeared in" and not "completed"--that is because she died in mid-production from a minor illness complicated by her and her mother's religious beliefs (which forbade the use of doctors or traditional medicine).

So, Hollywood did what they could to both salvage the film they already shot AND capitalize on her death--they CONTINUED with the film using her stand-in. However, as she was obviously NOT Ms. Harlow, they shot her from behind--often wearing a very large hat to obscure her and having a slightly different voice. Because of this, it's fun to watch to try to spot the REAL and the FAKE Harlow.

Apart from this, this is a decent MGM Harlow-Gable film. Not extraordinary but still quite good and a lot better than one of their earlier pairings in Hold On To Your Man.

Sad farewell film for Jean Harlow.

[whomperskatt · 3/10 · 17 September 2018]

Clark Gable does a great job as a bookie and even early on it's easy to see Jean Harlow isn't feeling good. She was dealing with kidney failure, and had had her wisdom teeth pulled in real life while filming this picture...I often wonder how much pain was she in trying to do her scenes. Clark Gable even said she smelled of urine during filming...can't understand why she wasn't hospitalized but it was 1937...very sad she died before the picture was finished... Not a great film, not even what I would call a good film but if your a Gable and Harlow fan you will like it....I think it would have been better with Carol Lombard but who knows... The cigar scene, and the train scenes are my favorite...see if you can spot the wicked witch from the wizard of Oz...and who is that sitting next to her ...hint it's the Wizard ..

final bow for the superb Miss Harlow

[didi-5 · 1 February 2004]

'Saratoga' was Jean Harlow's last picture, and indeed suffered from a large amount of patching-up after her death mid-way through shooting (notice the scenes where her character is only present with her back to the camera, or is missing altogether). This serves to distract the viewer from the good points of her last movie (especially the scene where Harlow has to explain away the presence of a large cigar in her room; Gable of course hiding under the bed!). In the scenes which she did manage to shoot she is fabulous, although clearly not looking her best.

Jean Harlow was probably the best sexy blonde comedienne of Hollywood's Golden Age, as testified by her marvellous work in Dinner at Eight, Libeled Lady, Riff Raff, and Bombshell. She lit up any scene she was in, and this movie is no exception. We can at least be grateful it wasn't ditched or recast, and that we have the snippets of her greatness within this fairly good movie.

A tragic part of film history

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 6/10 · 21 May 2011]

For me, this is a very interesting film for several reasons.

First, it is Clark Gable not long before GWTW. And clearly, Gable is at the peak of his career.

I love seeing Lionel Barrymore without a wheelchair. Although it was during the shooting of this film that he fell and re-broke his hip, resulting him being in a wheelchair for most of a decade.

And, of course, Jean Harlow died before the film was completed, with a double portraying her in some scenes. Personally, I've never been impressed by Harlow, and I'm not here, either. It's very obvious which scenes toward the end of the film were shot after Harlow's death.

So, historically, it's an interesting piece of film history.

In terms of plot, the Harlow character is the daughter of a horse breeder at Saratoga. She becomes engaged to Walter Pidgeon, a rich pigeon in the eyes of Gable. Harlow's father, who dies early on in the film, owed Gable gambling money and gives him his breeding farm. Gable falls for Harlow, of course.

There are a number of character actors here that are well worth watching -- Hattie McDaniels, Frank Morgan, and Una Merkel among them.

However, this is one film that won't grace my DVD shelf. Worth a watch at least once or twice, however, if only for the film history.

Poignancy at the races

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 5 February 2020]

'Saratoga' is primarily known as being the final film of Jean Harlow, an immensely talented actress who was taken from us far too soon with much more to give. Also really like Clark Gable and they were always great together. Seeing Walter Pidgeon in his first MGM film, seeing Margaret Hamilton and Frank Morgan pre-'The Wizard of Oz' in the same film were further interest points and Lionel Barrymore was always fun to watch and always gave his all whatever the material.

While 'Saratoga' is an interesting film with a number of good things, it is not great at the same time and yet another film that could and should have done much more with its sizeable potential. A vast majority of the actors are on top form, it is wittily scripted and has surprising emotional impact. It is sad though that one of its interest points is also its biggest undoings for reasons said well already. Not much to add really, my thoughts on the film mirroring those of most here.

The film's biggest problem is the doubling and replacement for Harlow, done after her death. It is so painfully obvious and the hokiness (quite clumsy filming and the replacement doesn't really do very well at all at imitating her) really distracts from everything else. This is most apparent towards the end, where it was clear that it was done last and in a rush. That the picture managed to be completed is laudable, but this was afterthought-like and felt like a different film.

Also present is a running gag that, while not grating or too stretched, had an uncomfortable eeriness (seeing as Harlow was seriously ill at the time) that didn't really gel and it was not nice being constantly reminded when so obvious already how ill Harlow was.

For all those problems, 'Saratoga' does have a lot that works well. The best thing about it is the cast, with Harlow on sparkling form and at her most poignant. She shares irresistible chemistry with the ever dashing Gable as quite likely the most likeable bookie on film. Barrymore is deliciously crotchety and his crusty demeanour is entertaining to watch. Pidgeon would go on to better things but is charming, Morgan and Hamilton has one of the film's highlight scenes together and Hattie McDaniel's singing is a pleasure. There are some particularly good scenes, the one on the train being the favourite and the cigar one close behind.

Characters are engaging, Harlow's appeal shines throughout, and Jack Conway directs robustly for most of the film despite stumbling in the scenes where Harlow is doubled/replaced. Other than towards the end the production values are solid, the camera clearly loving Harlow even when visibly ill. The script sparkles too with wit and intelligence with the best lines going to Barrymore. The story didn't feel dull to me and was quite lively and poignant, racing neither being glamourised or trivialised.

In conclusion, could have been better but well done generally. 7/10

Sadly mediocre towards the end, but nobody's fault but fate....

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 25 July 2012]

This film is famous for being known as the film Jean Harlow was working on when she died suddenly, and was replaced for long shots, back of head shots and side shots by a stand-in. The material they have of Harlow is wonderful, but sadly, it noticeably changes 3/4 way through the film.

The story is about an American girl (Harlow) coming back from Europe with a hoity toity British accent (like Ginger Rogers did in several films) engaged to race track enthusiast Walter Pidgeon but slowly falling in love with bookie Clark Gable whom she initially can't stand. Gable held a note from her late father (Otto Kruger) for gambling debts, so Harlow initially resents him. But Gable & Harlow are TNT, and Pidgeon, here in the unfortunate Ralph Bellamy role, can't win. Frank Morgan plays "Harriet Hale", the cold-cream queen, whose wife (Una Merkel) is a flirtatious "old acquaintance" of Gable's. He begins to think there's hanky panky going on between the two & conspires with Harlow against Gable at the racetrack.

The major highlight is "The Horse with the Dreamy Eyes", a song started by Cliff "Ukeilele Ike" Edwards on the train ride to Saratoga that soon gets everybody singing. The biggest surprise is how the passengers urge black maid Hattie McDaniels to sing a verse, and she lights up with those rolling eyes as she warbles. Having sung the year before in "Show Boat", she was known for her singing talent, but this is her in modern times practically an equal long before civil rights came along. McDaniels may be playing a maid, but its obvious that she is doing it on HER terms. Her heart glows through those eyes, making her a total scene-stealer in this film. Also worth mentioning is the scene where future "Wizard" and future "Witch" Frank Morgan and Margaret Hamilton meet with Merkel and Gable. While they had worked together in an RKO film called "By Your Leave", they did not appear together in "The Wizard of Oz", so this being easier to find than "By Your Leave", it is a delight to see them together in a very funny scene. I found Lionel Barrymore's performance to be a bit overacted as Harlow's grandfather.

Sadly, "Saratoga" shows a slight weakness towards the end as Harlow is obviously replaced by her stand-in. Only the back of her head is shown, and the voice meant to sound like her is a pale imitation. It isn't the fault of the actress, simply unfortunate circumstances. The scene where Harlow starts coughing profusely in character is really an unfortunate moment considering what would happen only a few months later.

Once top pastime is setting for a light comedy-romance

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 13 March 2017]

"Saratoga" is one of those films that is dated because it is set in a milieu that is no longer very common in America. Racetracks and thoroughbred racing once were big business, big news, and of big interest to a large number of Americans. Horseracing was known as the sport of kings. And, until well past the mid-20th century, it was the only legitimate form of public gambling around the U.S.

Then came state lotteries in the 1960s. Shortly after that, casinos became legal; then other ways for people to gamble came along. All of this has greatly diminished public interest in horse racing. The take from racing peaked in 1964. Attendance and spending began to drop until by 2010, the horses represented less than three percent of the annual take from gambling. Racetracks have been closing around the country, and all projections are that racing will continue to decline and may eventually come to an end.

So, films like "Saratoga" are chronicles of a fast fading American past. Dozens of movies were made in the 1930s and 1940s in which racing and racetracks have considerable exposure.

This movie has a so-so plot and big name cast. The screenplay and a couple of characters seem overdone to the point of being hammy. Notably, Jean Harlow as Carol Clayton, Lionel Barrymore as Grandpa Clayton, and Frank Morgan as Jesse Kiffmeyer. Harlow is hammy in her snootiness and snobbery early in the film. Barrymore is too bellicose over the demise of his stables. Morgan's Kiffmeyer seems way overdone in his fumbling with words just to get things straight in his talking.

About the only main cast members who do very well in their roles are Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon and Una Merkel. Gable's Duke Bradley is a likable, decent fellow, and a clear denizen of the race tracks. Pidgeon is Hartley Madison, an old acquaintance of Duke's and very rich fiancé of Carol. Merkel plays Fritzi, a former friend of Duke's who is now married to Kiffmeyer.

The movie gets its name from the historic racetrack at Saratoga Springs, NY (since 1863). Part of the film was shot there and other of the outdoor and track scenes were filmed at locations in Kentucky. This is a comedy-romance that not everyone will enjoy. Those who like racing and horses will go for it. For some it may be slow and boring.

Harlow steps onto the set for the last time

[nickenchuggets · 8/10 · 8 June 2021]

Saratoga is not an especially memorable or excellent movie unto itself, but it is memorable for the reason that it was Jean Harlow's last. She would die when the movie was about 90 percent completed, and the rest of the film had to include a stand-in whenever her character would appear. This is something that gets extremely obvious and sticks out like a sore thumb later when "she" has her back to the camera at all times and has a big hat to cover her face. It's a shame that had to happen before the movie was finished, but that doesn't detract from the rest of the experience. The plot is centered around Clark Gable who plays Duke Bradley, a bookie for horse races. Carol Clayton (Jean Harlow) announces that she is going to marry a rich guy named Hartley (Walter Pidgeon), and Carol's family is forced to give Duke the deed to their farm to get rid of gambling debt. Later on, Carol sells her horse Moonray, but not before Hartley asks Grandpa Clayton to train him. The rest of the movie is basically centered around the horse racing, but soon, Carol tells Duke she likes him instead of Hartley. At the end of the movie, despite Hartley getting somebody else to train Moonray, the horse loses. The film ends with Carol and Duke on a train singing a song about the horses. Despite its rather complicated story and lack of any spectacular moments, Saratoga was the highest grossing movie of 1937, and this can basically be attributed to nothing but Harlow's death. To say that it took the country by surprise would be an understatement. She had been one of the movie industry's most important female icons, and her sudden end at only the age of 26 devastated the industry. Even newspapers felt the event was more important than Hitler's ambitions in europe at the time. We'll never know what things she might have worked on past this, so this is the one we're stuck with as her last screen appearance.

Conway directs it all at crackerjack speed!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 31 May 2018]

With gross rentals of $2 million, number 1 at U.S./Canadian ticket windows for 1937. The movie fared less spectacularly in Australia but still took great money, coming in at 20th place on the year's top box-office attractions.

COMMENT: Ironically the first scene in which a double was required occurs right after Harlow's sick-room scene with Gable - a scene at the race-track with the double disguised by binoculars and then turning her back very obviously and very clumsily to the camera. Harlow had completed the long shot outside the box and this is used at the end of the scene.

The following scene is entirely the double, this time disguised very awkwardly with a large floppy picture hat despite the fact that the scene takes place entirely indoors and talking on the telephone at that, in which wearing the picture hat seems even more contrived and unnatural. Then the ball-room scene, a very obvious use of the double with her back to the camera at the beginning and end of the scene. Fortunately, Harlow had completed the main portion of the dialogue, all occurring on the terrace outside the ball-room just before she died - is it imagination or does she really look strained? Then the final race scenes, again with the double with the binoculars in the box.

Fortunately the final close-up of Harlow and Gable on the train had been shot some time before when the other train sequences were filmed.

Conway directs throughout in his usual style, very long takes, good use of a moving camera, an occasional reaction shot insert but very little use of reverse angles. Conway must have been a hot favorite in the editor's department for there was very little the editor had to do other than to trim the slates and join one camera load of footage to another!

Unfortunately the script is rubbish. Gable and Harlow do what they can with their junk one-dimensional characters; but Lionel Barrymore revels in this sort of garbage and so to a lesser extent do Una Merkel and to a lesser extent still, Frank Morgan. Cliff Edwards seems right at home too! Needless to say, Conway directs it all at his usual crackerjack speed!

Touching to see Harlow's last work

[gbill-74877 · 5/10 · 29 July 2021]

The history of Hollywood is filled with stories of tragedy, of larger than life stars who died young, leaving behind images on film that made them immortal, at least in a way. However, I don't think there has ever been one whose sudden death was captured in quite the same way as Saratoga does with Jean Harlow. For one hour she illuminates the screen with her charm despite being in a pretty bad film, then in a coincidence we see her character sick and being tended to by Clark Gable, and then we see her character clearly being played by someone else, face obscured, voice different. It's absolutely chilling. It's also probably the only reason you'd want to see this film. It gave me goosebumps to watch Gable rubbing "goose grease" into Harlow's chest and back, knowing that this was the final time she would appear on a set. She was dead nine days later. The brief moments we see of her over the final half hour had been shot before, and feel more than a little patched in.

Sadly, the only other things the film has going for it are in its supporting characters. I liked seeing Hattie McDaniel get a chance to sing a verse in the rendition of "The Horse with the Dreamy Eyes," batting her eyes playfully and briefly showing another side of herself than her servant characters would normally allow. There is also an interesting coincidence in seeing Frank Morgan and Margaret Hamilton sitting next to one another on a train, since they would be the wizard and the wicked witch a couple years later. Lastly, Una Merkel brings life to her small part, and is fun to watch. Oh wait, maybe the horses count as supporting characters too; there are some nice shots of them charging down the racetrack, filmed from a vehicle out in front of them, and the slow-motion photo finish sequence was pretty neat too.

Otherwise, oof. It's hard to believe Anita Loos' name is co-billed on the screenplay, as listless and messy as it is. The back and forth between Gable's character, a bookie, and Walter Pidgeon, a wealthy guy who likes to gamble, with Harlow his love interest trying to protect him, is repetitive and tedious. Lionel Barrymore's character, an old codger who whines about not having a stud for his farm, is just annoying. The story probably should have made the horse races a more minor aspect, and amplified the flirtation between Gable and Harlow. Instead of banter we see the men talking over the odds on a certain horse, with Gable trying to play Pidgeon for a sucker, and then the race. Zzzzz. If you love Jean Harlow, however, the film is must see, and despite its shortcomings, I was touched to see her last work.

Not a classic but enjoyable

[kellisean-24239 · 8/10 · 15 March 2020]

I probably enjoyed this movie more than most reviews here. The cast was familiar and a fun watch and about the early history days of horse racing was intriguing. I really enjoyed the interaction between the characters in the film.

Jean Harlow and Clark Gable were a fun pair to watch. And I love Lionel Barrymore in anything! He is really adorable in this role as Grandpa Clayton. I enjoy the scenes with him and Clark together as in reality they were life long friends and you could tell. Loved their naturalness. They were together in the early days of their stage careers. Lionel had a hand in bringing Gable to Hollywood. They did at least four films together. They would appear one last time together in Lionel's last known film Lone Star 1952.

They both were devastated by Jean's sudden death. It must of been hard for them to finish it. Jean and Gable were friends and to Lionel she was like a daughter from what I read. So that makes it a hard watch. Still I found it a fun for the most part. I thought it was a nice tribute to her.

You infidel jackass my grandfather built this dump!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 9 February 2012]

***SPOILERS*** More of a curiosity piece then anything else "Saratoga" turned out to be Jean Harlow's last movie dying on June 7, 1937 of kidney failure a the young age of 26 some six weeks before the film was released! With the movie 90% finished and the MGM studios was forced to use a stand in for Miss Harlow to finally finish the movie! That instead of re-shooting the entire film with another actress replacing her. As things turned out "Saratoga" turned out to be the biggest grossing MGM film of 1937. There was also in the film Lionel Barrymore as Grandpa Clayton who soon ended up in a wheelchair because of his severe arthritic condition.

The film involves a round robin romance between socialite Carol Clayton, Jean Harlow, bookie Duke Bradley, Clark Gable, and Carol's fiancée Wall Sreet bigwig Hartley Madison, Walter Pidgeon. It's Duke who at first has all the cards by having the deed to Carol's father's Frank Clayton, Jonathan Hale, horse breeding farm. It was Frank who owed Duke $60,000.00 in bets that he lost to him who signed the farm over to Duke as collateral until he could come up with the 60 G's. As it turned out Frank died of a heart attack at the Saratoga Racetrack before he could pay Duke back and thus ended up losing the farm or racing stable,Brookvale Stables,to him for good.

It's when Duke met Carol who was trying to buy her late father's stables back for him that he suddenly got the hots for her. It's was then that Duke, seeing a golden opportunity, tried to destroy Carol's relationship with Hartley by trying to bust him in a betting contest at not only at the Saratoga Race Track but a number of tracks, Belmont Pimlico Hialeah, up and down the East Coast. As we soon found out It was Hartley who in fact won some $60,000.00 off Duke betting with him over the years. And now Duke sees an opportunity to not only get his money back but end up stealing Hartley's girl Carol as well.

As the movie builds up to the big race "The Hopeful Stakes" at Saratoga you soon completely forget about it in that by then Jean Harlow or Carol Clayton was history with only a stand in replacement filling in for her. As confusing as the film or horse opera was this made it even more confusing to follow. But it was the final racing sequences in it that kept you from falling asleep or just turning it off altogether.

You can see right away the chemistry between Clark Gable and Jean Harlow which was so natural that it made you feel as if the two weren't acting at all. There was even a number of scenes in the film where Jean as Carol was suffering from a serious cold or flu that almost mimicked her real illness that in fact ended up taking her life.

Watchable, fine.

[bombersflyup · 5/10 · 19 November 2023]

In Saratoga, bookie Duke Bradley turns an eye to the daughter of the now deceased gambler and her millionaire fiancee, after winning a stud farm in lieu of gambling debts.

The film's mildly amusing, but silly just the same. Like why wouldn't Carol tell Madison that he's being hustled by Duke from the get-go and would Madison not see other price offers about and lose trust in Duke. The racing's not that well done and little detail within giving the setting. The performances are mostly overdone, but they're likeable enough. It seems to me that Clark Gable plays the same sort of role in every film... though decent.