Do Yourself A Favor …
… and click over to The Observer of London’s “New Review” section today and read Peter Conrad’s appreciation of screen goddess Jean Harlow.

Because before there was a Charlize or an Angelina, there was Harlow. And she was just luminous.

Conrad’s appreciation focuses on MGM’s official screen portrait of Harlow. She’s pictured with her head back, her cupid’s bow lips parted and her platinum tresses strewn carelessly behind her.

Here’s the paragraph that tells you all you need to know:
“This is a face that has been sculpted, with a dimple in the chin that might have been chiselled. The Cupid’s bow of the upper lip is not accidental: it defines the mouth as a potentially deadly weapon. Glamour – a word that is etymologically akin to grammar, since it refer to some occult lore or secret knowledge – means the casting of a spell, and George Hurrell presents Jean Harlow as a white witch, Circe in a satin negligee.”

Harlow’s best-known role was in 1930’s “Hell’s Angels” produced by Howard Hughes. She was escorted to the premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theater dressed entirely in white. And the role made her a star — even if the critics were less than charitable.

Harlow, and other screen goddesses, were appraised in Jessica Hope Jordan’s “The Sex Goddess in American Film, 1930-1965,” where women such as Harlow are described as “[Possessing] a power far more subversive than what has been previously explored.”

Here’s a clip of Harlow from 1933’s “Dinner at Eight.”