What do you think?
Rate this book
Harlow: An Intimate Biography
Harlow, An Intimate Biography, is the biography of Jean Harlow, the first of the typically American love goddesses as well as a presentation of the big-studio feudalism of the Thirties and a near sociological consideration of that American phenomenon, the sex symbol devised for mass consumption.
432 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1964
5 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 28, 2014
As time slouches forward more and more of what was once popular - movies, music and novels, and everything - passes over into the land of the frankly incomprehensible. Is Charlie Chaplin still funny? A dwindling band of cinephiles say so, slightly more say Buster Keaton is, slightly more say the Marx Brothers still are... but what non-geek under the age of 40 will voluntarily watch a black and white movie from before the age of colour?
Jean Harlow was once, briefly, a screen goddess, but she seems like a caricature to us now, all beestung lips, white hair and strange lizardlike movements. Sometimes, like in the excellent Libelled Lady, she gives the impression of being great fun, but mostly, as in the insane melodrama China Seas she vamps around in the way only drag queens do now. Novels age better than movies but still, the vast majority of even great fiction over, let's say, 50 years old is only read because it's on a required reading list. Except Jane Austen, that is. She seems to be the exception that proves that rule.
It's possible, though - I bet there was a time - say, in the 1970s - when every other young woman didn't HAVE to read Jane Austen.
Popular music, being more technologically driven, has specific hurdles to overcome before contemporary ears can hear it - I think 1965 was the first year that records were made which actually sound modern, maybe something to do with the engineers finally getting a good drum sound. I have a naive hope that something like "I'm Down" or "I Fought the Law" or "Like a Rolling Stone" will last for centuries because they just sound so great but when the 50 year olds who currently control rock criticism die off, maybe not. It's a melancholy thought that however great an artist's work is it will in a few decades become impossible to hear, see or read without having to be festooned with explications and a blizzard of footnotes. Citizen Kane used to be the greatest movie ever, but not now. No one except us few bookgeeks reads Dickens for pleasure.
The opposite of this argument is the Robert Johnson Effect. This is where someone who was completely obscure in their own times is rediscovered by the geeks and then - very rarely - is parlayed by cunning marketing into being the cool style accessory du jour. Robert Johnson sold a few hundred 78s in the 1930s, but the cd in the 1990s sold over a million. Likewise The Buena Vista Social Club, and in recent years Nick Drake and Vashti Bunyan. All these odd cases are worth consideration and it's much easier to do this with music which takes much less time to buy and consume than books or movies.
All of our cherished art will become cartoons, all will grow a carapace of inscrutability and it will take dedicated cultural miners in the future to haul them all back to the crowded surface for the crowd to puzzle over and scratch their heads and wonder what kind of creatures liked them in the first place. Poor Jean - she'll never be sexy again.
Jean Harlow was once, briefly, a screen goddess, but she seems like a caricature to us now, all beestung lips, white hair and strange lizardlike movements. Sometimes, like in the excellent Libelled Lady, she gives the impression of being great fun, but mostly, as in the insane melodrama China Seas she vamps around in the way only drag queens do now. Novels age better than movies but still, the vast majority of even great fiction over, let's say, 50 years old is only read because it's on a required reading list. Except Jane Austen, that is. She seems to be the exception that proves that rule.
It's possible, though - I bet there was a time - say, in the 1970s - when every other young woman didn't HAVE to read Jane Austen.
Popular music, being more technologically driven, has specific hurdles to overcome before contemporary ears can hear it - I think 1965 was the first year that records were made which actually sound modern, maybe something to do with the engineers finally getting a good drum sound. I have a naive hope that something like "I'm Down" or "I Fought the Law" or "Like a Rolling Stone" will last for centuries because they just sound so great but when the 50 year olds who currently control rock criticism die off, maybe not. It's a melancholy thought that however great an artist's work is it will in a few decades become impossible to hear, see or read without having to be festooned with explications and a blizzard of footnotes. Citizen Kane used to be the greatest movie ever, but not now. No one except us few bookgeeks reads Dickens for pleasure.
The opposite of this argument is the Robert Johnson Effect. This is where someone who was completely obscure in their own times is rediscovered by the geeks and then - very rarely - is parlayed by cunning marketing into being the cool style accessory du jour. Robert Johnson sold a few hundred 78s in the 1930s, but the cd in the 1990s sold over a million. Likewise The Buena Vista Social Club, and in recent years Nick Drake and Vashti Bunyan. All these odd cases are worth consideration and it's much easier to do this with music which takes much less time to buy and consume than books or movies.
All of our cherished art will become cartoons, all will grow a carapace of inscrutability and it will take dedicated cultural miners in the future to haul them all back to the crowded surface for the crowd to puzzle over and scratch their heads and wonder what kind of creatures liked them in the first place. Poor Jean - she'll never be sexy again.
September 17, 2019
Harlow: An Intimate Biography isn't a biography at all.
Its really Historical Fiction.
Harlow: An Intimate Biography has full overly dramatic dialogue, sex scenes, and its told from the perspective of Jean Harlow's agent.
At the beginning of this "biography", the author states that he met Jean Harlow's agent and interviewed but that doesn't explain why he takes on the author's pov. Either write a biography or write Historical Fiction.
The author Irving Shulman is a very talented writer and if I had known that this "biography" wasn't really a biography and was instead historical fiction I wouldn't have been so annoyed. Because of the way in which the book was written I never knew what aspects of the book were true and which were made up for dramatic effect.
No rec.
Its really Historical Fiction.
Harlow: An Intimate Biography has full overly dramatic dialogue, sex scenes, and its told from the perspective of Jean Harlow's agent.
At the beginning of this "biography", the author states that he met Jean Harlow's agent and interviewed but that doesn't explain why he takes on the author's pov. Either write a biography or write Historical Fiction.
The author Irving Shulman is a very talented writer and if I had known that this "biography" wasn't really a biography and was instead historical fiction I wouldn't have been so annoyed. Because of the way in which the book was written I never knew what aspects of the book were true and which were made up for dramatic effect.
No rec.
August 29, 2013
To everyone who is actually reading this book and enjoying it: STOP. All the information in this book (every last bit of it) has been 100% disproved and discredited since its publication. No, seriously. ALL of it is false. Even really basic information that the author should have known if he had bothered to do any research about Jean. He simply wrote a piece of fiction very loosely based on Jean's life.
It's a disgusting book that tarnished Jean's reputation for decades. She was one of the loveliest, sweetest stars of all time, and she didn't deserve to have lies spread about her like this.
Everyone who knew Jean and worked with her agrees that this "bio" is RUBBISH. So stop reading it! Jeeeeez.
It's a disgusting book that tarnished Jean's reputation for decades. She was one of the loveliest, sweetest stars of all time, and she didn't deserve to have lies spread about her like this.
Everyone who knew Jean and worked with her agrees that this "bio" is RUBBISH. So stop reading it! Jeeeeez.
December 2, 2008
Don't read this book, they say Jean is exactly like the people she played in the movies that she did, and nothing could be further from the truth. I suggest reading "Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow" - this guy actually did research :)
June 1, 2013
Salacious junk that has since been thoroughly discredited. There are much better written, more truthful bios of Jean Harlow seek out one of those instead.
June 14, 2020
Shulman should have stuck to writing about West Side Story. Terrible, gossipy hatchet job. Poor Jean, even in death she got screwed over. Unfortunately it was the only Jean Harlow bio available in the early 80s when I read it. Thank you Eve Golden and David Stenn for writing about her since then.
May 26, 2013
Jean Harlow was one of the classic movie goddesses who lit up the screen for me. I first noticed her in the Laurel and Hardy short, DOUBLE WHOOPEE, and the I recall seeing some revealing photos in Kenneth Anger's, HOLLYWOOD BABYLON.
When I found a used paperback copy of this in a bookstore, I was immediately drawn to it. Just what was her story?
Well, BOMBSHELL had more of the factual details, but this one seems to have gotten the emotional details right. From all that I've read, the personality shown here was the real Jean Harlow.
It is astonishing to think that such a victim of the Hollywood system could have delivered such enjoyable performances, even when they were painful for her. I suppose that's why my favorite Harlow film is LIBELED LADY. It is obvious that she is enjoying herself in that one, and that happiness only makes the audience want to get to know her better.
The backstage stories are most interesting. How could a place that specialized in happy endings have so missed this one?
When I found a used paperback copy of this in a bookstore, I was immediately drawn to it. Just what was her story?
Well, BOMBSHELL had more of the factual details, but this one seems to have gotten the emotional details right. From all that I've read, the personality shown here was the real Jean Harlow.
It is astonishing to think that such a victim of the Hollywood system could have delivered such enjoyable performances, even when they were painful for her. I suppose that's why my favorite Harlow film is LIBELED LADY. It is obvious that she is enjoying herself in that one, and that happiness only makes the audience want to get to know her better.
The backstage stories are most interesting. How could a place that specialized in happy endings have so missed this one?
March 13, 2013
I was surprised to learn the true story of Jean Harlow's short and tragic life . I had seen the 1970's movie with Carol Baker portraiting Harlow, but there were no specific details like in this book. While Jean Harlow was regarded in her day as the platinum blonde bombshell sex symbol, she was in reality nothing of the kind. Harlow was unfortunate enough to become the victim of several people in her personal life she was close to. These intimate relationships ultimately led to her untimely demise in a most sad and horrible way. The few people who impacted her life in a positive and caring manner could not save her even though they tried. I think most people who read this book will be saddened by this tragedy played out in the brief life of one of Hollywood's most famous film stars.
Read
January 30, 2012So far I am very impressed, Shulman's writing style is very good. I feel as if I am reading a great fiction novel instead of a boring play by play of Harlow's life. She seems to me to have been a "little girl lost". Can't wait to finish this book. The ending did not disappoint, I cried as I read of Harlow's tragic death and understand why so many grieved at her passing.
December 14, 2017
This little paperback that I started reading at someone's cottage turned into a real eye opener and an amazing account of Jean Harlow's life with assistance from her agent. This little paperback made me a die hard fan of this amazing woman with such a tragic life. Thanks to this, I can appreciate her TCM movies so much more. A must read for Harlow fan's or of old Hollywood.
November 30, 2007
This version of the Harlow story was a bit more salacious than I would have liked, but I stuck with it anyhow. I'm sure that the David Stenn biography of Miss Harlow will be a much better read.
July 26, 2010
I had always wanted to read about Harlow...very good, interesting.
January 9, 2017
Jean Harlow: An Intimate Biography by Irving Shulman - This was more the intimate fantasy of the author and now I'm interested in reading a more truthful biography of the star next!
October 31, 2015
A detailed biography of the 1930's Hollywood actress Jean Harlow. It is dated, 1964, and provides inside information regarding the Hollywood movie industry.
February 23, 2022
This really is a terrible, sensationalised hack job of Harlow's short life.
It starts like a Raymond Chandler novel: "It was almost three in the morning when the telephone rang." - and went downhill from there.
Jean Harlow was no delicate flower but certainly doesn't deserve being painted as the stupid tart this book makes her out to be.
Written nearly 30 years after her death you have to wonder that her former agent "Arthur Landau" didn't sell the story (in parts not just unbelievable but ludicrous and factually incorrect) for some ready cash in his later years. I'm sure it walked off the shelves in 1964
It starts like a Raymond Chandler novel: "It was almost three in the morning when the telephone rang." - and went downhill from there.
Jean Harlow was no delicate flower but certainly doesn't deserve being painted as the stupid tart this book makes her out to be.
Written nearly 30 years after her death you have to wonder that her former agent "Arthur Landau" didn't sell the story (in parts not just unbelievable but ludicrous and factually incorrect) for some ready cash in his later years. I'm sure it walked off the shelves in 1964
October 6, 2019
Paul Bryant gives us an indictment on past history as a know nothing millennial instead of a book review. They would write a novel about millennials accomplishments but nobody is interested in how to eat Tide Pods and pose for selfies. The great generations of immigrants who won 2 World Wars and built the country including the movie industry deserve better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2021
An interesting book in a lot of ways but the author seems to jump for a novel style with lots of dialogue to a serious historical style. He says he got the information in the book from Jeans former agent. Maybe it’s true, maybe not. I think I’ll read some more about Jean Harlot before I make my mind up
April 13, 2023
An interesting read which claims to have detail from her agent. Some of the information has to be fictitious as it is information only Harlow would know; and certainly the information after her fallout with her agent and during her last days would not be known by him.
With that said, it is an interesting read and paints Harlow in a sympathetic light.
Worth reading
With that said, it is an interesting read and paints Harlow in a sympathetic light.
Worth reading
February 10, 2024
Complete garbage. The only thing Shulman got correct was her name. The people that knew her both personally and professionally only had good things to say about Jean Harlow, it is unfortunate that this book's contents are regarded as gospel.
March 24, 2016
This book contained much information I didn't know, but there was something discomfiting about the author's writing style and treatment of the subject. (Perhaps it was his obsession with her nipples.) Shulman's writing seemed somehow both detached and voyeuristic. I'm looking forward to reading another book about Jean Harlow to see if I can pinpoint what bothered me about this one.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews