Red Dust

Star Power

Victor Fleming's Red Dust, from 1932, is an effective melodrama that succeeds primarily due the sizzle of its stars. Clark Gable and Jean Harlow headline this pre-Code film that highlights their physical assets and bantering chemistry. Featuring not only Harlow's epochal water barrel bath, but also a sly strip tease by Gable, Red Dust was racy enough to be snipped by censors in the early days of television. The electricity between the two leads does much to enliven the creaky setup of the stage play that Red Dust is based on. Fleming is unable to animate the soundstage settings.

The racism and colonialist slant of the stage play still remain and cast a pall on the proceedings. The rubber tree plantation setting was wisely jettisoned when the film was remade as Mogambo. John Ford was able to imbue Grace Kelly with a sensual charge that is missing in Fleming's handling of Mary Astor. A tracking shot of Gable carrying Astor in a monsoon has an erotic pull that is lacking from her overly pinched performance. Donald Crisp is wasted in a nothing part. Red Dust gives the audience what it wants, Topic A, but when it shines it is due to the power generated by its star voltage.