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Saratoga

 Saratoga
type
TVTItem
 Saratoga
label
Saratoga
 Saratoga
page
Saratoga
 Saratoga
comment
Saratoga is a 1937 film directed by Jack Conway, starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in their sixth and last film together.Harlow is Carol Clayton, daughter of a family of horse breeders and trainers, who is just coming back from Europe after getting engaged to super-rich Hartley Madison. Unfortunately her father Frank Clayton is a gambling addict who has become deeply in debt to bookmaker Duke Bradley (Gable). Frank hands over the deed to the Clayton horse ranch to Duke in order to cover his debts. Duke has no intention of actually taking over the ranch, as he likes the Claytons, and especially crotchety old Grandpa Clayton the veteran horse trainer. He's also attracted to sexy Carol, but Carol assumes Duke is going to foreclose on Grandpa and asks Hartley for money to buy the ranch back. Complications and romantic hijinks ensue.Saratoga was an MGM A-picture with an All-Star Cast that featured, along with Gable and Harlow, Lionel Barrymore as Grandpa, a young Walter Pidgeon as Hartley, Frank Morgan as Jesse Kitmeyer, and Una Merkel as Fritzl, Jesse's new wife and Duke's old girlfriend. It also features Margaret Hamilton in a small part, with the Wizard and the Wicked Witch sharing a scene two years before The Wizard of Oz.However, the film is infamous for the sudden, shocking death of Jean Harlow at the age of 26, with the film unfinished. People in the production had observed that Harlow was looking gray and acting lethargic and was suffering from bloating (and she does in fact look puffy in the finished film). On May 29, 1937 Harlow doubled over in pain on the set and went home shortly after. MGM originally presumed that Harlow would be back on set soon, but nine days later she was dead of kidney failure, now suspected to have been ultimately caused by a bout of scarlet fever she suffered as a teenager. Louis B. Mayer initially planned to scrap Harlow's footage and re-shoot with a different actress, but fans wrote in begging to see Harlow's last film. Unfortunately the third act hadn't been filmed yet, forcing the studio to resort to a Fake Shemp to complete the story (see below).
 Saratoga
fetched
2023-05-28T16:30:27Z
 Saratoga
parsed
2023-05-28T16:30:27Z
 Saratoga
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Saratoga / int_1c21e3fb
type
The Place
 Saratoga / int_1c21e3fb
comment
The Place: Saratoga Race Course.
 Saratoga / int_1c21e3fb
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_25b05c04
type
Hitler Cam
 Saratoga / int_25b05c04
comment
Hitler Cam: Used for a horse in the opening shot, as Grandpa is trying to break a stallion.
 Saratoga / int_25b05c04
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1.0
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_443f9d8a
type
Ask a Stupid Question...
 Saratoga / int_443f9d8a
comment
Ask a Stupid Question...: After Duke sees Carol, who was supposed to have left for Newport.
 Saratoga / int_443f9d8a
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1.0
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_4a84ef8d
type
Big Game
 Saratoga / int_4a84ef8d
comment
Big Game: The climactic horse race. If Duke wins he has enough money to leave the bookmaking business and rebuild Grandpa's ranch. If Hartley wins, Duke is wiped out.
 Saratoga / int_4a84ef8d
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_5103ab7b
type
Sexy Backless Outfit
 Saratoga / int_5103ab7b
comment
Sexy Backless Outfit: Both Harlow and, unfortunately, Mary Dees wear one during the dance.
 Saratoga / int_5103ab7b
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1.0
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_56725578
type
Driving a Desk
 Saratoga / int_56725578
comment
Driving a Desk: Stock footage from the windows of the train.
 Saratoga / int_56725578
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_75d6bf40
type
Belligerent Sexual Tension
 Saratoga / int_75d6bf40
comment
Belligerent Sexual Tension: Harlow and Gable made six films together for a reason. Here it is very obvious as Duke and Carol are sniping at each other about her trying to buy back the deed to the ranch.
 Saratoga / int_75d6bf40
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 Saratoga / int_9843be73
type
As You Know
 Saratoga / int_9843be73
comment
As You Know: A fair bit of exposition establishing who's who in the Clayton family and the fact that Carol's gotten engaged.
 Saratoga / int_9843be73
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1.0
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_aac4eeae
type
Same Language Dub
 Saratoga / int_aac4eeae
comment
Same Language Dub: Paula Winslowe attempting to mimic Jean Harlow's voice.
 Saratoga / int_aac4eeae
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 Saratoga / int_b01abe4f
type
Catchphrase
 Saratoga / int_b01abe4f
comment
Catchphrase: Duke's habit of saying "I love you" to end a conversation with pretty much anyone.
 Saratoga / int_b01abe4f
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1.0
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_c3665600
type
Mammy
 Saratoga / int_c3665600
comment
Mammy: Hattie McDaniel playing her usual sassy maid. She says she'd go after Clark Gable if he weren't the wrong color.
 Saratoga / int_c3665600
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1.0
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_c5d50cb0
type
Opposing Sports Team
 Saratoga / int_c5d50cb0
comment
Opposing Sports Team: One might think it only fair that Duke lose his bet, as he is after all a bookmaker—but Carol and Jesse cook up a scheme to hire away the expert jockey riding the horse Duke bet on, thus putting him at a disadvantage.
 Saratoga / int_c5d50cb0
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1.0
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 Saratoga
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Saratoga / int_c5d50cb0
 Saratoga / int_d51263b9
type
Fake Shemp
 Saratoga / int_d51263b9
comment
Fake Shemp: As noted in the intro, most of the third act had not been shot when Harlow left the set. An actress named Mary Dees was hired to be Harlow's body double while another actress named Paula Winslowe attempted to imitate Harlow's distinctive voice. The results, as is usually the case with Fake Shemp, are not very convincing. Dees didn't look that much like Jean Harlow, so every scene with her is shot with her back to the camera, or with binoculars to her face during the racetrack scenes, or facing away from the camera while wearing a large floppy hat, or shot from a distance. (In one scene, at a dance, Dees starts the scene and Harlow finishes it.) Winslowe's imitation of Harlow's voice isn't very good. And the character of Carol is conspicuously absent for most of the third act, with Una Merkel's character being more prominently featured. The cast of Saratoga was none too thrilled with the decision to proceed with a Fake Shemp; Gable said embracing Dees was like "holding a ghost".
 Saratoga / int_d51263b9
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 Saratoga / int_e07d3d72
type
Uncle Tomfoolery
 Saratoga / int_e07d3d72
comment
Uncle Tomfoolery: Hattie McDaniel's typical Mammy character is scared of talking on a long-distance phone.
 Saratoga / int_e07d3d72
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1.0
 Saratoga / int_e07d3d72
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 Saratoga
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Saratoga / int_e07d3d72
 Saratoga / int_e4d98039
type
Down to the Last Play
 Saratoga / int_e4d98039
comment
Down to the Last Play: The climactic horse race comes down to a photo finish.
 Saratoga / int_e4d98039
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1.0
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 Saratoga
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Saratoga / int_e4d98039
 Saratoga / int_f0f410bf
type
Filming for Easy Dub
 Saratoga / int_f0f410bf
comment
Filming for Easy Dub: Part of the whole Fake Shemp routine after Jean Harlow died. For the scenes where Paula Winslowe had to deliver the dialogue, Mary Dees is pointed away from the camera or with something obscuring her face.
 Saratoga / int_f0f410bf
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1.0
 Saratoga / int_f0f410bf
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 Saratoga
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 Saratoga / int_faa71569
type
Romantic False Lead
 Saratoga / int_faa71569
comment
Romantic False Lead: Walter Pidgeon, who would enjoy a very successful career as a leading man, here plays Guy Who Will Be Rejected In Favor of Clark Gable.
 Saratoga / int_faa71569
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1.0
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 Saratoga / int_name
type
ItemName
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 Saratoga / int_name
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Saratoga

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Saratoga
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Big Game / int_db74248c
 Saratoga
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Down to the Last Play / int_db74248c
 Saratoga
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The Place / int_db74248c