Line #20 Film/RedHeadedWoman


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/869c0478d3fb14c9f3f3322740d56061.jpg]]
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3	''Red-Headed Woman'' is a 1932 American [[UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra pre-Code]] romantic comedy film, directed by Jack Conway and starring Creator/JeanHarlow.
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5	Harlow plays Lilian "Lil" Andrews, a red-headed secretary who, as the film opens, is scheming to seduce her boss, Bill Legendre (Chester Morris). She finally succeeds, breaking up Legendre's marriage and wedding him herself, but when an even wealthier man, coal magnate Charles B. Gaerste (Henry Stephenson), arrives in town, Lil sets her sights even higher.
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7	Harlow, who usually appeared as a platinum blonde, [[DyeingForYourArt dyed her hair red]] for this role. This was probably the height of her sexiness in the Pre-Code Era; after UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode started getting enforced, MGM toned it down and Harlow started playing more all-American types. ''Red-Headed Woman'' was also a StarMakingRole for Creator/CharlesBoyer, who appears as the French chauffeur who is sleeping with Lil even as Lil is setting her sights on Gaerste. Also in the cast are Leila Hyams as Legendre's first wife Irene, Lewis Stone (the future [[Film/AndyHardy Judge Hardy]]) as his father, and Una Merkel as Lil's friend Sally.
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9	----
10	!!Tropes:
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12	* DeadpanSnarker: Lil's best friend and roommate, Sally (played by Una Merkel, who specialized in these roles).
13	* DistractedByTheSexy: Bill can't concentrate on the memo he's trying to dictate when Lil is [[LegFocus showing off her legs]].
14	* DrowningMySorrows: Lil gets drunk after Bill doesn't show up at her apartment for a scheduled rendezvous.
15	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In the first shot, Lil is getting her hair dyed red. She gleefully cackles "So gentlemen prefer blondes, do they?" In the next shot, she's trying on a dress. She asks if it's see-through, and when the saleslady says "I'm afraid it is", Lil says "I'll wear it!"
16	* EvilRedhead / VillainProtagonist: Harlow is so charismatic that one is tempted to root for Lil, but she's a gold-digging homewrecker without any conscience.
17	* FieryRedhead: Lil. If you dump her, she may just pull out a gun and try to shoot you. She may also crash your ex-wife's party and make a scene, or barge into your home while you're trying to make up with the wife.
18	* FootPopping: Lil and her bootlegger boyfriend go behind the cupboard in a bar, so we only see their feet. She then lifts one of her legs, showing that they're kissing.
19	* FreezeFrameBonus: An incredible moment in which Harlow is briefly shown topless while Lil is changing her underwear. It's a very quick shot, but still quite obvious.
20	* GoldDigger: So much so that when an even richer man pops up as a target of opportunity, Lil decides to abandon her wealthy husband.
21	* HitMeDammit: After Lil taunts Bill, saying that he's afraid to be alone with her because he's attracted to her, Bill slaps her. She smiles broadly and says "Oh, do it again, I like it!"
22	* InSeriesNickname: Lilian is called "Lil" by most people. Bill sometimes calls her "Red."
23	* KarmaHoudini: Lil is eventually dumped by both Bill and Charles, but she escapes punishment for shooting Bill, and the film ends with her in France as the TrophyWife of some rich French guy (and it's implied that she's having an affair with his chauffeur).
24	* ReallyGetsAround: Lil. She uses sex to get ahead in society, but she also enjoys it. While seducing Gaerste, she also has an affair with his chauffeur, Albert.
25	* SexyBacklessOutfit: Lil wears one for the party that she hosts.
26	* ShoutOut: The first line in the film is Lil saying "So gentlemen prefer blondes, do they?" The screenplay was written by Anita Loos, who wrote ''Literature/GentlemenPreferBlondes''.
27	* StockingFiller: When Lil is seducing Bill, she shows him she's put a small picture of him under her garter. Later, when he wants to break up with her, she shows him the stockings again to prove that she's removed the picture.
28	* TitleThemeTune: A bluesy number performed under the opening credits and later [[DiegeticSoundtrackUsage in-universe by a nightclub singer]].
29	* TheVamp: Lil shamelessly exploits her sexuality to seduce men and gain social status.
30	* VictoriasSecretCompartment: Where Lil puts the key after locking herself and Bill in her bedroom.
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Context Film / RedHeadedWoman