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Red Dust

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Red Dust

Released Oct 22, 1932

1h 23m

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

When earthy prostitute Vantine (Jean Harlow) arrives at Dennis Carson's (Clark Gable) rubber plantation in Indochina, she initiates a steamy affair with the rugged foreman, but is sent packing when the passion cools. Soon Dennis is joined by new employee Gary (Gene Raymond) and his classy but high-strung wife, Barbara (Mary Astor), who falls into Dennis' arms while her husband is away. When Vantine returns, Dennis must decide between the refined adulteress and the tramp with the heart of gold.

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Smoldering.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 2, 2005

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a relentlessly hit-and-miss endeavor that is, for the most part, more the latter than the former.

Rated: 2/4

Jul 23, 2023

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... as sexy, frank, and grown-up as pre-code cinema gets.

Dec 3, 2022

Full Review

Pare Lorentz

Vanity Fair

Red Dust is lusty and fresh.

May 20, 2019

Full Review

Scott Nash

Three Movie Buffs

Gable, Harlow and a Rain Barrel. You don't need anything else.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 14, 2010

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 4/5

Aug 5, 2005

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TheAsteri1

Gable was bigger than life on and off screen.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/02/24

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Steve D

Despite a slow start and some racist elements the stars make it worth your time.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/05/23

Full Review

Russ G

Gable and Harlow burn down the theatre in this pre-Hayes Code sizzler. First saw this on the TV weekend late show about 1976. Two decades later the King of Hollywood would reprise the role, this time as the Great White Hunter on safari in Africa, with Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner as the other two corners of the love triangle. It's hard to beat the original, and this is a showpiece of Hollywood's Golden Age.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The film is set on a rubber plantation in present day Vietnam providing a view into the French colonial rubber business. The film was ok and the plot was familiar but it was done so expertly it almost overcomes the basic scrip and the familiar hot love in the tropics theme. Mary Astor was mediocre but Gable and Harlow were excellent. It is something of an anomaly in that it's everything you don't expect from the most conservative of studious. It's rough, brief, to the point, and gleefully trashy.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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william d

Gable and Harlowe smolder, the story does not.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

The best romance movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

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Victor Fleming

Director

Clark Gable

Dennis Carson

Jean Harlow

Vantine

Mary Astor

Barbara Willis

Donald Crisp

Guidon

Gene Raymond

Gary Willis

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Synopsis

When earthy prostitute Vantine (Jean Harlow) arrives at Dennis Carson's (Clark Gable) rubber plantation in Indochina, she initiates a steamy affair with the rugged foreman, but is sent packing when the passion cools. Soon Dennis is joined by new employee Gary (Gene Raymond) and his classy but high-strung wife, Barbara (Mary Astor), who falls into Dennis' arms while her husband is away. When Vantine returns, Dennis must decide between the refined adulteress and the tramp with the heart of gold.

Director: Victor Fleming
Screenwriter: John Lee Mahin
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Tomson Films
Genre: Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 1932, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 23m

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