| Chapter 1: | Sex as Cinematic Capital |
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Chapter 1
Sex as Cinematic Capital
Jean Harlow and
the Economy of the Gold DIGGER
| Kitty | (Jean Harlow). I was reading a book the other day. |
| Carlotta | (Marie Dressler). Reading a book? |
| Kitty. | Yes. It's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of book. Do you know the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession? |
| Carlotta. | Oh, my dear, that's something you need never worry about. |
| —Dinner at Eight (1933) |
“Kitty” Packard (Jean Harlow), a former-bar-girl-turned-rich-man's-wife, first appears in George Cukor's Dinner at Eight in bed, lolling around in the middle of the day eating chocolates. She's wearing a see-through white satin nightgown and filmy dressing gown trimmed with ridiculously oversized chiffon net sleeves that emphasize her hyper-femininity each time she waves her arms, which she often does for dramatic effect.