It is sad to think of those stars who we know were good but died young or too soon. But the ones we normally thing about are stars who left a rich legacy of film that we have access to: Laird Cregar, Montgomery Cliff, Heath Ledger, Natalie Wood, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Judy Holiday, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard. Even with his seemingly paltry three films James Dean lucked out - they were three of the biggest hit movies of the 1950s, and Dean also appeared in small roles in several other films and on plenty of early television.
What happens when you have a case like that of Robert Williams?
Williams made a total of six films in his career, two of them obscure silent movies, and four early sound films. When PLATINUM BLOND was made he got the male lead role, and was directed by Frank Capra. His co-stars were the up-and-coming Jean Harlow and the up-and-coming Loretta Young. The cast included veteran scene stealers like Reginald Owen, Louisa Closser Hale, Claude Alister, Walter Catlett, and Halliwell Hobbes. And Williams proved the master of them all.
The reason in part is some miscasting (which has been pointed out on some of the comments here). Before MGM began to realize how to properly show Jean Harlow as a sexy and fun loving woman the studios kept showing her as what she was not: a blue-blood. Not only in PLATINUM BLONDE but in the earlier HELL'S ANGELS and in THE PUBLIC ENEMY she played wealthy socialites. She was far closer to the type in THE GIRL FROM MISSOURI or DINNER AT EIGHT (there a trophy wife for fellow vulgarian Wallace Beery) than to these. As for young Loretta Young, her earthy warmth was hidden in the part of the frustrated "Gallagher" in this film, wherein she pines of Williams' "Stu Smith" but doesn't say or do anything until the end. The role called for a tougher type to be the newspaper gal "Gallagher" is. It reminds me of an actress who would soon co-star with Harlow in CHINA SEAS: Rosalind Russell would have been better in the role, or Claudette Colbert for that matter.
The others are not miscast as badly, and several have their moments. Owens is as good as ever as the family lawyer and friend of the Schuylers (the family Harlow and Hale are members of). He tries to be friendly but is just too stupid to realize when Williams outmaneuvers him again and again. Hale is one of the army of elitist grand dames in 1930s comedy, led by Margaret Dumont and May Robson. Here Hale is in such a constant tizzy by the antics of her children she blames them for her gastritis (this was a pre-code film). Hobbes has several choice moments showing Williams how he putters around the house, or discovering there is a ghost (actually an echo) in the mansion, or getting plastered and telling off Owens and Hale. Alister discovers that it is not worth being a good valet to an unappreciative Williams if it might cost him a broken jaw. Catlett makes a lucrative but insulting offer to Williams regarding a news column, gets socked in his face, and goes to his paper to write the story up.
The plot deals with Williams getting involved with the Schuylers and getting a juicy scandal scoop thanks to the cretinous Owens. However he falls for Harlow, and they elope. Later he is told that the marriage will ruin him as a newspaperman. He actually finds it is slowly sapping him, as he finds himself ensconced in the mansion's left wing, given a valet, taken to meet all the socialites his in-laws associate with (some he refers to as "pansies" - again this is before the code). He gradually realizes that his city editor was right to call him "a bird in the gilded cage". And he is desperate to get out.
Williams had a nice easy going delivery, and a sharp one. He knows when to speed up for comic affect (or to react for comic affect). Yes he would have been a terrific addition to the galaxy of male stars in the golden age of the movies. His loss that same year is a bitter tragedy.
What happens when you have a case like that of Robert Williams?
Williams made a total of six films in his career, two of them obscure silent movies, and four early sound films. When PLATINUM BLOND was made he got the male lead role, and was directed by Frank Capra. His co-stars were the up-and-coming Jean Harlow and the up-and-coming Loretta Young. The cast included veteran scene stealers like Reginald Owen, Louisa Closser Hale, Claude Alister, Walter Catlett, and Halliwell Hobbes. And Williams proved the master of them all.
The reason in part is some miscasting (which has been pointed out on some of the comments here). Before MGM began to realize how to properly show Jean Harlow as a sexy and fun loving woman the studios kept showing her as what she was not: a blue-blood. Not only in PLATINUM BLONDE but in the earlier HELL'S ANGELS and in THE PUBLIC ENEMY she played wealthy socialites. She was far closer to the type in THE GIRL FROM MISSOURI or DINNER AT EIGHT (there a trophy wife for fellow vulgarian Wallace Beery) than to these. As for young Loretta Young, her earthy warmth was hidden in the part of the frustrated "Gallagher" in this film, wherein she pines of Williams' "Stu Smith" but doesn't say or do anything until the end. The role called for a tougher type to be the newspaper gal "Gallagher" is. It reminds me of an actress who would soon co-star with Harlow in CHINA SEAS: Rosalind Russell would have been better in the role, or Claudette Colbert for that matter.
The others are not miscast as badly, and several have their moments. Owens is as good as ever as the family lawyer and friend of the Schuylers (the family Harlow and Hale are members of). He tries to be friendly but is just too stupid to realize when Williams outmaneuvers him again and again. Hale is one of the army of elitist grand dames in 1930s comedy, led by Margaret Dumont and May Robson. Here Hale is in such a constant tizzy by the antics of her children she blames them for her gastritis (this was a pre-code film). Hobbes has several choice moments showing Williams how he putters around the house, or discovering there is a ghost (actually an echo) in the mansion, or getting plastered and telling off Owens and Hale. Alister discovers that it is not worth being a good valet to an unappreciative Williams if it might cost him a broken jaw. Catlett makes a lucrative but insulting offer to Williams regarding a news column, gets socked in his face, and goes to his paper to write the story up.
The plot deals with Williams getting involved with the Schuylers and getting a juicy scandal scoop thanks to the cretinous Owens. However he falls for Harlow, and they elope. Later he is told that the marriage will ruin him as a newspaperman. He actually finds it is slowly sapping him, as he finds himself ensconced in the mansion's left wing, given a valet, taken to meet all the socialites his in-laws associate with (some he refers to as "pansies" - again this is before the code). He gradually realizes that his city editor was right to call him "a bird in the gilded cage". And he is desperate to get out.
Williams had a nice easy going delivery, and a sharp one. He knows when to speed up for comic affect (or to react for comic affect). Yes he would have been a terrific addition to the galaxy of male stars in the golden age of the movies. His loss that same year is a bitter tragedy.