Harlow

Jean Harlow (Carroll Baker) is a struggling extra and bit actress supporting a greedy stepfather Marino and a loving but oblivious mother "Mama Jean." With the help of agent Arthur Landau (Red Buttons), she secures a contract at the studio of the Howard Hughes-inspired Richard Manley (Leslie Nielsen). The reception to her first film is disappointing, and at Manley's studio her career is stalled. When Manley attempts to add her to his list of seduced starlets, Harlow fights him off and tells him what she thinks of him. This scene turns out to be a ruse devised by her agent so that the now-furious Manley terminates her contract. Landau successfully pitches Harlow to Majestic Studios, and her career blossoms. Despite studio encouragement to marry another contract star, Harlow marries the apparently gentle and cultured Paul Bern (Peter Lawford), who is revealed to be impotent. Soon after, Bern commits suicide. His death, combined with the stress of her career, leads Harlow on an odyssey of failed relationships and alcoholism, culminating in her death of pneumonia at the age of 26.