Up on eBay, from the estate of screenwriter Carey Wilson is a copy of the original manuscript
that Wilson co-wrote with one of the legendary actresses of Hollywood history, Jean Harlow.
According to the listing, the story behind Harlow's book is well known: she was in a contract dispute with MGM and with time on her hands decided to write a novel about Hollywood and the industry and hopefully as a vehicle for her to star in the movie some day. Wilson supposedly gave Harlow the idea for the book by proclaiming to her "Every woman has a book in her. And you can quote me!"
Initially helped on the project by Tony Beacon, Wilson (a close friend of hers and also of MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer who shut her out of the studio) came on board to help her finish the book. In fact, as Harlow and her agent shopped the book around to all major studios EXCEPT MGM, Mayer invoked a clause in her contract prohibiting her from rendering services to any of his competitors. Even as a close friend of each of them, Wilson could not convince Mayer to approve publication or have it adapted to the screen.
In typical dramatic Hollywood fashion-complete with family interference and industry backstabbing and intrigue-the novel was never published in her lifetime and was quietly shelved by the publisher and Harlow. Harlow's mother inherited the book who in turn gave it to Ruth Hamp and in 1965 it was finally released. It is important to note that the dedication for the book is to "Mother of Inspiration" and "Carey, the friend without whose help, criticism, and encouragement this book would not have been written."
287 pages and loosely bound, there are no annotations or writing of any type so obviously it is the completed version by Harlow and Wilson and not a working copy.
